DearlyStory
English

Your voice,
your stories.

Too tired to read the same book for the 100th time? Record 15 seconds, and DearlyStory writes your child a new bedtime story and reads it in your voice.

Download free on the App Store

Creating a voice is free Writing a story is free 150 story coins to start iPhone & iPad

  1. Create a voice: read a short passage aloud for about 15 seconds

    1Record 15 secondsRead a short passage. Your voice is ready.

  2. New story: the idea “A little dragon who sneezes glitter”, for a child, made into a picture book

    2Write one lineAI writes a new story in seconds.

  3. A painted picture book page, with the sentence being read highlighted below it

    3Press playA picture book, read in your voice.

Listen

Listen first.
Record later.

This sample uses Warm, one of the four built-in voices. Once you record, every story is read in your own voice.

Listen · about 40 seconds

The Little Fox’s Lamp

Warm · Female, one of the four built-in voices

At the edge of the forest lived a little fox. Every night, he lit a small lamp and set it on his windowsill. One evening, a lost firefly drifted by and asked, "Why do you light your lamp every night?" The little fox smiled. "So that friends who come home late can always find their way." That night, the firefly brought all of his friends. They gathered around the windowsill, blinking softly, like a sky full of stars that had come down to rest. The little fox leaned by the window, listened to the wind brushing through the trees, and slowly fell asleep.
0:00 / 0:42

Your own voice is made from your recording.

Audio in普通话 · English · Español · Français · 日本語 · 한국어Six languages, four built-in voices

Your voice

Record 15 seconds,
hear every story in your voice.

Read a short passage aloud, or import a recording, and DearlyStory makes a voice that sounds like you. The stories you write, the books it paints and the books you bring in can all be read in it, in six languages. Creating a voice is free.

Only your own voice, or one you have permission to use. Delete it any time.

Create a voice: read a passage aloud for 15 to 20 seconds, or import a recording instead

Built-in voices

Not ready to record?
Start with these.

Audio in Mandarin, English, Spanish, French, Japanese and Korean. Tap a voice to hear it.

The app is in: English · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · Español · Français · 日本語 · 한국어

Stories

Out of ideas?
One sentence is enough.

Type one line, like a little dragon who sneezes glitter, or take one of the fresh ideas that arrive every day. Pick 3, 5 or 8 minutes and the language. AI writes a new story in seconds, and you can change any line.

  • Fantasy
  • Fairy tale
  • Adventure
  • Animals
  • Funny
  • Myths & legends
  • Space
  • Sci-fi
  • Cyberpunk
  • Poetry
  • Mystery
  • Sleep story
  • Heartwarming
  • Or write your own

Writing is free. You can edit the text or rewrite it up to 3 times, then choose a voice to read it.

New story: an idea, story type, who is listening, story only, picture book or comic, length and language

Picture books · for children

A picture book
that reads itself.

Turn any story into a picture book for children: 6, 8 or 12 pages, in one of four styles. The pages are painted one by one, so you can leave and get a notification when it’s ready. Then it reads in your voice and turns its own pages.

  • 6, 8 or 12 pages
  • Four styles
  • Redraw a page with a note
  • Pause and finish later
  • Export as PDF
A page of a comic made in DearlyStory

For grown-up listeners, a story can also become a comic of 12, 20 or 30 pages.

  • A rabbit and a turtle gardening, painted in the Hand-painted film style
    Hand-painted film
  • A rabbit and a turtle gardening, painted in the Simple and flat style
    Simple and flat
  • A rabbit and a turtle gardening, painted in the Bright and detailed style
    Bright and detailed
  • A rabbit and a turtle gardening, painted in the Crayon drawing style
    Crayon drawing

Series

Keep the heroes,
tell the next adventure.

Start a series from any story and keep up to three main characters. Every new episode is its own story, with the same characters, drawn the same way, in the same style. All the episodes stay together.

To begin: touch and hold a story, then tap “Start a series with this story”.

