Editorial Review

Made just for preschoolers and early elementary students, Leap 1 Books pack lots of lessons into one engaging, interactive story. Here, kids learn about seven of the most popular stories from the Bible's Old Testament--while also working on reading and pronunciation skills, identifying characters, themes, and settings, and developing memory retention. Just stick the included book cartridge into a LeapPad, put the book in place, and, with a parent's guidance, the LeapPad takes care of the rest. This book works with all LeapPads except the My First LeapPad Book. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (4)

GREAT STORIES-NEED FRIENDLIER FACES
I certainly love the leapfrog line of stories, and felt a book on Bible stories would be perfect for my 3 1/2 year old. I have to admit, though, that my husband and I thought the illustrations were a bit on the scarier side. We're going to stick to the friendlier looking faces (same stories) in his other childrens Bible books for now.

What a great book
Straight from the typewriter of the Above to the playroom of your son, teach your children well with this fabulous book! My son is leapfrogging over all the pagans in his kindergarten class!

A fun, interactive Bible toy!
My 4 year old son loves this book. He has 8 books for his Leap Pad, and this is his favorite. We take this book with his Leap Pad to church, plug in his head phones, and he is entertained (and learning!) through the whole service. The colorful illustrations have many embedded sounds and my son spends hours putting his pen on all the pictures to hear their captions and songs. There are 7 Old Testament Bible stories that are kid favorites, including David & Goliath and Noah's Ark. At the end of the book, there is a fun "Wheel of Fortune" type game that asks kids to match the people from the various stories with events (don't forget there is also a game on each page). And most importantly, the stories themselves are Biblically accurate. If you child is learning Bible stores for the first time or already knows them well, s/he will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Awesome Fun & Leaning
My 4.5 year old loves this! Awesome way for young kids to learn God's word! I wish there were more. My daughter hasn't put it down since we bought it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great book!
This is one of my daughter's favorite books that she has for her LeapPad system. It was a gift from her aunt who is an elementary school teacher. It's one that she goes back to time after time and will sit with for long periods of time. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Not as interesting as the 'English' version
My son received this as a gift, and I thought since he liked the 'English' version he would like this one. He didnt seem to take to it as much. The music isnt as interesting and the songs are shorter. There aren't as many options for him. And on a personal level, the Spanish was Castellano with doesnt really help when most of us in the U.S. speak Espanol from the Americas. I think that they should make a version for the children that will be using it here on this Continent.

Spanish from Spain
Kids learn the ABC's in spanish by repeating what they hear.Press the animals and they talk and press the letters and they are spelled. Not so much fun. It always does the same thing. If an animal asks to press a letter and the kid doesn't press the correct one, it doesn't tell you it is the wrong one or to try again. It doesn't teach to spell any word, only letters. The spanish is from Spain so it is not so good for Latin America because they spell some letters differently.

Fun Spanish Version of the classic "Learning Bus"
I actually purchased this bus for my sister-in-law who teaches Spanish. The characters are fun and the electronic "voice" is very animated. Although I am not a Spanish speaker myself, my sister-in-law did notice that the bus sometimes speaks very quickly, which may be a bit difficult for a child trying to learn Spanish. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Amazing Product Addition
My little whipper-snappers loved and adored this piece of work. They sang right along to every word and began reading as a result of the LeapPad. Although I was annoyed a bit with my kids singing, they are 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, respectively, contrary to what other reviewer's wives may have thought, my wife thought the singing was A-OK. She should really know good singing because she was in a choral group that toured universe-wide and was better renowned then some choral groups that some reviewer's wives may have been involved with. Anyhow, the kids really picked up reading much faster with this edition because of the music and all. Given the success that my kids have had with it, can you really afford not to buy this product and every other related product?

They should do more like this
My son loves this book, and the music pages that come with the "default" Leap Pad book. I wish there were more music books in the collection.

This is a favorite at our house!
My 2 1/2 year old got the leap pad for Christmas. In an effort to find books that were more his level I picked this one up for him.

This is a great book for the leap pad. In fact it is one of the best ones we have seen so far. (We haven't used very many though.)

The songs are classics. The instruments you can play the song with change from page to page, so you might have an accordian on one page and a violin on the next. The idea that you can learn the song line by line is neat as well as clicking on the individual words to learn each word. My son has enjoyed clicking on the seperate notes to play his own music.

This is a fun book. Enjoy!

Okay..
I love the idea of having music to sing-along to. I like the option of music only so we can sing along. However, some of the singers are...um...well, my daughter makes a funny face and starts laughing. The voices sound weird. She does enjoy hitting the pictures to make it talk...starts to sound like a rap...

r4wellness
This book was a disappointment. The idea is awesome, but the tunes are a little off beat-slow. We have completely enjoyed other Leap Frog books, but this book was missing zip. The pages are ripping off the spiral part. We still look forward to trying other books! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great toy!
I bought this eggs for my daughter when she was 7 months old. It was on sale so I did not even take note of the age range. Personally I thought the toy was cute although my husband did not think so. Of course, my daughter could not do the sorting yet. She love to suck the eggs, bang them or throw them from the box. It is very durable. It's her favorite toy and she has lots of fun with it.

cute but not that exciting
my 2 year old likes the eggs themselves and likes to carry them around and finds them appealing but its hard for him to see the shapes on the bottom and fit them in because the shape is teeny tiny. I think it would be a cute seasonal item, the pieces are easy to lose though. They dont stay in the tray very well.

