ReadStory vs PDF + text-to-speech

You have a physical children’s book (or worksheet) and want a child to hear the print read aloud — at home, in class, or in another language.

Side by side

Feature	ReadStory	Scan to PDF + TTS app
Made for picture-book pages	Yes. One page at a time, tap a line to hear it.	No. The file is treated as a document.
OCR from phone photos	Yes. Built into the app and website.	You need a scanner or a separate OCR tool first.
Child can tap a sentence	Yes.	Usually no — TTS reads the whole file.
Share with a class or family	QR code, link, or 8-character project code. Optional passcode.	Email or cloud folder. Recipients need the same PDF app.
Works offline after download	Yes, in the ReadStory app.	Depends on the TTS app.
Translation of the same page	Yes, with AI translation on the web.	You translate in another tool, then re-export.
Price for this job	Free core OCR, TTS, and sharing. 100 AI requests/month when signed in.	Often free to scan; many TTS apps charge a subscription.

Pick ReadStory when

• The book is a picture book, reader, or classroom printout — not a novel.
• You want a child to tap a line and hear it, not listen to a whole PDF.
• You need to share the same book with many children via QR stickers or a link.
• You may want a translation or vocabulary list on the same pages.

Pick a PDF + TTS workflow when

• You already have a clean PDF of a long chapter book and only need listen-through TTS.
• You need a workflow your school already approved (district scanner + a specific TTS vendor).
• You must keep a pixel-perfect facsimile of a copyrighted layout for archival reasons.

Questions

Can I just scan the book to PDF and use iOS Speak Screen?

Yes, that works for a one-off listen. ReadStory is useful when you will reuse the same book, want tap-to-hear per line, or need to share it with other devices without sending a large PDF.

Does ReadStory replace a scanner?

For children’s books and worksheets, phone photos plus OCR are usually enough. A flatbed scanner can still be better for tiny print or damaged pages.

What about copyright?

ReadStory is for educational, personal, and non-commercial sharing. Respect the rights in the book you photograph. Use copyright-safe (text-only) export when you should not redistribute page images.