“My child loved the concept of getting a box of books and reading out loud. However, the app’s (or Ello the elephant) ability to identify mistakes she makes or whether or not she’s struggling is not very advanced. I’d love for the app yo realize she’s reading too slow, pausing etc and ask if she needs help. Also, it doesn’t quite catch things when you misread. So you may mispronounce a word and it won’t necessarily catch it which I wish it would since that would really help in improving reading skills. Also, not quite sure how often the reading level will be changed but they are really short (short phrase per page and maybe 10 pages) so it’s not a ton of reading and my daughter flew right through them since the text was very repetitive in nature.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“At first, I was having difficulty getting my child to read the books and use the app. Then one day she decided to read on her own and she really enjoyed the experience. She’s excited about the prize coming in the next box. Overall, it’s been a good experience for us both.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“my son enjoy it very well he loves the book and app”

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Posted 1 year ago

“On days when it’s hard to sit down and practice reading with my children , I’m extra grateful for Ello . Each month we receive a new box with 5 books to practice reading with . A virtual copy of Each book automatically appears in our companion app where Ello the Elephant listens to my child read and helps them sound out words they have not learned yet . Ello provides positive feed back and encouragement motivating my child . At the end of the month you simply put the books back inside the Ello box and ship them back with the prepaid shipping label which is provided. If there are any books your child loves and wants to keep you only pay an additional $5 for each one keeping the physical book & virtual copy in your Ello library where you can read it with Ello over and over again. After several months of using Ello , we haven’t received a book that my kids dislike so far making each new box exciting to receive. Changing reading levels is also extremely simple , as you may communicate with Ello via text or email and Coustomer Service is always readily available.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I am so impressed with this company. My 6 year old son has been struggling with stamina to read. Getting him to read for even 5 minutes was like pulling teeth. With Ello, he can’t wait to read and even asks me if he can “do Ello”. He is so excited to earn points so that he can earn the monthly prize, getting a toy as a reward is a huge motivator for him. The only downside is that the app doesn’t correct the child when they misread a word, so my child will misread several words and the app doesn’t pick it up. It would be great if it picked up the word that was read wrong and then showed the child how to read it phonetically. Also, not sure if I have t found this feature yet but I would love to see the stats of my child’s progress and reading on a parent portal. I’m a school psychologist and I’m interested in seeing how their fluency progresses.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thank you so much, Julie! We really appreciate your glowing review and your fantastic suggestions. When it comes to the misreading of words, speech recognition (as you might know from Alexa or Siri) isn't perfect, especially when it comes to children's voices. We walk a delicate balance between not wanting to be SO strict that a slight accent or difference in pronunciation results in Ello getting stuck or detecting an error, and also not wanting to be so lenient that it lets kids through with a ton of mistakes or doesn't correct a mistake. Kids are particularly sensitive to the first --no one likes to be told they are "wrong" when they aren't-- so we lean a bit more lenient. The bottom line is this: we think about the experience holistically. Ello is motivating support that will correct them on errors (although not all errors, by design), is always there to help if a child proactively asks for it, and motivates them to keep going! Thanks as well for the suggestion about tracking reading progress in the parent portal. We know that's high on the wishlist for most Ello parents, and we're working on making it a reality.

Posted 1 year ago

“I would buy this 1,000 times over. My son is in 3rd grade and struggles with reading. We have tried sooo many different things and this has kept his interest and he asks to read a new book.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“So far! My 8 year daughter is trying her best and is rushing home to do Ello. This has been the best purchase I have made to help better her reading and writing. Thank you Ello this is perfect to help a child progress mentally”

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Posted 1 year ago

“We signed up for Ello when I was concerned with my 1st grader's lack of interest in reading and our nightly struggles to get him to read! Within the first 15 minutes of using the app, I knew we had made the right choice; he loved it! Our son cannot get enough of reading with Ello, from the books they choose for him to the support he gets from the app on sounding out words; this program has really clicked for him and jump-started his love of reading. As parents, we could not be more thrilled with his excitement and success. We can't wait for the next box of books! Thank you, Ello!”

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Posted 1 year ago

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