Not very fun until 3
My son recieved this as an easter present when he was almost 2. The toy did not stay together very well if it was even bumped on the floor. He had a hard time getting the pegs into the little holes to put them in the right places. It was very frustrating for him and after a couple times, we put it up and just recently brought it back out for him to play with. He is now 3, and is able to match things up and get it to co-operate with him a little better. Personally, i would not go out and buy this toy.

batteries will kill ya
The sounds are cute, the way the eggs fit into the carton (basically a shape puzzle) is educational for baby, the faces on the tops of the eggs are priceless (also educational because baby has to match the face on the top of the shell with the face on the chick)...BUT the toy requires three 1.5V button cell batteries! The total cost of the batteries equals half the cost of the entire toy! Since the batteries that came with the toy died after less than a month, we already spent too much on this toy...But the toy is a ton of fun; we just don't turn it on too often.

Not very entertaining
I bought this toy several months ago for my 15 month old daughter. So far she hasn't been very interested in it. Usually she just scatters the eggs around and pokes her fingers into the holes to hear the sounds. It really looked like a lot of fun to me but as yet my daughter is not convinced. ... Read more

Editorial Review

What's really cute? A kid that can't count to 20, but really, really wants to. LeapPad's multisensory, experiential interface makes kids--even those who aren't old enough for school--want to count as well as big kids do. With Tad Goes Shopping, kids see, hear, say, and touch throughout the story, retaining new information, and enhancing learned information. At the same time, little Tad helps his friends correctly identify and pronounce numbers and learn to count like real pros. In short, the book teaches the basic building blocks of math readiness (using more/less than, matching, shapes, and color concepts).

It's simple to use (just insert the cartridge and book into a LeapPad, and use the attached stylus to hear information), but this system is an innovative technology that provides entertaining, effective learning, designed by a Stanford-trained reading expert. The system has also been credited with the TMA's Educational Toy of the Year and People's Choice awards.

Two notes: Make sure the LeapPad book you get is appropriate for the child's educational level, and know that some LeapBooks (like this one) work on both LeapPad and LeapPad Pro, but some only work with one system. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Learning Math is Fun
Learning math can be fun. And learning shapes and colors. This book does all three. Kids play games that encourage shape recognition, counting, matching, colors and lots of fun. My daughter (not quite three) loves this book, especially the hidden numbers. I highly reccomend this book.

Great Math Starter!
My 4-year old received this as a birthday present. Although it's not really challenging, it keeps her refreshed on numbers and such and the story is cute. Leap is just a wonderful product.

Another great Leap Frog Product
My 4 year old daughter has had her Leap Pad for almost two years now and she really enjoys it and I like that it is educational (so much junk out there for little ones nowadays!!!).

I bought her "Tad Goes Shopping" for her birthday. She already knows how to count, recognizes numbers, and a few other basic skills so this is good reinforcement for her.

This book is not her favorite but she plays with it a lot anyway. So does my two year old.

The only problem is that the books are spiral bound and they tend to rip when little hands get too excited.

I would HIGHLY recommend ANY Leap Frog book!!

Great book!
My three and a half year old likes this book a lot. Since she already knows her numbers, colours, and shapes, she can complete the games on each page with no problems. The games are not so hard that a child who does not already know numbers cannot enjoy the book. I would say that this one is a must have.

Very educational and fun too!
Each animal on every page has something neat to say. Clicking on different items causes something fun to happen- a game, a funny sound, a puzzle, or a song.

This is a good review of number recognition, counting, shapes and sizes (big and small), same and different.

I can't say that this is my son's favorite LeapPad Book, but he certainly plays with it quite a bit.

IF your child can already recognize numbers, count to ten and knows his shapes this may be a bit elementary for your child. However, my two year old has found it challenging enough to keep him entertained and interested for an hour (really!) and has enjoyed this book over and over. For him this is a great review/teaching lesson since he still in the process of learning numbers. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Learning to ride a bike is small potatoes--at least compared to a kid that can rattle off more new words this month than last month. LeapPad's multisensory, experiential interface allows a child to do just that. With Richard Scarry's Best Little Word Book Ever, kids see, hear, say, and touch throughout the book, making it easier to retain and enhance oral, vocabulary, and phonics skills while learning new, useful words. Scarry's characters (like the familiar Huckle Cat) help to identify and pronounce both new and old words correctly.

It's simple to use (just insert the cartridge and book into a LeapPad, and use the attached stylus to hear information), but this system is an innovative technology that provides entertaining, effective learning, designed by a Stanford-trained reading expert. As well, the system has been credited with the TMA's Educational Toy of the Year and People's Choice awards.

