Lexo vs graded readers: Penguin, Oxford Bookworms, Cambridge and Black Cat

Graded readers are the classic answer to a simple problem: how do you read real books in a language you’re still learning? Publishers such as Penguin Random House, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Black Cat have spent decades writing and adapting books with a controlled vocabulary, level by level. Lexo is a newer answer to the same problem, for iPhone and iPad: classic novels rewritten at CEFR levels, narrated, with every word glossed in your own language.

We make Lexo, so read this with that in mind. We admire graded readers, and Lexo borrows their central idea; this page tries to show where each approach fits. It was checked in October 2026 against the publishers’ own sites. Series are added to, renamed and retired over time, and publishers label their levels differently, so check the details for any series you’re considering.

The short answer

Graded readers are written and edited by people, refined over decades, sold in print and often as ebooks, and almost all now come with audio. They also start lower than Lexo: most series begin at A1, and some below it. The choice is widest for learners of English, with good series in French, Spanish, German and Italian and smaller ones for Chinese and Japanese. If you’re learning one of those languages and like a book you can hold, graded readers are an excellent choice.

Lexo offers about 100 classics, each at five CEFR levels from A2 to C2, in about 80 languages, narrated, with every word glossed in your own language. Its editions are produced with AI and checked automatically. Choose Lexo if you want a particular classic at your level, in a language with few graded readers, or with narration and help on every page.

At a glance

	Graded reader series	Lexo
Who makes them	Authors and editors at publishers such as Penguin Random House, Oxford, Cambridge and Black Cat	Produced with AI models, guided by the CEFR level descriptors, with automatic checks
What you read	Adapted classics, original fiction, modern stories and non-fiction	About 100 classics
Levels	From pre-A1 or A1 up to B2 or C1, depending on the series	A2 to C2
One book at several levels	Each title is written for one level, though popular classics often appear in more than one series	Every book at five levels
Languages	Widest in English; good series in French, Spanish, German and Italian; fewer in other languages	About 80
Help with words	Controlled vocabulary, glossaries and notes; many are illustrated	Tap any word: its meaning in this sentence, base form, idiom, and a translation of the sentence
Audio	Usually included, by download, streaming or app	The whole book narrated, with character voices and word-by-word highlighting
Exercises	Usually, from comprehension questions to exam-style practice	None
Format	Paperback, often ebook or app	iPhone and iPad app (iOS 18 or later)
How you pay	Per book, typically about the price of a paperback; some publishers offer digital subscriptions	$4.99 a book, or Lexo Plus at $4.99 a month for two book credits (planned US launch prices)

What graded readers do well

Craft. A good graded reader is written by someone who knows both the story and the learner, and edited with care. Levels are defined by headword counts: Oxford Bookworms climbs from 250 headwords at Starter to 2,500 at Stage 6, and Cambridge English Readers from 250 to 3,800. The Extensive Reading Foundation, which champions this kind of reading, suggests choosing books where you know about 98% of the words on a page, and graded readers make that easy to do.

They start at the very beginning. Penguin Readers begin at a pre-A1 Starter level, where many stories are graphic novels, so even a near-beginner can finish a book.

Range. There are adapted classics, from Frankenstein to The Hound of the Baskervilles, but also modern fiction, non-fiction and, in Oxford Bookworms, plays. Cambridge English Readers are entirely original stories, and the series includes winners of the Extensive Reading Foundation’s Language Learner Literature Award, which teachers and students help to judge.

Audio, illustrations and exercises. Penguin Readers come with actor-read recordings to stream. Every Black Cat graded reader includes mp3 audio, and its books add cultural “dossiers” and exam-style activities. Many graded readers are illustrated, especially at lower levels.

Print and digital. You can hold them, lend them and keep them on a shelf. If you prefer a screen, publishers offer options too, such as OUP’s Oxford Reading Club subscription library and Black Cat’s eReaders app. And they’re affordable: a graded reader typically costs about as much as a paperback.

How Lexo approaches the same idea

Lexo keeps the central idea of a graded reader, a real story at a level you can enjoy, and changes how it’s delivered.

Every book at every level. Each of about 100 classics exists at five CEFR levels: A2 (elementary), B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper intermediate), C1 (advanced: close to the original, lightly condensed) and C2 (proficient: the complete novel). You can read Treasure Island at B1 this spring and at B2 next winter, adding the new level to a book you own.

