The Wright brothers, read aloud.
Bedtime, but true: picture books about real inventors for kids 3–12, read aloud.
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Free to start. Three reading levels in every book.
Hear a page.
The Wright Brothers: Wilbur and Orville Learn to Fly. Pick a reading level, then press play.
Long ago, in Dayton, Ohio, two brothers had a bicycle shop. Clink, clank! Wilbur and Orville fixed bikes and built them.
Long ago, there were no cars, and homes were lit by oil lamps. In Dayton, Ohio, two brothers named Wilbur and Orville Wright ran a bicycle shop. They fixed bikes, sold bikes, and then built their own.
In 1892, in Dayton, Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright opened a bicycle shop. It was a time of candles and oil lamps, with no cars on the roads yet. The brothers repaired bicycles and sold them, and later they built their own, tightening spokes and fitting chains by the glow of a lamp.
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The shelf
Builders, inventors, scientists and makers. Read the first pages of any book free.
The Wright BrothersWilbur and Orville Learn to FlyBuilders
Palmer LuckeyPalmer Builds a WindowBuilders
Emily Warren RoeblingEmily and the BridgeBuilders
Margaret HamiltonReady for TroubleBuilders
The First SpaceX RocketTry Again, Little Rocket!Frontier
Jensen HuangJensen and the Diner Table ChipMakers of Plenty
Madam C. J. WalkerMadam C. J. Walker: The Washtub to the Big HallMakers of Plenty
Benjamin FranklinBen and the Bucket BrigadeCitizens
George WashingtonGeorge Washington Gives It BackCitizens
Norman BorlaugNorman and the Wheat That Stood TallFrontier
Julian SimonJulian Simon and the BetFrontier
Katalin KarikoThe Message That Would Not Give UpDiscoverers
Jonas SalkCan You Own the Sun?Discoverers
Sam WaltonSam Walton and the Lower PriceMakers of Plenty
Garrett MorganGarrett Morgan Keeps Us SafeBuilders
Patricia BathPatricia Bath and the Light That Helped People SeeDiscoverersHow it works
Pick a hero
The Wright brothers, Margaret Hamilton, Emily Roebling and more, on shelves by what they built.
Read along
A narrator reads each page while the words light up. Or read it yourself.
Quiz and hero card
Answer a few questions and the hero card is yours to keep.
One book, three reading levels
Brothers and sisters can read the same true story. Switch any page, any time.
Ages 3–5
Read to me. Short lines, big sounds.
Ages 6–8
Read together. A few sentences a page.
Ages 9–12
I'll read. The full story, with more facts.
More than a biography shelf.
What kids read about inventors today, side by side.
| Feature | Tumbly Inventors | Biography series | Read-aloud apps | Videos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| True stories of inventors and engineers | ✓ | ✓ | Some | Some |
| Three reading levels in one book | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Read aloud, words light up | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| A source for every fact | ✓ | Some | — | — |
| A quiz and a hero card | ✓ | — | Some | — |
| Make a book about any real hero | ✓ | — | — | — |
Make a book about any real hero.
Kids pick an idea, or a grown-up types a name. Tumbly writes, fact-checks, illustrates and narrates the book in about five minutes.
Every fact comes from a sourced fact sheet, and the story is checked against it.
Questions parents ask
Who are some famous inventors for kids to learn about?
Good first heroes: the Wright brothers, who flew the first airplane with an engine and a pilot in control in 1903; Margaret Hamilton, whose team wrote the Apollo flight software; Emily Warren Roebling, who helped finish the Brooklyn Bridge; and Palmer Luckey, who built a VR headset in his parents' garage. Tumbly Inventors has a true picture book about each.
What are good biographies for kids to read?
The best ones are true, short and written at the child's level. Tumbly Inventors has picture book biographies of the Wright brothers, Margaret Hamilton, Emily Roebling, Jonas Salk and more. Each is written three ways, so a 4-year-old and a 10-year-old can share the same story, and every fact comes from a cited source. See every book.
What age is Tumbly Inventors for?
Kids 3 to 12. Every book has three reading levels you can switch on any page: Read to me (ages 3–5, short lines), Read together (ages 6–8, a few sentences a page) and I'll read (ages 9–12, the full story with more facts). Your child's age picks the starting level.
Does it read the books aloud?
Yes. A narrator reads every page while the words light up, so younger kids follow along and older kids can read on their own. Each book ends with a short quiz, and finishing it wins a collectible hero card. Tumbly Inventors works on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web.
Are the stories true?
Yes. Every book starts from a fact sheet where each fact has a source link. Tumbly uses AI to write the story from that sheet, then checks every page against it and rewrites pages that fail before the book opens. Each ready-made book's page on tumbly.ai lists its sources in a timeline.
Can my kid make a book about their own hero?
Yes. Kids can pick a hero from a list of ideas, like Thomas Edison, Grace Hopper or Gustave Eiffel, or a grown-up can type any real person's name. Tumbly researches, writes, fact-checks, illustrates and narrates the new book in about five minutes. The free plan includes one new book a month.
Who are famous women inventors and engineers for kids?
Tumbly Inventors has true books about Margaret Hamilton, who led the team that wrote the Apollo flight software; Emily Warren Roebling, who helped finish the Brooklyn Bridge; Katalin Karikó, whose mRNA work won a 2023 Nobel Prize; and Madam C. J. Walker, who built a hair-care business. Kids can also make one about Grace Hopper or Hedy Lamarr.
Is Tumbly Inventors free?
Yes, to start. The free plan includes every ready-made book and one new book a month, and the first pages of each book are free to read here. Tumbly Family costs $7.99 a month, or $59.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, for ten new books a month. It's a free app on the App Store and Google Play.
Read one tonight.
Free to start on iPhone, iPad and Android, and in any web browser.
Scan with your iPhone cameraor open it in your browser