An AI story maker for kids with no sign-up: one tap and go

Peabody (peabody.kids) is an AI story maker for kids that needs no sign-up. A child opens the site, taps a book or Make my own story!, and they're in. No email, no password, no name, no age, no parent account. They can read the free library, make up to three AI-written stories a day at their reading level, and practise math. It's free through the end of 2026.

This post explains why Peabody works that way, what that one tap actually creates, and the trade-offs a parent should know about.

Why no sign-up?

Aaron, who built Peabody, put it simply: Peabody is for kids, and it should work right out of the gate. No setup, no login, no code to remember, no parent standing by with an email address.

His bar is this: if a child can type peabody.kids into a browser, they should be able to use it, including a child who can't read yet. Every line Peabody says has a 🔊 button that reads it aloud.

Sign-up forms are where a lot of children's apps lose the child. A five-year-old can't make a password. An eight-year-old will forget the four numbers they picked last week. And a parent who is asked for an email before seeing anything often, reasonably, says "maybe later."

What happens when a child taps

Peabody's front page is the library itself: shelves of free stories sorted by reading level, from Pre-K up. The links are ordinary links, so anyone can look around.

The moment a child taps a book or Make my own story!, Peabody quietly makes them a reader on that browser:

• a random face and a pen name (something like Laser Kraken), which is all Peabody ever calls them;
• no name, no numbers, no email stored for them;
• a sign-in cookie that keeps them signed in on that browser for a year.

Why a tap, rather than nothing at all? Two reasons. Search engines and link previews never tap, so robots don't create readers. And browsers only let a page speak after a tap, so the tap is what lets Peabody talk.

What a child can do without an account

Their stories are private: they never go into the public library. A child can share one with a friend by its number, like peabody.kids/story/1234, once it has passed the safety screens. More on that in sharing a story by number.

The trade-offs, honestly

A reader that lives in a browser cookie has real limits, and it's better to know them up front:

• Clearing cookies, a private window, or another device means a new reader. The old stories don't follow.
• Siblings on one tablet share one reader unless they use separate browsers or profiles.
• There's no grown-up's view of progress for a nameless reader, because there's no grown-up attached.

If those matter to your family, a free grown-up account still exists behind a small link. It adds a grown-ups' corner with each child's words, stories and math, and lets siblings each have their own reader. It's optional, never a wall.

Safety without a parent account

"No sign-up" doesn't mean "no rules." A child using Peabody on their own gets the strictest settings:

• Gentle stories only until 1st grade, and never scarier than "spooky" after that. That rule lives in the database, not just the screen.
• Every idea is screened before a story is written, and every story is screened before it's shown, with a second opinion from a stronger AI model when anything is unclear. Anything still in question is held for a person to review.
• Their ideas are deleted once the story has been screened.
• No chat, no messaging, no comments.

Read the full list in is an AI story generator safe for kids? and no name, no email, no account.

How to start, step by step

1. Open peabody.kids on any phone, tablet or computer. Nothing to install.
2. Tap a book to read it, or tap Make my own story!
3. The first time they make a story, your child taps the sentence they can read comfortably. That sets their level.
4. They tap idea bubbles or type their own, pick a mood, and tap Make it!
5. The first three pages are ready in seconds. The rest is written right after.

That's the whole setup.

Questions parents ask

Do I need to give an email address?

No. Peabody asks for no email, no name, no age and no password to read or make stories. One tap makes a reader on that browser.

How does Peabody remember my child?

With a sign-in cookie on that browser, which lasts a year. Clearing cookies, using a private window or switching devices starts a new reader, and the old stories don't follow.

Is there a limit?

Each child can make up to three new stories a day. Reading the library and math practice are unlimited. Peabody is free through 31 December 2026.

Can my child delete their reader?

Yes. A reader without a name can delete their Peabody in two taps. A reader that's never used is removed automatically.

Can I see what my child has been reading?

A nameless reader keeps its own shelf of the stories they made and finished. For a grown-up's view of words and progress, make a free grown-up account; it's optional.