Reading level 0: what it looks like and what to practise
A Peabody level 0 story has sentences of up to 4 words and 1 to 4 words a screen, too short for a Flesch–Kincaid score. Preschool readers start here. Below: a real sample, the skills practised and free games, all free through the end of 2026.
| Measure | Level 0 |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence | 4 words |
| Average sentence the writer aims at | 2 words |
| Words per screen | 1 to 4 |
| Sentences per screen | 1 to 1 |
| Flesch–Kincaid range | none (sentences are too short for the formula) |
| Most words off the familiar-word list (Dale–Chall) | 4% |
| Children who start here | Preschool |
| Free stories at this level | 10 stories |
Levels were renumbered on 27 October 2026: levels 0, 1 and 2 are new, and level 6 is a new bridge. Levels 0 to 2 are the first books a child can sound out.
What a level 0 story reads like
This is the start of Sit, Tap, Nap, one of Peabody's own stories at level 0. The whole story is free to read, with no account.
I sit. I tap. I nap. I sit. I tap. I nap. I sit. I tap. I nap.
The story teaches 3 words, each with a kid-sized meaning. A few: sit (rest on bottom), tap (hit softly) and nap (a short sleep).
Level 0 is the bottom of the ladder: a child who cannot read yet, with no word knowledge assumed. Its books use eight letters and two little words, with a picture on every page.
What Peabody practises at level 0
At this level the practice brain works on first sounds and rhymes. The skills it holds, in the order it teaches them:
| Skill | What is in it |
|---|---|
| first sounds | 291 picture words across 25 first sounds |
| rhymes | 14 rhyme families in picture words |
A word a child gets right is done for good and is not asked again, so practice moves on rather than looping. The sight-word lists are pre-primer (40), primer (52), first grade (41), second grade (46) and third grade (41). The full phonics scope and sequence is a free guide.
Free games that practise these skills
Every game below asks questions from the same practice brain, as three big boxes to tap, with no typing. They start from a child's grade, not their reading level, so a game's questions fit the grade they pick.
Pet Hatch
Hatch eggs, care for and breed pets, ride them through nine 3D worlds, and battle.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Build World
Build your own world, block by block. Fly, swim, and find the glowing Wonder blocks.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Corner Shop
Run a little shop: sell to the critters, answer at the till, grow a market!
- first sounds
- rhymes
Clank Fling
Fling stones and knock the Clankers off their wobbly forts!
- first sounds
- rhymes
Slide Kart
Race the critters, drift the corners, drive through the right answer!
- first sounds
- rhymes
Glow Trail
Grow the longest glow-worm: eat the glow and steer into the right answer!
- first sounds
- rhymes
Astro Rescue
Jump through space and free the lost bots.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Deep Dig
Read the word on the block to dig deeper.
- first sounds
Last Word
Give the zombies their words back. Survive the night.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Critter Farm
Plant, water and harvest by sounds and numbers.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Temple Escape
Run eight temples on a companion you hatched, and take the arch with the right answer.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Dino Dash
Hatch dinos, ride them through nine lands, chomp wrong eggs.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Choose Your Own Adventure
Pick a story. Every choice changes how it ends.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Cell Break
Dig out of jail: find letters, finish words, win your lunch.
- first sounds
Color Block
Stack the falling blocks in 3D. Clear rows, earn star blocks, travel six worlds.
- first sounds
- rhymes
Invasion
Drop in, loot, build, and be the last one standing. Zombies everywhere!
- first sounds
- rhymes
Clank Attack!
Build a maze of towers. Hold back the Clankers!
- first sounds
- rhymes
| Game | Asks | From | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pet Hatch | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Hatch eggs, care for and breed pets, ride them through nine 3D worlds, and battle. |
| Build World | first sounds, rhymes | K | Build your own world, block by block. Fly, swim, and find the glowing Wonder blocks. |
| Corner Shop | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Run a little shop: sell to the critters, answer at the till, grow a market! |
| Clank Fling | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Fling stones and knock the Clankers off their wobbly forts! |
| Slide Kart | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Race the critters, drift the corners, drive through the right answer! |
| Glow Trail | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Grow the longest glow-worm: eat the glow and steer into the right answer! |
| Astro Rescue | first sounds, rhymes | K | Jump through space and free the lost bots. |
| Deep Dig | first sounds | K | Read the word on the block to dig deeper. |
| Last Word | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Give the zombies their words back. Survive the night. |
| Critter Farm | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Plant, water and harvest by sounds and numbers. |
| Temple Escape | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Run eight temples on a companion you hatched, and take the arch with the right answer. |
| Dino Dash | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Hatch dinos, ride them through nine lands, chomp wrong eggs. |
| Choose Your Own Adventure | first sounds, rhymes | K | Pick a story. Every choice changes how it ends. |
| Cell Break | first sounds | Pre-K | Dig out of jail: find letters, finish words, win your lunch. |
| Color Block | first sounds, rhymes | Pre-K | Stack the falling blocks in 3D. Clear rows, earn star blocks, travel six worlds. |
| Invasion | first sounds, rhymes | 1st | Drop in, loot, build, and be the last one standing. Zombies everywhere! |
| Clank Attack! | first sounds, rhymes | K | Build a maze of towers. Hold back the Clankers! |
The arcade also has two action games with cartoon violence, Sniper and Doomcrawl. We leave them off these lists on purpose; every game is on the games page.
Free stories at level 0
The 10 open stories at level 0 include 0 retold classics. Their themes include pattern, family, friends, daily life, silly and sleep.
All level 0 stories are free to read without an account. Each ends with questions of a few kinds: inference, literal and word-in-context.
Other levels
Level 1 · all levels and grades · the reading levels cheat sheet
Questions parents ask
Which children start at level 0?
Peabody starts a child a little under the grade they say they are in, so the first stories are easy: Preschool readers start at level 0. The level moves up when books run easy.
How is level 0 measured?
From the text, never from the child. The limits are a longest sentence of 4 words, 1 to 4 words a screen, no Flesch–Kincaid score and at most 4% of words off the Dale–Chall list.
Is it free?
Yes, free through the end of 2026, with no sign-up. Peabody is a reading app, not an assessment: it cannot hear a child read, so a teacher is the one to ask about fluency.
Play one now
Checked against how Peabody works on 18 October 2026. Written with help from AI, from Peabody's own code and library. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: if you're worried about your child's learning, talk to their teacher. How Peabody's pages are made.