“The joy of reading a physical book with a child is universal,” said Mike Newman, President of stkr.it, the Ann Arbor-based company that developed the product. “StorySticker creates that joy for out-of-town grandparents and traveling parents – anytime, anywhere. Any children’s book can become a personal audio book.”

StorySticker works through a free mobile app or the product website, and a unique coded sticker – purchased at retail booksellers – that attaches to the inside of any children’s book. After the StorySticker is placed in the book, recorded audio activates after the sticker code is scanned or the book is selected from an individual’s app library.

StorySticker recordings are saved for a lifetime, turning the book into a family keepsake. “Reading real, physical books to children is so important to parents and we’ve created a product that keeps the focus on the physical book, not the digital screen,” Newman said, adding that StorySticker could even be used with a Haggadah to add voices to a family Passover.

The stickers can also be attached to heirlooms, scrapbooks, notebooks, quilts and many other items. Objects handed from generation to generation can carry their story told by original owners.

StorySticker will be available at retail booksellers and gift stores across the US and Canada this summer. For a preview, or to speak with the originators, email Charles Newman at Cmnnewman@gmail.com and mention that you learned about StorySticker through The Covenant Foundation.