Why We're Innovating for Challenged Readers

How We Began

Readeezy was developed by Maria Finaro Cleary. Maria is a school superintendent with a disabled daughter who pretty much stopped reading when she was about 11 years old. In fact, she struggled so much with books that she often said, “Reading makes my brain hurt.”

Challenged Readers

Our Audience

Readeezy is dedicated to these reluctant and challenged readers, especially those who are teens and young adults. Why? By the time they reach this age, there are few books for them to really enjoy. If they have pictures, they are often too juvenile. If they have age-appropriate stories, the vocabulary and sentence structure is sometimes difficult to understand.

Challenged Readers

Why We’re Different

Readeezy is different. It has illustrations, animations, and interactive questions to invite readers to actively participate in the story. Text to speech helps them with words that are difficult to read. And check our research in the NYAPE Journal (p. 45) to see how well it works!

Challenged Readers

What’s In Store

Our plan is to develop an entire library of books like this one. With additional features and assistance, we aim to make Readeezy a fun place to visit. And the more fun it is, the more everyone will read!

Challenged Readers

Our Team

Dr. Maria Finaro Cleary
President and CEO
Readeezy, LLC
Jeff Cleary
Author
Teacher
Katherine Kelch
Illustrator
Ryan McNulty
Developer
Andrew Killeen
Author
Ella Kate Dewees
Illustrator
Damil Nunez Reyes
Illustrator
Daryan Reyna
Illustrator
Tania Kalcheva
Illustrator
Grace Bonds
Author
Laura Holloway
Author

Advisory Board

Julie Carabello
Parent Support
Dr. Anne Degroot
Literacy Specialist
Dr. Samantha Emerson
Research
Mary-Kay Harrity
Market Research
Dr. Julie Norflus-Good
Professor, Special Education
Ramapo College
Ann Wendlocher
Finance
Paula Reed
Founder
BizEducation Consulting
Jasonn L. Denard
Director of Teaching and Learning
College Achieve
Juan A. Cruz
Principal