English Reading for Beginners
Graded English storybooks for children whose home language isn't English — written in English, pitched to a reading level, and delivered with the vocabulary list and classroom sheet a teacher actually needs.
Most tools translate. Translation is not teaching.
A story in the child's home language is a comfort read. It is not English practice.
Translation keeps the difficulty
Translating a story into Spanish changes the language, not the level. A child who cannot read that sentence in English still cannot read it in Spanish — they simply cannot read it at all.
ELL keeps the language and lowers the level
The story stays in English, so it is practice. Vocabulary and sentence length are matched to a GRL level, so the child can actually finish a book and feel like a reader.
SproutTales does the second one.
How it works
Four steps from idea to a teaching pack.
Pick a reading level
Choose GRL A–E. Each level has its own core vocabulary list and sentence-length cap.
Turn on English learner mode
The story stays in English. If you tell us the home language, we keep it out of the book entirely.
Write and illustrate
The outline is written at the level you picked, then every page is illustrated with the same character on-model.
Export the teaching pack
Vocabulary list with a pre-teach list, a classroom worksheet with an answer key, and a GRL score report.
What makes it work for a beginner
English only, by design
The home language is used solely to keep it out of the text. Nothing is translated, nothing is glossed in parentheses — the child reads real English.
High-frequency teaching vocabulary
The text reuses the same core words across pages, so your learner meets them again and again instead of learning a new word on every page.
Every noun is on the page
Each concrete noun in the text is also drawn in the illustration, so the picture carries the meaning the sentence does not.
No idioms, no phrasal verbs
Sentences are short, in a consistent order, and free of figurative language that a beginner cannot decode from context.
A pre-teach list per book
Export the words that are above the level and repeat through the book. Teach those first, then hand over the story.
Classroom-ready sheets
Every book exports a fill-in-the-blank worksheet with a teacher answer key, plus a scored GRL report you can show a parent.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ELL reader?
An ELL reader is a book written in English for a child who is learning English as an additional language. The text is pitched to a reading level rather than to an age, so the child can decode it, finish it, and build confidence.
How is this different from translating my child’s book?
Translation changes the language while leaving the sentence length and vocabulary difficulty untouched. ELL mode keeps the book in English and lowers the difficulty to a specific GRL level, so the child is reading English the whole time.
Does the book contain any of my child’s home language?
No. In English learner mode the text is English only. The home language you select is used solely to keep that language out of the story — no glosses, no translations in parentheses.
Which GRL level should I start with?
Level A for a child who knows only a handful of words, B for early readers, C for a typical first-grade learner, and D or E once sentences of 8–13 words are comfortable. If a book comes back with too many above-level words, drop one level and regenerate.
Can I use these in a classroom?
Yes. The Teacher plan exports a per-book vocabulary list, a classroom worksheet with a teacher answer key, a GRL score report, and shareable student progress reports.
Will my child understand the pictures without help?
That is the point of the illustration rule: every concrete noun in the text is drawn on the same page, so the picture explains what the sentence cannot.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan creates one 8-page book a month with a watermarked preview PDF. Watermark-free export and classroom materials start on Creator at $29/month; the Teacher plan is $99/month for 40 books.
Write the first graded reader tonight
One idea in, a leveled English storybook plus its teaching pack out.