Three episodes of one picture book series, one row each: the same brown bear in a red scarf and the same blue bird, first in a forest, then in a cave, then on a beach, all in the same style
One series, three episodes: the same bear and bluebird in every one.
The player: the sentence being read is highlighted, with sleep timer, speed and playlist buttons below it

At bedtime

Lock the screen.
Just listen.

  • AirPlay and lock screen

    Send it to a speaker with AirPlay, and control it from the lock screen.

  • Sleep timer

    Stop after a set number of minutes, or at the end of the story.

  • Offline

    Stories saved on your phone play without a connection.

  • Playlist

    Line up a few stories and play them in order.

  • Speed

    From 0.8× to 1.25×, and it never uses story coins.

  • Follow along

    The sentence being read is highlighted, so small eyes can follow the words.

Your books

The books on your shelf,
read in your voice.

Photograph a paper picture book, or import a PDF or an EPUB, and hear it in your voice. Text is recognized on your phone, and long books are split into parts of up to 8 minutes without cutting a poem or a chapter in half.

  • Scan pages
  • Photos
  • PDF
  • EPUB
  • Text
The bookshelf, with a Picture books tab and a Books tab

What it costs

Free to start,
then pay in story coins.

Free
Creating a voice, writing a story, listening again and changing the speed.
Story coins
Narrating a story takes 10. A picture book takes 140 to 280, a comic 360 to 900. On a story’s page, each button shows its cost in story coins before you tap.
To start
New accounts get 150 story coins, enough for a 6-page picture book read aloud.
After that
Packs of story coins that never expire, or a monthly plan of 210 or 500 (unused monthly coins don’t carry over). Prices are shown in the app, in your currency.

FAQ

A few things
you might be wondering.

Can I download DearlyStory now?

Yes. DearlyStory is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, everywhere except mainland China.

Will it really sound like me?

The recording matters most. Record in a quiet room, hold the phone about 20 cm from your mouth, and speak at a natural pace. A voice sounds most like you in the language it was recorded in.

Can I create someone else’s voice?

Only with their permission, or if you are otherwise legally allowed to use the recording. You agree to this before creating your first voice. A grandparent or another adult in the family can record a voice too, with their permission. If someone used your voice without permission, report it in the app or email [email protected]. We review reports within 24 hours.

Is DearlyStory for children?

Accounts are for adults aged 18 or older. You can make stories and picture books for children to enjoy, with you.

Is this more screen time at bedtime?

Only if you want it to be. Lock the screen and the story keeps playing, and the sleep timer in the player stops it for you. When you want to look at the pictures together, the picture book turns its own pages.

What are story coins?

They pay for narration and for painting. Narrating a story, up to 8 minutes of audio, takes 10; a picture book takes 140 to 280 and a comic 360 to 900, and on a story’s page the button shows the number before you tap. Writing a story and creating a voice are free, listening again is free, and changing the speed never uses story coins. Pages that can’t be painted and narrations that don’t finish give their story coins back, and every one is listed in Me > Story coin history.

How do I make a picture book or a comic?

On a story’s page, tap “Make a picture book” or “Make a comic” and pick a style, or choose one when you write the story. The pages are painted one by one: you can leave and, if notifications are on, we’ll tell you when it’s ready, or pause and continue later. The illustration services may refuse to draw characters from existing works or real people, so give your story characters of its own. Books are kept for three years after you make them.

What is a series?

A series keeps up to three main characters from one story to the next. Touch and hold a story and tap “Start a series with this story”. New episodes are their own stories with the same characters, drawn in the style of the first book, and all the episodes stay together.

Does it work offline?

Stories saved on your phone play offline. Creating a voice, writing a story and making new audio need a connection.

Tonight’s story,
in your voice.

Record 15 seconds tonight. Creating a voice and writing a story are free.

Download free on the App Store

On a computer? Scan with your iPhone camera to open the App Store.