"Oxford Tree, Raz, Magic Tree House lined up on the shelf — half are unread"
It’s not lack of effort. Stopping to look up 3–5 words per page breaks the flow completely.
For ages 7–12 / Parent-guided / 7-day free trial, no card required
Ray The Whale
Help your child finish their first real chapter book — without quitting at the first hard page
Ray remembers the English each learner met, tried and recovered from. Snap a real page, and Ray turns it into cards, a gentle mirror and tomorrow’s right-sized review, so parents can see how the learner is growing.
Remembers each learner’s real input, tries and recoveryExample sentences come from the book, not a dictionary3 minutes tomorrow, matched to the next right step
1Open the page your child is reading tonight
2Snap the whole page — keep reading
3Ray pulls out the words and grabs the example sentence
4A 3-minute review tomorrow — they’ll know them by the next chapter
Reading ladder
From picture books to Harry Potter, one step at a time
As the books get thicker, Ray’s cards get more useful — a single page of dense text is exactly where "snap 10 words at once" wins.
- Step 1 — Picture booksAges 4–7
Picture book
200–500 words · 3–5 new words per page
- The Gruffalo
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear
- Step 2 — Early readersAges 6–9
Early reader
500–1,500 words · 5–10 new words per page
- Frog and Toad
- Elephant & Piggie
- Magic Tree House #1
- Step 3 — Chapter booksAges 8–12
Chapter book
1,500–3,000 words · 10–20 new words per page
- Charlotte’s Web
- Matilda
- Wonder
- Step 4 — Original chapterAges 10+
Original chapter book
3,000+ words · 15–30 new words per page
- Chicken Soup for the Soul
- Harry Potter #1
- Percy Jackson #1
Parent pain points
You bought the whole reading-tree set — they finish maybe one in three.
"I explain a word, and they’ve forgotten it by the next chapter"
Without a review loop, every reading session re-teaches the same vocabulary.
"I want to stick with reading in English, but I can’t keep up the word lists"
Even the most dedicated parent can’t do the daily flashcard-making by hand. This needs to be a tool, not a chore.
See Ray handle one page
Watch Ray handle one page of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Real usage flow — open the page your child is reading tonight, snap the whole page, and within 10 seconds Ray turns it into review cards.
Why is this better than copying out vocabulary by hand?
A real-book reading tool should help the child keep reading — not give them one more chore to do.
Photo intake goes straight into today’s practice
Photo, paste or manual entry — all flow into today’s learning list.
Vocabulary is organised by book
Parents can see each book’s words, examples and next review schedule.
Daily review with Ray
Children see progress, accuracy and a quick wrong-answer rerun.
Ray Family Plus is explained clearly
2 children, 2 parent access points, trial, upgrades and usage are all spelled out clearly.
One parent’s story
"My daughter learned 574 new English words in two months using Ray"
Two months, 96 snaps, 405 unique words
She’s 10. Started with Ray in April; by June she’d snapped 96 pages — chapter books, magazines, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Averaging 6 words per snap; one page hit 44.
261 wrong on the first try
64% — proof Ray is catching what she actually doesn’t know. The spaced-repetition loop made them stick; second pass, she recognises them.
From Chicken Soup to Harry Potter
The thing I’m most proud of: she snaps a page every night. In the last 11 active days, that’s 31 snaps and 302 new words. Next on the nightstand: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Recommended reading
Books we recommend by ladder step
Step 1 — Picture books
Big pictures, few words. A handful of new words per page is enough to build the "I can read English" feeling.
Step 2 — Early readers
Stories grow longer, vocabulary expands. Ray quietly collects the new words from each session into reviewable cards.
Step 3 — Chapter books
Books that are 10+ chapters long. Capturing 10–20 words per page is exactly where the OCR loop pays off — finishing the whole book becomes realistic.
Step 4 — Original chapter books
Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, magazine articles, Chicken Soup — with Ray, kids reach the books they thought were too hard.
