Country of Residence
United States
Age
16
Project title
Bibliosaurus: Where Reading Becomes an Adventure
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Learn with Lex, the dinosaur reading companion of Bibliosaurus, in a gamified digital library that helps children ages 8–13 discover books they enjoy and develop voluntary reading habits through personalized discovery, vocabulary support, and game-based progression.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Both founders of Bibliosaurus grew up in multilingual households and have personal experience developing language skills. In middle school, I was part of the bilingual immersion program. When English learners arrived unable to communicate easily with school staff, I served as a liaison and tour guide, helping them adjust to new academic and social environments. This experience showed me firsthand the gap between language learning and reading: students were often encouraged to read independently, but did not always want to. Our own experiences with reading also inspired Bibliosaurus. In fourth grade, my co-founder’s reading goal was to earn 27 points from book quizzes; instead, she finished with over 1,000. Every day was spent as a heroic dragon rider, a spy on a perilous mission, or a child prodigy. For a child whose early English experience was “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” discovering a funny book and watching reading progress accumulate made reading enjoyable. We wanted other children, especially multilingual learners, to experience that same motivation. Together, we saw an opportunity to combine our personal experiences with our interests in entrepreneurship and create a platform that makes reading more engaging and accessible.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Many children struggle to develop reading habits when they have difficulty finding enjoyable books, maintaining motivation, or understanding unfamiliar vocabulary. These barriers can be especially relevant for multilingual children developing English proficiency and reluctant readers. As a diverse suburban city, Irvine had an approximately 40% foreign-born population in 2024, and around 50% of households had a non-English primary language (Source: Data USA). Children have access to enormous amounts of reading material, but access alone does not necessarily create voluntary reading habits. There remains a gap in finding books suitable for individual interests and reading levels. When children cannot find material they enjoy or become frustrated by unfamiliar words, they may be less inclined to continue reading independently. The results from our initial local pilot test also suggested that book discovery was a particularly important feature. Of 15 respondents who tried Bibliosaurus, 10 selected finding books they liked as the feature that most interested them. These responses showed us the importance of making book discovery more relevant and accessible. Bibliosaurus focuses on helping children discover books matched to their interests and reading levels, while offering optional, multilingual support when unfamiliar vocabulary becomes a barrier.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Bibliosaurus is a gamified digital library designed to help children ages 8-13 discover books they enjoy and develop voluntary reading habits. Instead of simply giving readers access to a large collection, it also makes finding an enjoyable, suitable book part of the experience. Children can explore books through personalized recommendations and select the reading difficulty levels, helping them find stories that match their interests and abilities. The library is also intended to be shaped by its readers; children can request and vote for books they would like to see added. Each reader is accompanied by our dinosaur mascot, Lex: a reading companion who guides them through the platform. When children encounter unfamiliar vocabulary, they can tap a word for a simple definition, visual explanation, pronunciation, or translation into another language. Accessibility features, including OpenDyslexic font, text-to-speech, and adjustable display modes, offer additional ways to engage with the text. Reading is also the foundation of Bibliosaurus’s game system. As children read, they earn Fossil Energy, which they can use to grow Lex, hatch dinosaur eggs, collect different dinosaur skins, and unlock new locations and eras to explore. This creates a connected progression system in which reading, not completing lists of game tasks, is what moves the experience forward. By bringing book discovery, reading support, and game-based progression all into one platform, Bibliosaurus aims to address more than simply access to books. It helps children to find something they want to read, gives them tools to keep going when they need support, and makes reading itself the path to discovery and progress.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
We developed an interactive minimum viable product (MVP) showing the process of book discovery, reading, vocabulary support, and game progression. We piloted it with ~20 local elementary and middle school students. In a survey afterwards, ~73% students said they would use Bibliosaurus again, and ~67% selected finding books they liked as the most interesting feature, while ~70% agreed or strongly agreed that vocabulary support would help them continue when encountering unfamiliar words. In addition, written feedback requested for more books; longer, more challenging stories; and improvements to visuals. One student questioned how to verify that users actually read, rather than simply advance through pages. In response to requests for greater challenge, we added selectable reading difficulty levels. Through revisions to finalize the app, we believe it can expand beyond local usage because our pilot feedback showed that students were most interested in finding enjoyable books. Bibliosaurus won Most Sustainable Innovation at the Sunshine Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurs Challenge among 19 finalist teams. It was recognized by Irvine City Councilmember Melinda Liu and featured by UNE News Express USA. Additionally, it was invited to showcase at Maker Faire Orange County 2026 with City of STEM and at Sunstone Venture & Innovation Center’s “The Next Generation of Founders."
