When Jon Penneman’s two daughters started choosing their own books, he wondered why there wasn’t a simple way to access useful content information. That question eventually led him to create “BookLooky.”

“BookLooky” is a free tool that allows parents and readers to scan a book cover with their phone, search for a title online or enter an ISBN to quickly access spoiler-free information about its content.

“BookLooky” has now generated more than 138,000 book-rating views, with 35,000 books scanned and users accessing the service from at least 68 countries. Eight schools have also bulk-scanned their entire library catalogs using “BookLooky.”

“BookLooky’s” Looky Rating System provides a consistent 0–5 content-intensity scale across categories including violence, romance, mental health, language, substance use and fear. It also identifies story themes and provides age guidance.

Discover more at: booklooky.com

This article appears in Bend Nest Winter 2026.

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Eugene Father Creates “BookLooky” to Help Parents Make Informed Choices 

by Angela Switzer, Bend Nest
November 11, 2026

<h1>Eugene Father Creates “BookLooky” to Help Parents Make Informed Choices </h1> <p class="byline">by Angela Switzer, Bend Nest <br />November 11, 2026</p> <br /> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full"><img src="https://www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/News-Book-Looky.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-105178" /></figure> <p class="has-drop-cap">When Jon Penneman's two daughters started choosing their own books, he wondered why there wasn't a simple way to access useful content information. That question eventually led him to create “BookLooky.”</p> <p>“BookLooky” is a free tool that allows parents and readers to scan a book cover with their phone, search for a title online or enter an ISBN to quickly access spoiler-free information about its content.</p> <p>“BookLooky” has now generated more than 138,000 book-rating views, with 35,000 books scanned and users accessing the service from at least 68 countries. Eight schools have also bulk-scanned their entire library catalogs using “BookLooky.”</p> <p>“BookLooky's” Looky Rating System provides a consistent 0–5 content-intensity scale across categories including violence, romance, mental health, language, substance use and fear. It also identifies story themes and provides age guidance.</p> <p><em>Discover more at: <strong>booklooky.com</strong></em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bendsource.com/bend-nest-content/nestnews/eugene-father-creates-booklooky-to-help-parents-make-informed-choices/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bendsource.com">Bend Nest</a> and is republished here under a <a target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.&nbsp;<img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cropped-Untitled-design-4.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="16" height="16" style="width:1em;height:1em;"></p> <img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.bendsource.com/?republication-pixel=true&post=105176" style="width:1px;height:1px;"><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://www.bendsource.com/bend-nest-content/nestnews/eugene-father-creates-booklooky-to-help-parents-make-informed-choices/", urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id="parsely-cfg" src="//cdn.parsely.com/keys/bendsource.com/p.js"></script>

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