Teach Your Monster to Read vs Osmo Squiggle Magic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Teach Your Monster to Read
This app offers fun, phonics-based reading games for children aged 3-6. It helps build essential literacy skills through interactive play, allowing children to create their own monster and embark on a reading adventure. Designed by experts, it's a safe and trusted tool for home and school.
- Interactive reading games for ages 3-6
- Improve letter sound recognition
- Learn to read sentences
- Track player progress
- Phonics games designed by experts
- Supports UK phonics programmes
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Welcome to Teach Your Monster to Read, the award-winning app that makes learning to read fun and engaging! Our educational phonics and reading games have helped millions of children build essential literacy skills. Create your own monster and embark on a magical journey through interactive games designed for home and school use. With a safe, trusted, and highly recommended approach, Teach Your Monster to Read offers phonics-based reading games for all levels. Teaching through play is what we do best—download today and start your child’s reading adventure! TEACH YOUR MONSTER TO READ FEATURES INTERACTIVE KIDS READING GAMES • Take your custom-designed monster through educational games that are suitable for ages 3-6. • Improve letter sound recognition with reading games • Explore a world of phonics and educational games that teach your child to read sentences • Easily track their player’s progress to identify areas where their reader may need extra support PHONICS & READING GAMES DESIGNED BY EXPERTS • Designed in collaboration with Roehampton University and leading game designers • Phonics tools and educational games that complement phases 2-5 of UK Government-approved Letters and Sounds and other major systematic synthetic phonics programmes • 3 reading games designed for those in preschool, primary school, kindergarten, and first grade EDUCATIONAL PLAY AT NO ADDITIONAL COST • Teach Your Monster to Read is available on iPad and iPhone • Explore phonics and educational games without in-app purchases, hidden costs, or in-game adverts • Teach Your Monster to Read supports your child through every step of their reading journey HEAR FROM TEACHERS AND PARENTS WHO USE OUR READING GAMES "This game is the absolute best quality phonics game I have come across for educational and fun value." Marie Lewis, Rochdale “My class have reaped loads of benefits from using the programme and the difference in some of their reading skills has been dramatic." Maria Andrews, Foundation Phase Teacher "This is a fabulous game. I'm not kidding when I say that my daughter essentially learned all her letter sounds using First steps, with relatively minimal input from me! Great for parents to practise their letter sounds too." Eleanor Jones PART OF THE USBORNE FOUNDATION CHARITY Teach Your Monster to Read has been created by Teach Monster Games Ltd. which is a subsidiary of The Usborne Foundation. The Usborne Foundation is a charity founded by children’s publisher, Peter Usborne MBE. Harnessing research, design and technology, we create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health. Teach a monster today when you download our educational app! Teach Monster Games Ltd is a subsidiary of The Usborne Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales, charity number 1121957.
Osmo Squiggle Magic
Bring your drawings to life with interactive game pieces. This app fosters creativity, cognitive skills, and pre-drawing abilities through hands-on play. Designed for young children, it offers a fun and engaging learning experience.
- Create with physical sticks and rings
- Watch creations come alive on screen
- Develop cognitive skills
- Foster creativity and pre-drawing skills
- Hands-on learning experience
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Create anything you want using sticks & rings and then watch them come alive! Develop cognitive, creative, social and emotional skills with our game pieces designed for little hands. Foster creativity and pre-drawing skills, through this fun-filled exploration. *Play your favourite Osmo Squiggle Magic on both iPhone and iPad! Use your iPhone with the Osmo Base for iPad and Squiggle Magic Silicone Sticks & Rings pieces - each can be found at playosmo.com. *Requires the Osmo Base for iPad and Silicone Sticks & Rings pieces. Learn more by visiting www.playosmo.com. *Please see our device compatibility list here: https://support.playosmo.com/hc/articles/115010156067 ABOUT OSMO -- 21ST CENTURY PLAY AND LEARNING Osmo uses the screen to create a new healthy, hands-on learning experience that promotes creativity, problem-solving and social interaction. We do this with our reflective artificial intelligence technology.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Osmo Squiggle Magic at Free against Teach Your Monster to Read's $8.99. Teach Your Monster to Read's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (76% vs 41%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Osmo Squiggle Magic is free to download; Teach Your Monster to Read costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Teach Your Monster to Read holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Teach Your Monster to Read has 28K ratings behind it against 195, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Teach Your Monster to Read's written reviews are positive against 41% of Osmo Squiggle Magic's.
Teach Your Monster to Read ships an update every 5 weeks, Osmo Squiggle Magic every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Teach Your Monster to Read | Osmo Squiggle Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (28K ratings) — better | 4.0 (195 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.3% of reviews — better | 41.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 28K — better | 195 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #4 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 578 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Teach Your Monster | Tangible Play |
Customer experience
Teach Your Monster to Read
Osmo Squiggle Magic
Bugs and requests
Teach Your Monster to Read
Reported bugs
2 issues- Loss of progress and collected items
- Compatibility issues on certain devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add American English pronunciation option
- Introduce more practice modes and customization options
- Implement progress tracking and parental controls
- Allow selective review of specific letter sounds/words
Osmo Squiggle Magic
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Teach Your Monster to Read
No in-app purchases
Osmo Squiggle Magic
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Teach Your Monster to Read free?
Is Osmo Squiggle Magic free?
Which has better reviews, Teach Your Monster to Read or Osmo Squiggle Magic?
Do Teach Your Monster to Read or Osmo Squiggle Magic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Teach Your Monster to Read or Osmo Squiggle Magic?
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