Nooksy is a mobile application developed in South Africa that enables distant families to easily read meaningful children’s books to young children while enhancing family bonds and forging priceless, magical memories.
Yon Kahlon invented and developed Nooksy out of a desire to connect with distant family members’ children through storytelling, wherever they may be.
He graduated from the University of Bath with a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. After which, he joined iKubu, a consultancy software and electronics company with a focus on computer vision, in Stellenbosch. Kahlon developed this app that enables distant relatives to easily read to young children from anywhere in the world by fusing his love of technology with his love of family.
Nooksy enables real-time touch screen elements to produce an interactive storytelling experience.
Once users are both in the virtual reading room, they can choose their favourite book and enjoy reading and interacting. The parents or family members can ask their child to join. Parents and grandparents can read books from a carefully picked list on the app.
The world’s first “impact” library, which places a strong emphasis on developing morals, values, and a reading culture, now has more than 50 volumes that address subjects like kindness, being oneself, and coping with strong emotions.
The creators of Nooksy made the choice to concentrate on impact books that instruct kids to be sympathetic, kind, and caring.
“To date, we have [had] about 3700 downloads. At the end of 2021, we launched on Android, making the app available on both iOS and Android platforms,” says Kahlon. This cutting-edge reading app only needs one user to download it, making it simple for family members who might not be as tech-savvy to connect to the platform.
A list of some of Kahlon’s favourite books in Nooksy’s world-first impact library include:
- “Yoga at the Zoo” by Teresa Anne Power, founder of Kids Yoga Day. This book teaches simple yoga poses and how to find stillness in scary situations.
- “I Can Be Kind” by Heather Lester. This book is about how to make the world better through acts of kindness.
- “The Lonely Mailman” by Susanna Isern. This book is all about expressing gratitude and why it’s important.
- “A Very, Very Noisy Tractor” by Mar Pavon. This teaches kids how to be themselves and to ignore the pressure to stick to stereotypes.
- “Philippa and the Homeless Bumblebee” by David Greaves. This book teaches children about the importance of bees and how we can help them thrive.
Kahlon adds, “Our books are categorized into themes like kindness, self-awareness, being brave, dealing with big emotions, and much more, making it easy for the adult to choose a suitable topic.”
The Nooksy team carefully curates the books that are available on Nooksy. “Our goal is that our customers love every book they read, and for that to happen, it must work on a few levels.”
“For starters, it needs to be fun and entertaining – you want both adults and children engaged. Next, you want interesting messages and themes – this is the catalyst for discussions with kids, where they can learn and grow. This is when the magic really happens! The (grand)parent can even take storytime to the next level and have meaningful interactions with the child,” added Kahlon.
Taking it a step further, within the app is the new feature of “connection questions”.
Katie Modrau, an ECD specialist who studied a BSc Occupational therapy at UCT, said: “At given points in the stories, there are prompts for the reader guiding them to ask questions and get curious.
“These prompts either ask questions about the story or about the child themselves. This simple act of curiosity not only fosters connection but also builds towards specific cognitive and social skills, such as working memory, speech development, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and socio-emotional development.”
Modrau, who worked very closely with Nooksy’s developers, says, “The reality is it is never too early to start reading with your little ones, even infants love hearing their parents’ voices and the sounds and rhythms of the words as they are read.
“Research has shown that no matter the age, reading helps the child to get to know sounds, learn language rules, widen their vocabulary and with all the vital building blocks of literacy. Reading can fuel your child’s curiosity and spark their imagination and even introduce and model social skills.”
Renier Kriel is a Strategy and Product Manager at Nooksy with more than 10 years of leadership and management experience in the digital-services space and experience in how start-ups and corporates unlock value in existing or new digital products.
“The advancements in technology, particularly processing power and connectivity, as well as adoption of devices, enable a host of new opportunities. Successful apps utilise these advances and adoption to fulfil a specific function within our daily lives in a more effective and meaningful way,” says Kriel.
“In the case of Nooksy, doing video calls with family far away has become something families do weekly, if not daily, yet when engaging little ones, it’s hard to keep a meaningful conversation going. So, the need to connect exists, yet it’s hard to do it with existing tools and technology. Nooksy combines video call and a meaningful activity, reading a book together, to create connections and stimulate healthy dialogue,” he added.
“At Nooksy, we value family; the whole app is geared towards allowing families to stay connected through reading no matter where they are”, says Kahlon. Strong and trusted relationships for children are also key to their development. If the app is creating space for these relationships to deepen and grow, the benefits are far beyond just “school and reading,” but emotional intelligence and resilience too.
