Comparison

READING MAGIC 3 vs Reading Train Christmas

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

READING MAGIC 3

This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure for children. It uses interactive activities and science-backed methods to help master words with two or more syllables, building essential literacy skills.

Highlights
  • Science of Reading methodology
  • Focus on multi-syllable words
  • Blending and segmenting skills
  • Phonemic awareness development
  • Three engaging learning modes
  • Interactive reading games
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Unlock the Magic of Reading with READING MAGIC 3! Transform your child into a confident reader with READING MAGIC 3! This app makes learning to read an exciting adventure through interactive activities focused on short vowel words containing multiple syllables. Meticulously designed to provide an advanced boost to your child’s phonemic awareness, this app combines three foundational pillars of literacy science into one powerful, interactive ecosystem: Blending (Listening), Segmenting (Speaking), and Decoding (Reading). Grounded firmly in Science of Reading principles and utilizing University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) guidelines, READING MAGIC provides specific, precise training with extensive repetitions to help young brains bridge the gap between spoken sound units and complete words. IDEAL FOR BOTH BEGINNING PRE-READERS AND STRUGGLING READERS For Beginning Pre-Readers: A stress-free launchpad. By practicing words through pure sound sequences first, your child masters the internal mechanics of reading without cognitive overload. This keeps them from being frustrated by trying to learn separate, difficult skills at the same time. For Struggling or Remedial Readers: If your child's reading is hesitant or choppy, or if they guess at words, this app provides the targeted intervention recommended by modern reading science to help young brains bridge the gap. THREE CRITICAL SKILL-BUILDING PILLARS While many phonics programs completely overlook the auditory mechanics of reading, our program systematically guides your child through the complete progression of decoding: Skill 1: Blending (Listening): Interactive listening activities train your child’s neural processing ability to hear isolated sounds in words and join them together mentally. This builds the vital auditory runway required for future fluency. Skill 2: Segmenting (Speaking): True spelling and reading independence require the ability to pull spoken words apart into their individual sound units. These exercises build explicit awareness of the acoustic structure of language. Skill 3: Decoding (Reading): The ultimate bridge to literacy. Your child applies their mastery of blending and segmenting directly to text, smoothly moving from spoken sounds to visual words. STRUCTURAL SPACING & INSTRUCTION (Science-Backed Layout) Our app builds the actual findings of reading science directly into the user interface for maximum visual clarity: Anti-Crowding Design: Peer-reviewed research, including Marinus et al. (2016) and Wery & Diliberto (2017), demonstrates that generous letter spacing is critical for early decoding. By placing each letter on its own isolated card with distinct physical gaps, our layout eliminates visual crowding, allowing your child to isolate each sound unit cleanly. True Comprehension: The app strictly discourages picture guessing, forcing children to rely purely on their decoding skills to foster true comprehension and build lasting confidence. INDEPENDENT LEARNING & AESTHETIC SIMPLICITY Distraction-Free: Our minimalist design eliminates overstimulating audio-visual clutter, excessive sound effects, and animations to keep your child entirely focused on the mechanics of reading. Stress-Free Growth: Built-in natural feedback loops offer gentle corrections, nurturing self-discovery and independent learning at your child's own pace. EXPERT RESEARCH BACKING "Before a child can read fluently with their eyes, they must be able to blend fluently with their ears. Weakness in auditory blending is one of the strongest early predictors of later reading failure." — Dr. Joseph Torgesen, Florida State University. "Teaching students to blend and segment benefited their reading much more than did a multiple-skills approach... and teaching phonemic awareness with letters created effect sizes almost twice as large as teaching children without letters." — The National Reading Panel (NRP) Meta-Analysis

About

Reading Train Christmas

This app offers interactive Christmas-themed books, songs, and games designed to build foundational reading skills. It features multiple reading levels, professional narration, and a fun train game to reinforce learning. Parents can track progress through detailed reporting tools.

