Reviews (2)

Easy indoor gardening
Not only does this "toy" help you learn about hydroponics, it lets your grow your own plants indoors. I started lettuce and baby carrots and within 4 days they had germinated -- very quick! The greenhouse feeds itself; all you have to do is add more nutrient solution every so often and harvest your plants. This greenhouse isn't really a toy; it's too useful and interesting to be a toy. And while the box is slightly small and the "lid" part rather flexible, cheap plastic, it does hold up and certainly works. I'm very happy with the greenhouse!

Greenhouse
ITS AMAZING HOW THIS WORKS!!! FIRST INSTEAD OF USING SOIL IT USES A GROWING MEDIUM WITH NO SOIL. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT 24 HOURS OR EVEN DAYS BEFORE YOU USE THIS YOU JUST POUR WATER ON TOP OF THE GROWING MEDIUM AND START PLANTING!!! YOU DONT HAVE TO WATER OR FERTILIZE IT BECAUSE YOU MIX THE NUTREINT MIX AND THE WATER TOUGHER AND IT WATERS AND FERTILIZES IT WHEN IT NEEDS IT. YOU CAN PLANT ALMOST ANYTHING FROM FRUITS TO VEGGIES OR HERBS TO FLOWERS!! THIS PROUDUCT IS GREAT AND I RECOMEND IT!!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Oh so lifelike in looks, this plump and pillowy plush penguin ismore than a big soft bundle of huggability. Hold him close, put yourhand into the opening in his upper back and make him flap his wings,move his head, and speak (with your best penguin voice). Sure, he standsby himself, a full 13.5 inches tall, balanced on his approximately7-inch-diameter flat bottom, two shiny leatherette flipper-feet, and aplush tail. He's an eye-catching Arctic artifact on shelf or table, buttoo loveable to leave sitting across the room. Pick him up and talk tohim, you can't resist! And though a living, breathing, emperor penguincan stand Fahrenheit temperatures down to minus-100 degrees, this onedoesn't mind cuddling close and cozy under the covers with you. Comeswith interesting facts and a story about the emperor penguin's colors.Surface-washable polyester. --Ava Natov ... Read more

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

Editorial Review

Preparing for the next tea party will seem more realistic to toddlers with this play kitchen. One side of this workstation contains the prep area, with a refrigerator, sink, stovetop, microwave oven, and pantry, while the opposite side has an eating area with a toddler-sized chair and an attachable baby seat for one doll-sized guest. The electronic stovetop makes sounds of boiling, frying, or popcorn popping when kids place the included pot, pan, or teapot on it. In addition, the stove makes ticking and bell sounds for the pretend timer. The eight-piece tea set has two cups, saucers, and spoons, plus a sugar bowl and creamer. Other accessories include a divided plate with spoon and a telephone. Two AA batteries are needed to light the electronic stove and get the tea party started. --Cristina Vaamonde ... Read more

Reviews (61)

Worst buy ever
I bought this last Christmas for my then 3 year old daughter. I wasn't even able to complete the assemble. The pieces didn't fit together.I had to return it partially assmebled.

Great kitchen to grow with
I bought this kitchen for my daughter when she was 3. She is now 5 and still loves playing with it. My husband and I were able to put it together in about an hour, and had no major problems, although reading the instructions to begin with might have helped! The chair that comes with it is great, our daughter uses it in her playhouse outside, too, and she loves the baby seat that comes with it, it fits almost all of her dolls and quite a few of her stuffed toys, as well. We've had it for two years now, and it still looks great and works well, especially in my daughter's small bedroom. We can't wait to pass this play kitchen on to her baby sister when she gets old enough to enjoy it! Overall, a great kitchen at a great price (And yes, the shelves are small because it is a teaparty kitchen that fits the accesories that came with it)

Perfect size
I purchased this kitchen for my niece's birthday. The size is great if you only have a small area. I put it together myself so her parents wouldn't have to put it together. I found it a little difficult to put together. But if I can put it together anyone can. I didn't find it unsturdy at all. After I put it together my 3 year old was liking playing with it. I thought it was a good price. I bought it at a discount store. All the pieces were in the box. Don't let the negative ratings hinder your purchase.

My Kids liked it....
This is such a cute kitchen but they need to make it more stable. I can't even count the times this thing fell over on my kids. They never got hurt but it still shouldn't be sooo tipsy. If they could fix that I would LOVE it instead of just like it.

This is a fine kitchen for the money.
My husband built my daughter, 3, a playhouse, and we needed a kitchen for it. After looking online and checking consignment shops, we found this kitchen on clearance. It cost no more new than used ones at the consignment shop, so I was happy to get a new kitchen with all its pieces. The instructions were unusual, but my husband never reads them anyway. A drill solved the problem of missing screw holes. The kitchen sits up fine for us, and its round shape allows my daughter to play all around it in her playhouse. The small shelf space is not a problem because the dishes are usually in use. My daughter has no interest in electronic toys that talk, so the fact that there are no buttons to push or talking parts is a bonus. She is happy drinking imaginary tea and feeding her dolls or us imaginary food. Given the price we paid, and that it is outside in a playhouse, the kitchen is more than adequate, and my child is happy. ... 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

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

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

Product Description

Includes 25 durable, solid-wood pieces to match and stack. Great for building early shape, color and size differentiation skills! *This item not available for gift wrap.Ages 2 and upBy Melissa & