The star spirit of Mukashi
Hoshi, the star spirit.
Hoshi is the small star spirit at the heart of Mukashi, an English reading app for children in Japan. He fell from the stars on a night nobody was watching, and he is a long way from home. In Mukashi, children read illustrated English stories with Hoshi. Every word they learn lights his path home.
Who is Hoshi?
Hoshi is a star spirit. He is small and round, and he wears a soft blue jacket with a crescent moon on the chest. Over his shoulder is a little satchel he takes everywhere.
One night, Hoshi fell from the stars. Nobody was watching. Since then he has slept inside a whale, planted a garden, and filled a journal with words he doesn't understand yet.
Hoshi isn't a teacher. He doesn't know everything. When something catches his eye, he looks closely, and he wonders. Then he asks. He never hurries anyone. He is a friend who walks beside you.
Hoshi cannot get home alone. So he is waiting for someone to read with him. That someone is your child.
With Hoshi, in Mukashi
Mukashi is an English reading app for children, built on stories. Your child travels with Hoshi, world by world.
Read stories together
Illustrated English stories, leveled to your child, with audio on every page. Every book finished earns a star. When a world's stars are all collected, an animated scene carries the story forward.
Help Hoshi
At the end of each book, Hoshi asks a few questions. He was inside the story, so your child, watching from outside, is the only one he can ask. It isn't a test. If an answer is wrong, Hoshi simply shares what he saw.
Explore Hoshi's home
The first world is the Cosy House, where Hoshi lives. Words hide in every room.
Gifts from Hoshi
Sometimes a finished book ends with a present, tagged in Hoshi's own handwriting. Add your child's birthday, and Hoshi will have a surprise on the day.
Play, too
In Hoshi's Night Flight, your child guides Hoshi through the night sky, collecting the right ones and dodging the rest. Tanuki has a game of his own: Tanuki's Tower.
For grown-ups: letters from Hoshi
Each time your child finishes a world, Hoshi writes you a letter in the Lighthouse, your parent dashboard, about what your child explored there.
Hoshi's friends
Along the way, Hoshi meets many friends.
- The Whale: Ancient, vast, and warmer inside than you'd expect.
- Tanuki: Means well. Usually. Mostly.
- The Fox: Has been everywhere. Hasn't told anyone about it yet.
- The Hedgehog: Small, steady, and braver than he looks.
- The Axolotl: Always smiling. Knows more than she lets on.
Every new world brings new friends.
World to world
The journey starts in the Cosy House. Beyond it, many more worlds are waiting, from Inside the Whale to the Rainforest. A new world opens about every month. Every child starts at Eiken 5 and travels, world by world, toward Eiken Grade 2.
Hoshi lives in Mukashi
If you heard Hoshi's name somewhere and came looking for him, you've found his world.
Hoshi lives in Mukashi, an English reading app for children. It opens in the web browser, on a tablet such as an iPad, a computer or a phone, with nothing to download. It is made for elementary-school children (6–12), and from age 4 with a parent.
You can meet Hoshi away from the screen, too.
One of our free English coloring pages is Hoshi himself.
- Write to Hoshi: letter paper from the worlds of the stories. A letter to Hoshi is a fine place to start.
- A Letter from Hoshi, once a month: a new story, or something he's discovered in the world. Sign up on our free printables page.
What the name means
"Hoshi" is the Japanese word for "star" (星). Hoshi is a star spirit. He came from the stars, and he is trying to get back to them. His name says where he belongs.
The app's name, Mukashi, comes from "mukashi mukashi," the words that open Japanese folk tales, like "once upon a time."
From once upon a time to happily ever after: that is the journey Hoshi and your child take together.
Questions
- Who is Hoshi?
- Hoshi is the small star spirit at the heart of Mukashi, an English reading app for children. He is a long way from home. Children read English stories with him, and the words they learn light his way back.
- What does "Hoshi" mean?
- It is Japanese for "star." Hoshi is a star spirit who fell from the stars, and he is on his way back to them.
- Where can my child meet Hoshi?
- In Mukashi, the English reading app. The free demo on our home page has ten stories, with no signup. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install.
- Is Hoshi a boy?
- Hoshi is a star spirit, not a person. In the stories, he is always "he."
- Is Mukashi a bilingual app?
- No. The stories are all in English. Children learn to read English by meeting words inside a story, not through translation. The pictures and the audio carry the meaning. The screens for grown-ups are in Japanese and English.
Hi. I'm Hoshi.
Will you read with me?
The door is open.
Hoshi is waiting just inside. Ten stories. No login required.