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Bibliosaurus makes reading itself what powers a connected game world. A game placed beside a reading app can compete with the book, and traditional libraries focus on assigned lessons and quizzes. In Bibliosaurus, books power the game, the goal being voluntary reading. Every location, egg, and skin a child unlocks is earned by reading, and Lex, the dinosaur companion, links the experience while keeping books at its center. Bibliosaurus applies personalized recommendations, game progression, and in-text language support together inside one library for ages 8-13. Optional vocabulary support provides simple definitions, visual explanations, and multilingual assistance, so an unfamiliar word becomes a one-tap pause rather than a reason to quit. As children read, they earn rewards, grow their dinosaur, and unlock new locations and eras, and accessibility options support readers with diverse needs. By applying existing tools and technology, we aimed to design a game that would support, not replace, book discovery and comprehension. Compared with existing platforms, Bibliosaurus combines a digital library, continuous game progression, and multilingual support for children ages 8-13 in one product. Platforms like Epic can offer personalized book discovery and access, but Bibliosaurus uses game-based progression to promote passion-driven learning. To expand the catalog affordably, we plan to combine cost-per-circulation (CPC) licenses with public-domain books from Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive.
How many people are on your team?
2
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Bibliosaurus is led by two high school students. Both students grew up in multilingual households, experiencing firsthand the importance of motivation in developing independent reading skills. I lead product development and testing, while my co-founder leads market research, business planning, and visual design. To gain unique perspectives, we hope to collaborate with individuals with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, elementary teachers, and librarians.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, we will strengthen Bibliosaurus in response to pilot feedback by expanding the book catalog, improving visuals, and navigation, and making in-game rewards feel more meaningful. Next, we will test Bibliosaurus with ~50 students ages 8-13 in Irvine, including language learners. The test will measure app usage and voluntary return after seven days, alongside reading completion and user experience. One surveyed student asked how to verify that users actually read rather than simply advance through pages, so we will explore fair ways to assess reading engagement beyond comprehension quizzes. We will also conduct at least five interviews with librarians, teachers, school administrators, and parents to evaluate how Bibliosaurus could work with existing reading programs and whether local institutions would use it. After further local testing, we will expand through Irvine and Orange County schools, libraries, reading programs, and youth organizations. Long term, we aim to grow our catalog, multilingual and accessibility features, and institutional partnerships while measuring whether Bibliosaurus encourages more consistent voluntary reading.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Children influence Bibliosaurus instead of simply using a platform designed entirely by adults. Currently, ~20 local elementary and middle school students have engaged and completed the feedback survey. They gave feedback on book discovery, reading difficulty, vocabulary support, and visuals. At the Sunshine Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurs Challenge, judges and mentors gave one-on-one feedback and suggested Project Gutenberg as a source of free books. Bibliosaurus was featured by UNE News Express USA, recognized at Irvine City Hall, and invited to showcase at Maker Faire Orange County 2026 and at Sunstone Venture & Innovation Center’s winner showcase, raising awareness by increasing engagement within the community. Next, we plan to invite more students to recommend books, identify confusing features, and provide input on future improvements. Children will help decide what books the library prioritizes, creating a collection curated by kids for kids. We also plan to host in-person sessions at public libraries across Orange County, introducing Bibliosaurus to children and families while collecting feedback from potential users. Through these sessions and partnerships with local reading programs, we aim to involve librarians, teachers, families, and educators in improving the platform.
