# Teen & Adult Phonics Library — Decodable and engaging texts

> Decodable digital novels for teens and adults with learning differences. (iPhone/iPad app by Gregory McDonald.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/teen-and-adult-phonics-library/id1189152100 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Gregory McDonald](https://appshunter.io/developer/992464989)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 100 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 136 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-11-29
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/teen-and-adult-phonics-library/id1189152100/reviews.md

## What is Teen & Adult Phonics Library?

The Teen and Adult Phonics (TAP) Library offers a collection of sequential, decodable digital novels with edgy, engaging themes designed to appeal to teenagers and adults.  Care has been taken to build a positive experience for older emergent readers, especially those with SpLD such as dyslexia, ASD or ADHD.

This app includes a SAMPLE of every novel in the collection, access to the teacher support materials and the narrated introduction.  This short audio intro and the sample are perfect for gauging student interest in any given story. 

Access to the FULL TEXT of each story is available as an IN-APP PURCHASE.

If in-app purchases are inconvenient for you, consider getting the TAP Library School Edition instead. The School Edition gives access to the entire collect at 25% off the price of buying the stories individually.

* BUILD CONFIDENCE with FULLY DECODABLE TEXTS

TAP novels support the teaching of systematic and cumulative phonics to older learners, especially those with learning difficulties like dyslexia. Minimal use of “weird words”—non or not yet decodable words—allows teens and adults to experience success in reading and grow into confident emergent readers. 

* PRESERVE DIGNITY

Older learners with severe reading difficulties don’t want to be handed another levelled reader or ”baby book”.  These apps combine high-quality, age-appropriate images with clean design.  Support materials and level information are kept off the cover and out of the main text to give learners a “novel reading” experience to be proud of. Progress through the book is indicated and encouraged with feedback designed for older learners.


* SUPPORT DYSLEXIC LEARNERS

Attention to the needs of learners with dyslexia or other difficulties (ASD, ADHD) has gone into every feature of the app:

- Open Dyslexia as a font option
- distractions on pages with text are minimal (no movement or sound unless the user interacts with the app)
- easily accessible page numbers and colour coded chapters along the margins
- swipe or non-swipe page navigation allows a reader to touch the page to aid decoding without accidentally changing pages
- images and sound are optional
- optional white noise for masking classroom noise
- save learner preferences and location in each book in a user profile
- unlimited user profiles


* SYSTEMATIC AND CUMULATIVE PHONICS

The library currently contains four novels at TAP Level 2. Level 2 texts are written using fully decodable words of the following types: CVC, CCVC, CCVCC, CV (open syllable).  Words can include the consonant digraphs sh, th, ch, wh, qu and ending sounds ck, ng, nk .  A small number of single-syllable open-syllable words (eg. “she”) and a very small number of “weird words” (non or not yet decodable words) are used in each book.  Users can set their preference for UK or US vocabulary and spelling (eg. ”mum” versus “mom”, ”bin” versus ”trash”).  More information on the TAP phonics progression is available on our website, FocusOnTAP.com.

* DESIGNED BY A READING AND DYSLEXIA SPECIALIST

Victoria Leslie, a reading and dyslexia specialist based in Australia, designed the TAP series and is writing each of these high-interest novels. These texts are for use by specialist dyslexia/literacy teachers, schools and parents as well as teens and adults seeking to learn to read.

## Key features

- Decodable digital novels
- Engaging themes for older learners
- Support for dyslexia, ASD, ADHD
- Open Dyslexia font option
- Minimal distractions
- Optional white noise
- Unlimited user profiles

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jump | Free | one-time |
| The Gas Men 2 | Free | one-time |
| “Bad” | Free | one-time |
| The Dog Man | Free | one-time |
| Kid Mom | Free | one-time |
| The Gas Men: The Test | Free | one-time |
| Life Is A Joke | Free | one-time |
| The Plan | Free | one-time |
| Lit Sick | Free | one-time |
| Rex | Free | one-time |
| Mad As Hell | Free | one-time |
| The Cat | Free | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (8 of 8)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/teen-and-adult-phonics-library/id1189152100/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Issues

*2026-04-27*

I got this app to help someone out. I had to review it first, and I am glad I did. The first sample has grammatical/linguistic errors. I give this 3 stars. Please edit all stories on this app and republish them.

### 5/5 — 关于英语故事的app

*2025-12-01*

赞，Mark一下

### 5/5 — Long overdue

*2020-10-12*

What a great app for teachers & parents of older struggling readers. I can carry every decidable title on my iPad and add another whenever a new skill set comes up in my instructional rotation.

### 5/5 — Exceptional

*2020-05-22, version 2.4*

Older struggling students and adults have complex needs and secondary problems such as learned helplessness. TAP books in their app format take away the negative association with reading and present books on a platform that engages the older reader. 

At any age struggling readers can exhibit deficiencies in phonological processing and reading speed and accuracy issues at the word level. Tap books allow students and adults to practise decoding in age appropriate stories improving their phonological processing, fluency, accuracy, vocabulary and reading comprehension. 