Highlights
  • Interactive Christmas books
  • Multiple reading levels
  • Sing-along Christmas songs
  • Educational train game
  • User recording of books
  • Progress tracking for parents
  • Built-in audio dictionary
Features
Read full description

Listen, read, and record 10 fun Christmas books at 3 easy reading levels: 30 books in all! Sing along with 5 Christmas songbooks and 18 more favorite children's songs. Play the train game; win coins for the Music Store; collect and learn new words in the train yard. "Beautifully designed storybooks and related games that teach foundational reading": Appolicious.com Books, songs and games to build skills, self confidence and a love of reading. Real reading, for fun and information, right from the start. "A dynamic tool to augment any beginning readers program": Teachers With Apps Safe for Kids: The Learning Station is a Proud Member of Moms With Apps Kid tested and teacher approved. We are ad-free and take our users privacy seriously. View our Privacy Policy here: http://www.readingtrain.org * Listen, read and record books at 3 different beginning reading levels to grow as a reader. * Play the train game after every book to learn letters and words * Built-in picture/audio dictionary * 5 Christmas song books PLUS 18 more sing-along songs. * Professional narration- American English. All books can be recorded by users. * Unlimited user accounts * Powerful student reporting tools Books Kids CAN Read. Written by Libby Curran, a People Magazine Teacher of the Year, these engaging little books are field tested in real classrooms to get kids started on the path to reading independence. Books Kids LOVE to Read and Re-read. Children are naturally curious, so encourage them to explore our ABC books to learn new vocabulary and build the foundational knowledge they need to succeed in school. After reading stories they can play the train quiz game, explore the picture/audio dictionary and listen to song books. Give Your Kids the Tools to Succeed. Stuck on a word? Tap and hold to hear every word and access the built in audio dictionary filled with hundreds of words. Play a unique quiz game at the end of every book to extend the learning. The Reading Train Alphabet is packed full of tools to help children succeed, all on their own. Read to Learn- Meet Common Core Standards Read beginning level books with purpose and understanding. Develop the concepts of print: reading left to right and matching written words with spoken words. Learn letter names and sounds, build background knowledge and improve reading comprehension and foundational skills. Quizzes Disguised as Games. Play the train game after finishing every book, but don't tell them it's a quiz! Check progress on the parent's page to see all the books children have read and recorded as well as detailed scores on the quizzes. The Right Team For the Job Created by award winning master teacher and early literacy expert, Libby Curran, The Reading Train is the culmination of 20+ years of teaching experience. Backed by an all-star team of teachers turned iOS developers and a professional children's musician, The Reading Train is serious about making learning fun. Keep in Touch We welcome your feedback, to keep up with all things Reading Train check out: readingtrain.org facebook.com/readingtrain email: support@readingtrain.org We welcome suggestions on future books and curriculum. Contact Libby with suggestions about new content at: libby@readingtrain.org

Screenshots

READING MAGIC 34 screens
Reading Train Christmas4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Reading Train Christmas at none against READING MAGIC 3's 1. Reading Train Christmas also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 89%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.7). READING MAGIC 3's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. READING MAGIC 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Reading Train Christmas asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for READING MAGIC 3 against 5.0 for Reading Train Christmas. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: READING MAGIC 3 has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of READING MAGIC 3's written reviews are positive against 100% of Reading Train Christmas's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

READING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 22 months, Reading Train Christmas every 32 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
READING MAGIC 3 versus Reading Train Christmas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterREADING MAGIC 3Reading Train Christmas
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (15 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 22 months — betterEvery 32 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.711.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size250 MB653 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITYThe Learning Station, LLC

Customer experience

READING MAGIC 3

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

Reading Train Christmas

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

READING MAGIC 3

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$3.99
None

Reading Train Christmas

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is READING MAGIC 3 free?
READING MAGIC 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reading Train Christmas free?
Reading Train Christmas is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, READING MAGIC 3 or Reading Train Christmas?
Reading Train Christmas is rated higher. READING MAGIC 3 averages 4.9 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Reading Train Christmas averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do READING MAGIC 3 or Reading Train Christmas have ads?
Neither READING MAGIC 3 nor Reading Train Christmas shows ads.
Which is updated more often, READING MAGIC 3 or Reading Train Christmas?
READING MAGIC 3 ships an update every 22 months, and Reading Train Christmas every 32 months. Most recently, READING MAGIC 3 was updated on October 29, 2026 and Reading Train Christmas on October 29, 2026.

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