Two notes: Make sure the LeapPad book you get is appropriate for the child's educational level; this one should be a challenge for kids up to age 6. As well, know that some LeapBooks, like this one, work on both LeapPad and LeapPad Pro, but some books only work with one system. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great book
This a wonderful book to help expand the vocabulary of young children. The pages are not cluttered with unnecessary background images. The sounds a funny noises are cute too. I recommend this for any child.

Very Cute
I am not usually a fan of Richard Scary stuff. The animals are a bit wierd and the books are just way too busy for my tastes. Furthermore, my son hasn't been too interested in RS stuff either.

However, we got this book as a gift and my son loves it.

The book is not too crowded that my son can't pick out the page what he wants to touch. Each animal says something or makes a cute sound. There are some fun games that have been quite a challenge for my son.

My son is 2 and 1/2 and this has been just right for him as he begins to learn. Now, if there were a Richard Scary ABC that was just like this, I'd probably buy it too.

Enjoy ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great fun for all ages
All three of my boys (21 months-11 years) love this addition to our Leapfrog. The 4 and 11 year old have no problem putting in the mircophone. The both enjoy recording and then playing back and then rerecording and playing back again. The 21 month old moves the pen-when he hears a beep he chatters something. He can also get it to play back. I gave it 3 stars for durable because the baby ripped the pages out of the book.

Great Fun!
This product was loads of fun. My daughter loved hearing her own voice and making sounds in the book. We never had a problem with the microphone, just the pen when she decided to chew through the cord. No worries Leap Pad replaces them for 5 dollars!

GREAT IDEA GREAT GIFT
My 4 year old loves it and he has so much fun listening to his voice he plays with it everyday and it really helps him say it correctly and he tries to say everything he loves saying his name (TYLER) and it does sound like his name when it comes over the mic. great toy.

It disconnects constantly!
This one needs work. We tried, annd tried to make this microphone work, and it did-- for about a minute at a time. When it falls out you have to keep starting over again. We returned it. Too bad, it's a fantastic idea if it could only stay connected. Our leadpad works fine with the other books, it's just that the microphone on top of the cartridge makes this invention top heavy so that it won't stay in.

Great Addition to Leap Pad
This set is a great addition to the Leap pad books. My 4 year old has play with these books more than any other. He really likes the fact that he can hear his own voice. I think it will help him learn with out him knowing it. ... Read more

Features

• Barbie interactive activity center
• Insert interactive game cards
• Learn numbers, shapes, colors, vocabulary and more
• Cool pink-and-lavender laptop-like case
• For preschool/kindergarten levels

Reviews (1)

helps learn phonics, high quality reading instruction
First you need to know that the content of this product now titled "LeapPad Phonics Book 2 Tad's Good Night" was previously published as "Leap 1 Phonics Book Tad's Good Night". The products are identical except for the change in title. Actually the revised line of products as "phonics book" numbering from 1 to 14 makes logical sense and is more helpful to parents like me who are trying to figure out the proper sequence to buy and introduce these phonics teaching books and activities to their children.

This is mainly a reader that reinforces the short-a and short-o vowel sounds. This is designed to be used after the child knows these sounds from an earlier LeapPad program or already knows them from another learning source such as Mom and Dad or school. If it is used out of sequence it may cause confusion or frustration. This program acts as one unit in a phonics program, properly isolating certain sounds and reinforcing them with practice actually reading the story. Reading experts in phonics feel that there should be a systematic progression of learning some sounds then practicing them. This program fits right in if you make sure you are following the sequence from beginning to end. All in all there are 14 LeapPad products you would have to buy to follow the entire progression from start to finish, just so you are aware. Inside the package is a chart showing the proper sequence of products; since all are sold separately...otherwise it is quite confusing to try to figure out as a consumer/parent.

This is a short story about the little frog Tad, whose parents go out on a date night together, leaving him and his siblings at home with their grandfather as babysitter. Tad is not happy his parents are leaving him and is upset and even crying. In the end his older brother Leap helps make him happy and he falls asleep before Mom and Dad arrive back home.

I liked that there are several ways to have the story read. If you press the green "go" circle, the story starts being read automatically with different voices for the different characters and the meter, rhythm, inflection and the punctuation is correct. If you touch the pen to the words themselves then it reads off that one word. If you move the pen along the line of the text it reads along the words. The downside is the pen-touching method is the robotic monotone voice that has no regard for punctuation, emotion, etc.

I noticed an improvement in this product over some other programs we have, I was happy that the background music is softer than the spoken word. With some of the older programs, the music is as loud if not seeming louder than the spoken letter sounds, which makes it harder to hear the letter sounds.

There are two 2-page spreads that contain a total of 5 games to play. Each page of the story also has the ability to play one game per page. Every page also has the option by touching a certain button to say the word, spell the word, or sound out the word. I feel that every child will need more practice than this book provides, and highly recommend the extra practice that is found in the "activity book 1" and the other 3 subsequent activity books as a supplement.

Thank goodness Leap Frog has decided to be consistent in providing volume controls for every program. Kudos to Leap Frog for that option! There is a wide range of soft volume to what I consider to be "too loud". Thank you for having volume control! ... Read more