There is such a gap in what is available for struggling readers. It is never too late to learn to read! Very reasonably priced too!

### 1/5 — Charged for sample

*2019-03-07, version 2.2.2*

My account was charged to download sample books. 🙁

### 5/5 — Stories teens want to and enjoy reading

*2018-11-02*

I use these ebooks with my year 7 and year 9 students who have hit a plateau with there reading due to lack of phonic teaching.

They enjoy reading these stories and always tell me the reading is their favourite part of our sessions. These are the only decodable books I have found which are aimed at teens and adults. They are super value for money, engaging and at a level which is just right for confidence building.
Thank you for filling the void which needed filling.

### 5/5 — Great

*2018-09-26*

This is exactly what I have been looking for! I  needed age appropriate material for my older kids who are struggling to read- this is perfect!!Thank you so much!

**Developer response:** That's wonderful.  Thanks for taking the time to write this.  I encourages us to keep growing the collection.  On that note, you can look forward to more stories coming to TAP this fall!

### 5/5 — Great app for adults who struggle with reading!

*2018-04-24*

A few weeks ago my young adult grandson, who has cognitive impairments, came to live with us. Reading has always been a struggle for him, but he wants to improve. We discovered that he reads on a kindergarten level and has low compression. We wanted to help him but didn’t want to humiliate him with childish apps or children’s books. We found this app and it has been amazing! Even though he struggles with even a phonics level 2, the words are not beyond his ability to sound the out. The stories are mature and meaningful to him. My only concern is that there are only five novels and we will be through them in about 6 weeks. I’m not sure what we will do then as this has been highly effective for him. I am just hoping for more titles by then.

**Developer response:** Thank-you for taking the time to share this with us.  You **are** an Awesome Great Grandma to have found TAP for your grandson and we're so glad you did.  New titles are indeed in the works.  With your encouragement, hopefully they'll be ready even sooner.  Best regards to you and your grandson!  Greg and Victoria

## Frequently asked questions about Teen & Adult Phonics Library

### What is the Teen & Adult Phonics Library?

The Teen & Adult Phonics Library is a collection of digital novels designed with decodable texts and engaging themes to help teenagers and adults, especially those with learning differences like dyslexia, improve their reading skills.

### How does the Teen & Adult Phonics Library support dyslexic learners?

It offers features like the Open Dyslexia font, minimal on-page distractions, optional white noise, and customizable navigation to create a supportive reading environment for learners with dyslexia, ASD, and ADHD.

### Can I try the books before buying?

Yes, the app includes a sample of every novel, along with narrated introductions, allowing users to gauge student interest before purchasing the full text.

### How is the full text accessed?

Full access to the text of each story is available as an in-app purchase. Alternatively, the TAP Library School Edition offers the entire collection at a discounted price.

### What phonics principles does the library follow?

The texts are written using systematic and cumulative phonics, focusing on CVC, CCVC, CCVCC, and CV syllable types, along with specific consonant digraphs and ending sounds. "Weird words" are used minimally.

### Does the Teen & Adult Phonics Library have ads?

No, the Teen & Adult Phonics Library does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download with optional in-app purchases for full content access.

### What devices is the Teen & Adult Phonics Library available on?

The Teen & Adult Phonics Library is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod, supporting a range of Apple mobile devices.

### How often is the Teen & Adult Phonics Library updated?

The app was last updated on March 10, 2022, with the latest version being 2.6. Further updates will be released to introduce new content and features.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.6 — 2022-03-10

This update adds a level 2 story: "Long CO-VID". It also adds two level 3 stories: "Jump" and "Time".

### 2.5 — 2021-01-02

We've added two new level 1 stories: "The Cat" and "Mad As Hell". #LiteracyForAll

### 2.4 — 2020-05-17

We've added two new level 1 decodable novels to the TAP Library collection: "Rex" and "Lit Sick".

### 2.3 — 2019-06-10

Gas Men 2 and 3 are here! Thank-you for your patience.

### 2.2.2 — 2019-01-28

• Slightly fewer sample pages for each story: if you are using our decodables with students—and we really hope you *are*—you'll want to buy the full story.  It supports development of more decodable texts for older beginners...and let's you find out how the story ends!
• Minor changes to the fully-anonymized usage information we collect to give us a better idea of how our texts are being examined and used

Let us know what you're looking for in decodable texts by emailing the TAP Team at tap@goojaji.com. We'd love to hear from you.

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## More apps by Gregory McDonald

- [Planet Lettra](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planet-lettra/id992464990)
- [WordWhile](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wordwhile/id1250527022)
- [Funny Phonemes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/funny-phonemes/id1367922163)
- [TAP Library School Edition](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tap-library-school-edition/id1407324366)

All apps by Gregory McDonald: https://appshunter.io/developer/992464989

## Related topics

[phonics dyslexia](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/phonics-dyslexia) · [pons school library](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pons-school-library) · [phonics for adults](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/phonics-for-adults) · [adult literacy](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/adult-literacy)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*