Reading-companion flow
Read tonight → snap the page → Ray sorts it → you filter → review tomorrow
A short loop that fits into bedtime, but slowly compounds into the ability to actually finish a real book.
When they hit a tough page, just snap it
No need to stop on every word — capture the whole page and finish the paragraph.
Ray picks out 10+ new words
It grabs the example sentence from the book itself and adds syllables and pronunciation.
Parent filters the cards
"Already knows this," "Too hard, skip for now" — a couple of swipes is enough.
Child reviews for 3 minutes
Spaced repetition decides which cards to show today; you don’t plan a thing.
They meet the same word — and recognise it
Reading gets smoother, and the next page feels possible.
1. Open the page your child is on
2. Snap the whole page (a slight angle is fine)
3. Ray pulls out 10+ new words
4. Example sentences come from the book — review tomorrow in 3 minutes
5. Next chapter, they’ll already know them
Family plan
Try it for 7 days first — then upgrade to Ray Family Plus
Sign up and the 7-day Ray Family Plus experience starts immediately. No payment details up front, no auto-charge. The first family plan includes 2 child profiles and 2 parent access points, so you can test the full loop with a real page from your child’s book.
7-day reading-companion trial
Great for the first time — see whether your child sticks with the rhythm.
Full Ray Family Plus experience with a roomy daily practice cap
30 photo captures so a whole book’s vocabulary fits in
Returns to the free plan automatically; saved data stays
Stay with them through the series
For families who want two children to build separate libraries from book after book.
2 child profiles, so vocabulary, wrong answers and Ray progress stay separate
More monthly capture credits to keep up with reading speed
2 parent access points for capturing words, reviewing and adjusting together
Install Ray
You can start tonight — open the page they’re reading
Pick App Store, Google Play or direct APK download. Ray Family Plus starts with 2 child profiles and 2 parent access points; install from official channels so family learning data stays in the right place.
App Store
Best for iPhone and iPad, installed and updated through Apple.
Open App Store
Now available on App Store. Please use the official Ray The Whale listing.
Google Play
Best for Android devices in Hong Kong, Singapore and regions with Google Play access.
View Google Play
Best for Android families with Google Play access.
Direct APK download
Install the Ray APK from the official Ray website.
Download APK
Before installing, confirm the source is the Ray official website and keep system safety prompts on.
Parent reading
Keep reading: topics parents open first
Parent guides
Use cases
Compare
Hong Kong families
FAQ
What parents ask us most
How dense a page is, how review works, how we judge difficulty — answers up front.
What age is Ray for?
Roughly ages 8+ is the sweet spot — that’s when chapter books begin and "capture 10+ words at once" really pays off. Younger kids (K–Grade 2) also work for picture books: a page of 3–5 new words still fits the same loop.
How should I pick books?
Ray deliberately doesn’t force a reading level — every child paces differently. Start one notch above the book your child finds comfortable: 5–10 new words per page is the sweet spot. The "reading ladder" above is a guide.
How is Ray different from Raz-Kids / Oxford Reading Tree?
Raz / Oxford Tree are content platforms; Ray is a tool. You can read Raz with one hand and use Ray with the other — they’re complementary.
What if there are too many unknown words on a page?
Ray flags page density automatically. Above ~25 new words per page, it suggests "this book may still be too hard — try something easier first." Parents can also swipe through to skip words the child already knows.
My kid is in middle school — or I want to use Ray for my own reading. Can I?
Yes. Ray isn’t age-restricted — many of our families share it: parent reads The Economist, child reads Magic Tree House, each library kept separately. Ray is actually more useful on dense text (chapter books, magazines, academic passages) than on easy picture books.
What does it cost? How long is the free version?
Sign up to start a 7-day Ray Family Plus trial including 30 photo captures. The first family plan supports 2 child profiles and 2 parent access points; after the trial, the free plan keeps working with a cumulative cap of 10 OCRs total (no monthly reset). Pricing is on the membership page.
Open the page they’re reading tonight — and snap it
A photo in under 3 seconds, 10 seconds of organising, 3 minutes of review tomorrow. The first real chapter book starts tonight.