I took my rising third grader out for “reward” ice cream yesterday. She participated in the library’s summer reading challenge and the prize was a free scoop for 10 days of reading. Cookies and cream with M&Ms on top—the kind of bribery we can both get behind. Much to this avid reader’s dismay, she didn’t inherit my voracious appetite for books, but a little ice cream and the right book does wonders to keep her reading during the summer break.

I can say that 100% of those reading challenge books were borrowed from the library, and many were loaned on the Libby app. You already know and love Libby with ebooks and audiobooks for you—and for lots of titles kids love and family-friendly options, too. But have you heard about Sora, the student reading app?

When it’s time to head back to school, Sora from your school library is stocked with books for both pleasure reading and classroom assignments. It’s mission? Get students to read more (ice cream not included, but see below for lots of other great tools to empower young readers!).

If you’re new to Sora, here’s a little more about how to access the student reading app and a few reasons why you should check it out for the upcoming school year.

Sora is free.

This app won’t add a penny to your back-to-school shopping. Sora is 100% free for students to use. Schools or districts that choose to use Sora, pay for it.

You can use is at home.

Educators can use Sora to assign reading to your student that can be completed at school or at home. And just like in the school library, students can check out ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and graphic novels to read on their own during their down time on a phone, tablet, or personal computer.

You don’t need Internet access.

Titles can be downloaded and read offline for students without home internet access or when connectivity is an issue. Once your books are downloaded, you can read or listen to them without Wi-Fi.

You can find books they really want to read.

It’s not just textbooks and assigned reading. You can find books kids can get excited about like fantasy, graphic novels, mystery and thrillers, audiobooks, and page to screen. OK, and maybe also some (ACT/SAT prep) they aren’t so excited about, but still super useful. Every school library is different, so browse yours to see what’s available to check out.

Need a little inspiration? Take the book quiz to get matched with your next book: What are you in the mood to read?

You can meet the needs of unique readers.

Not every reader is alike. All kids should feel empowered and able to access the materials with the right supports and formats. Sora is able to help meet the needs of ESL and special-needs students with powerful tools like audiobooks and read-alongs, dyslexic font, adjustable text, a multilingual interface, and Google Translate.

You can unlock fun achievements.

Parenting 101: Make everything a game. Who can buckle themselves into the car faster? Who can wash their hands first?

Kids love a challenge, and they’ll love the achievements they can earn when reading on Sora. Earn achievements for borrowing a book, renewing a book, marking a book as done, and more.

More achieving = more incentive for reading!

You can personalize it.

Choose your own avatar to get started. Students can also track their reading stats, including books read, total reading time, average time per book/session, reading streaks, and more.

How do I get Sora?

If your school has Sora, you can download and install Sora from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or go to soraapp.com.

Most students use their student ID or school email and password. Some schools provide a setup code. If you’re having trouble, see your school’s media specialist, librarian, or teachers for help.

If your school hasn’t started using Sora yet, share with your principal, librarian, or school board what you learned. Have them go here to learn more. Hopefully, they will offer Sora for your school in the future.

Just like the Libby app, Sora is designed to make reading fun and accessible, but specifically designed to meet the needs of students. Make the 2024-2025 school year the best one yet with easy reading on the Sora app.