Do the reading level and the characters hold up? Five checks you can do yourself

Check 1: read the word page

Make a Kid Reads story (how), choosing the level and the lesson your child has reached. The story opens with a Words to look for page: the story’s words grouped by sound, then its heart words. Skim it against the lesson. Every word should use a pattern taught by then.

Check 2: read the hardest page

Read the page with the longest words aloud. At Level 1 you should find short vowel words and a few sight words; at Level 4, vowel teams and r-controlled vowels. Character names are always allowed, so a child can read a story about themselves. If a word is too hard, tell us at support@inkstak.ai, and edit it yourself with Select to Refine.

Check 3: look at every picture

Page through a story and look at the main character’s face, colors and outfit on each picture. They should be the same on every page, whatever the character is doing.

Check 4: make a second story

Make another story with the same saved character, in a different style or genre if you like. The character should still be recognisably the same one. That is what lets a child follow them from one book to the next.

Check 5: edit the character

Open the character’s card and change something, such as an outfit or a held item. New pictures follow the change. Existing books keep the character as they were made, so changing a character never alters a book you have already saved.

What to know before you rely on it

• InkStak is a story maker, not a phonics curriculum. It does not teach lessons or track progress.
• A grown-up should read a story before a child reads it alone, the first few times. Edit anything that’s off.
• Pictures are made by AI and are not perfect: hands and small details sometimes need a redraw, which every plan allows.
• Reading-level alignment follows the published UFLI Foundations scope and sequence. InkStak is not affiliated with or endorsed by UFLI or the University of Florida.