Help on the page. Tap any word and a card shows what it means in this sentence, its base form and part of speech, the meaning of any idiom it belongs to, and a translation of the whole sentence into your own language. Save words to your Words list as you go.

Narration throughout. Every book is read aloud, with different voices for different characters and the words highlighted as they’re spoken, and you can play any single word. (In seven languages, among them Irish, Welsh and Zulu, books have text and glosses now and narration later.)

Many languages. About 80 languages to learn, with explanations in your own language and the app itself in your language. The same Journey to the Center of the Earth can be read in Albanian, Korean or Portuguese.

Made with AI. This is the biggest difference, and you should know it. Lexo’s adaptations, glosses, translations and narration are produced with AI models, guided by the CEFR level descriptors and checked automatically (for example, with pronunciation checks in some languages). That’s how one book can exist in so many languages and levels. It also means there’s no named author or editor behind each edition, and automatic checks don’t catch everything a good editor would. Most editions are written on request: if you’re the first reader, chapter 1 is ready in a few minutes, the rest follows while you read, and you keep a dated “First edition” mark.

The trade-offs

• Made by people, or made with AI. A graded reader has an author, an editor and often years of classroom use behind it. A Lexo edition has breadth and narration, and none of that history.
• Where you start and stop. Graded readers start lower, at A1 or below; Lexo starts at A2. Most series stop at B2 or C1, where the next step is the original; Lexo continues to C2, the complete novel.
• Many titles, or many levels. A series offers many books, each at one level. Lexo offers fewer books, each at every level.
• Languages. Graded readers are plentiful in English and good in the major European languages. Lexo covers about 80 languages, including many where printed graded readers are scarce.
• Extras. Graded readers have illustrations and exercises. Lexo has full narration, help in your own language and a sentence-by-sentence mode.
• Paper or phone. This one is simply a matter of taste.

Graded readers for other languages

If you’re learning a language other than English, these are good places to start:

• French: Black Cat’s Lire et s’entraîner, CLE International’s Lectures CLE en français facile, and Hachette FLE’s LFF collection, which includes classics from A2 to B2.
• Spanish: Black Cat’s Leer y aprender, and Edelsa’s Grandes títulos de la literatura, which brings Spanish classics such as Lazarillo de Tormes and Don Quijote to A2 to B2 readers.
• German: Black Cat’s Lesen und üben, Hueber’s readers for adults and teenagers, and Klett’s Deutsch – leichter lesen.
• Italian: Black Cat’s Imparare leggendo.
• Several languages: Easy Readers, from the Danish publisher Alinea, adapts well-known books into English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. Olly Richards’ Short Stories series from Teach Yourself has original stories for beginners and intermediate learners in many languages.
• Chinese: Mandarin Companion retells classic novels, such as The Secret Garden, in Chinese settings, in simplified and traditional characters.
• Japanese: NPO Tadoku Supporters lists graded reader series, including free books you can read online.

Using both

Graded readers and Lexo work well side by side. A paperback in your bag and a book on your phone are two routes into the same habit, which Day and Bamford (1998, Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom) describe as reading a lot of material that’s comfortably within your ability. For a teacher, graded readers remain the practical choice for a class library; Lexo can be one more option for students reading at home on an iPhone or iPad, especially in languages with fewer printed series. For more on choosing a level, see the 98% rule, our CEFR levels guide and our guide to graded readers.

Who should choose graded readers

• You’re a beginner. Many series start at A1 or below, where Lexo doesn’t reach.
• You want books written and edited by people, with a long record in classrooms.
• You like paper, illustrations and exercises, or you’re preparing for an exam.
• You’re learning English, French, Spanish, German or Italian and want a wide choice of titles.
• You want original stories as well as classics, such as Cambridge English Readers.
• You’re a teacher building a class library.

Who should choose Lexo

• You want a particular classic at your level. Every Lexo book exists at A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
• You want to climb with the same story. Read Jane Eyre at B1, then again at B2 or C1 when you’re ready.
• You’re learning a language with few graded readers. Lexo covers about 80 languages, with explanations in your own.
• You want to listen as you read, with the whole book narrated and the text highlighted as it’s read.
• You want help on the page rather than in a glossary at the back.
• You’re comfortable with AI-produced editions and read on iPhone or iPad.

Lexo is in beta and launching on the App Store soon. Get notified at launch. See also the best ways to read classic novels in a foreign language.