What is a read-along ebook and how does it work?

Read-alongs are OverDrive Read ebooks with professionally recorded narration that plays along while you read.

You can find read-along ebooks in your library's digital collection by running a search, then selecting OverDrive Read-along under the expandable Ebooks filter.

On the details page for a read-along ebook, you'll see "OverDrive Read" with an audio icon in the "Formats" list.

Learn which web browsers are compatible with read-alongs here.

How read-along ebooks work

To get started, click or tap the Read now in browser button for a borrowed read-along ebook. The book will open in a new tab in your web browser.

Then, select Start narration at the bottom of any page to begin the audio from the top left.

OverDrive Read along eBook with Start narration button. See instructions above

Many read-along ebooks will highlight words, sentences, or paragraphs as the narrator reads them, so you can follow along.

A read-along eBook with highlighted text. See instructions above.

Pages automatically turn when the narrator reaches the end of the page.

If you'd like the narrator to repeat any word, sentence, or paragraph, simply click on the word you'd like to hear again. You can also turn back a page, and the narrator will begin reading from the top left.

Select the Pause narration button at the bottom of the page if you need to stop reading.