Good Night Tales™ is a free app—built by parents for parents—designed to make bedtime a soothing, restful experience for children. It features brand-new versions of old classics, delivered as captivating videos.
The story videos are amazing, but it doesn’t stop there. After each story, the app takes us on a relaxing journey around a magical bedroom, filled with delightful treasures. While the camera moves slowly throughout the room, an original score reprises themes from the story along with traditional lullabies—the goal being to help children become relaxed and sleepy. Images are muted to assure that screen light levels remain low.
Finally, the app fades away and allows the screen to turn off.
Stories are between 6–11 minutes, and the lullaby section is about nine minutes. Stories are downloaded to your device, so Internet service is required. However, once they are on your device, internet access is not required, so you can use Good Night Tales any time, anywhere
The first story, “The Helpful Little Engine” is free. Additional stories are available as an in-app purchase.
“Enchanting! A great way to expose young children to quality children’s literature.”
Gwen Cadwallader, K–5 Teacher
“Ingenious!”
Kate Linkchorst, Pre-Kindergarten Educator
“The voice…draws you in and takes you on the ride along with her. She’s like a warm hug.”
John Fornof, International Radio Drama Producer
“This app is amazing! I love that the child does not interact with the tablet.”
Suzanne Keith, Elementary School Principal
“I love the emphasis on quality and low interactivity.”
Rick Rekedal, Former Chief Creative of Global Franchise at DreamWorks Animation
“She loves it! But then she’ll still get to bed, which is the most important thing!”
Jonathan Martinez, Parent
USING THE APP
Rearranging Books:
When the app opens, all currently available books are displayed. Change the order of the books by touching a book for one second, then moving it where you want it.
Selecting a Book:
When you select a book, details are displayed, including story length. A control drawer appears at the bottom with three options:
1. Preview Video: Plays a short preview of the story. This feature requires an Internet connection.
2. Play Story: This starts the story. If a story is not yet available, the Play button is replaced with a Notification button. Use it to be notified when stories become available.
3. Audio-Only Mode Enable/Disable: In audio-only mode, the video will be disabled while the story plays. Instead, a dark image will show on the screen. All other features using the player controls are still available—subtitles, narration, and navigation.
Video Player:
We’ve designed a special video player that doesn’t respond to random touches from little hands, but instead, reacts only to a specific swipe up from the bottom. This feature is not available while playing preview videos.
Video Player Controls:
While playing a story, access the player controls by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Tap anywhere on the screen or swipe down to close the controls. The player controls include five buttons:
1. Jump Backward: Moves backward in the story 15 seconds
2. Subtitles Enable/Disable: Subtitles can be turned on so you can read along with the video.
3. Play/Pause: Starts and stops the video
4. Narration Enable/Disable: The narration can be turned off, leaving the rich music and sound effects to play.
5. Jump Forward: Moves forward in the story 15 seconds
Progress Bar:
When the player controls are active, a bi-color video progress bar appears at the top of the screen. The story section is blue and the lullaby section is purple. You can scrub through both sections by selecting the control knob and sliding left or right. Pulling your finger down while you scrub through will allow you to move more slowly through the video. The video may appear blurry as you scrub. This is normal. Release the control knob to bring things back into focus.