📚 Reading apps and reading coaches · 🎨 Art, music and story makers
KidLit TV
By KidLit TV (founded by Julie Gribble). Visit KidLit TV
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
KidLit TV is a free video site about children's books. Its shows include StoryMakers, a talk show with picture-book authors and illustrators; Read Out Loud, where authors read their own books; Ready Set Draw!, where illustrators teach kids to draw characters; KidLit Radio, a podcast for kids; crafts; and book trailers. Videos are short and used by classrooms, libraries and families. Watching needs no account.
Our take: A pleasant free way to meet authors and draw along; best watched with a grown-up who skips the trailers.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 4 out of 5 | No ads; a Facebook page widget is embedded and there are links out to many social networks. |
|---|---|
| Data: 3 out of 5 | No ad networks; Google Analytics and an embedded Facebook page plugin (which loads Facebook's servers) ran on the first visit. |
| Ease: 4 out of 5 | Big video thumbnails with clear titles (Read Out Loud, StoryMakers) are easy to pick, though a young child must be able to read the titles. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free; no upsell seen. |
What we found
- The first visit contacted 17 third-party hosts on 10 sites and set 5 cookies, all first-party.
- A Facebook page plugin iframe loaded, plus Google Analytics (including its stats.g.doubleclick.net endpoint).
- Links out go to 10 social and partner sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Pinterest.
- The scrolled screen showed read-aloud and author videos with large thumbnails.
From the test: Free, ad-free read-aloud videos; the first visit loads Google Analytics and a Facebook widget.
| Ages it suits | about 3-12 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | No terms page found. The privacy page asks children under 13 to contact the site only through a teacher's, librarian's or parent's email, with permission. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free, no sign-up
- Real authors and illustrators
- Draw-along videos
- Diverse book picks
Watch for
- Book trailers are publisher promotion
- No-cookies claim conflicts with Google scripts on the page
- Links out to social media and contests
- No terms of service
Data and privacy
The privacy page says KidLit TV collects no personal data or location and uses no sharing, tracking or cookies. The home page code we loaded, however, includes Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager scripts. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No study; the maker lists a Carle Honor, an AASL Best Digital Tool listing and a Parents' Choice Gold Award.
In the Big Index
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Where these facts come from
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.