Project Start: Why I Created Skazoria
At the beginning of March 2026 I started working on a small project that later became Skazoria. The idea came from a very simple everyday situation: I wanted to read stories to my children.
Of course there are many children's books and also some apps with stories. However, I often felt that nothing really fit what I was looking for. Some apps were quite expensive, while others were free but not very satisfying in terms of content or filled with advertisements.
Traditional books have their own charm, but in everyday life they are not always practical. Sometimes there is not enough light in the evening, the book is somewhere else in the house, or you simply have your phone nearby.
A smartphone is almost always within reach. It also offers possibilities that a book cannot provide, such as multiple languages or additional features around stories.
That is why I decided to build a simple app that offers exactly what I would like to use myself when reading stories to my children.
A big part of the idea also comes from my own background. I grew up bilingual and speak two languages at home and even three languages professionally. Because of this, I want my children to grow up with stories from different language worlds.
At launch, Skazoria will include stories in German, Russian, and English. My goal is to provide around 50 stories for the first version of the app.
The name Skazoria is also inspired by fairy tales. The word “Skazka” means “fairy tale” in Russian. The ending “oria” is meant to sound like a magical or fairy-tale land. Together it forms a small fantasy world where many stories can live together.
Technically I will start with an Android version of the app. A version for Apple devices is planned, but currently uncertain because publishing in the Apple App Store requires additional costs.
Since I am developing this project on my own, I am taking it step by step. The website currently serves mainly as a project page where information, news, and updates about Skazoria can be found.
In the long run, I hope Skazoria will grow into a larger collection of stories. Perhaps a small community will form around it, or even a small team of authors who would like to contribute their own stories.
Personally, I also hope that one day my daughter will not only listen to the stories I read to her, but eventually use the app herself to discover new stories.