For educators
For teachers and homeschool families
Four picture books, free lesson companions, and permission to actually use them in your classroom.
Everything a teacher usually has to email and ask about is on this page instead: what level the books sit at, what you are allowed to photocopy, and how to buy when your school cannot put anything on a card.
At a glance
Levels, up front
| Book | Ages | Read time | CEFR | WIDA | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switching Shoes | 4–8 | 10 min · 4:43 narrated | A1–A2 | 1–4 | ESL, newcomers, empathy units |
| Happiness is Just a Thought Away | 4–8 | 10 min | A1–A2 | 1–4 | SEL, feelings vocabulary |
| Fruit Super Powers Unite! | 4–8 | 20 min per story | A1–A2 | 1–3 | Health units, food vocabulary, early finishers |
| COLORS | 4–8 | 8 min | A1–A2 | 1–4 | Homeschool and faith-based settings — see note |
CEFR and WIDA bands here are our own estimates, made by reading the books against the descriptors. They are a starting point for placing a title, not an official leveling, and no outside body has assessed these books.
A note on COLORS
COLORS is a faith-framed book — its refrain is that God gave us all our different colors, and it makes its argument about difference on those terms throughout. That is deliberate, and it means the book is a natural fit for homeschool, Sunday school and faith-based co-ops, and a poor fit for a public-school classroom. We would rather tell you that here than have you find out on page four.
Free
Free lesson companions
Every book gets one: a printable teaching pack with pre-teaching vocabulary, comprehension stops keyed to the actual text, a listening lesson, grammar focus and a photocopiable student page. No email required, no signup — download it and use it.
- Switching Shoes — ESL & Classroom Companion6 pages · PDFDownload
- More companions are being written, one per book.
These are free to print, photocopy and share with colleagues at your school.
Also on Teachers Pay Teachers
We keep a small store of printable worksheet packs on TpT — currently telling-time practice built into coloring pages for K–3, including a free sample. If TpT is where your school already looks for resources, they are there.
Our TpT storeLicensing
Can I copy it for my class?
The standard book download is a single-family license — one household, one copy. If you are teaching from it, you need one of these instead. Same files, plus a license certificate with your name or your school's on it.
Single classroom
One teacher, unlimited copies for your own students, one school year
$25
Grade level / department
Up to 6 teachers at one campus
$75
Whole school
One campus, all staff, unlimited, perpetual
$200
To buy one, email us with the license you want and which books it is for, and we will send an invoice or a card link and the certificate. Not sure which one you need? Ask — we will tell you the smaller one if the smaller one covers you.
play@umedia.funPaying
Your school can't use a card?
Neither can most of them. Two ways round it:
Invoice or purchase order
Email us with the license or the titles you want and your school's billing details, and we will send an invoice your finance office can process. W-9 available on request.
Request an invoiceCard
Every book, bundle and printable on this site can be bought outright with a card, and the download is instant. Print editions are available the same way.
Go to the store
No charge
Also free on this site
Four browser games
No downloads, no accounts, no ads inside the games. They run on a school Chromebook, and the 3D library is self-hosted, so they work behind filters that block outside content delivery networks.
The arcadeBook previews
Six to eight pages of every book, free to download and project on a classroom screen before you decide whether the book is right for your group.
The booksArticles for grown-ups
Read-aloud technique, the silent period, idioms, choosing a picture book for a child learning English, and what the research actually says about children and AI.
The reading room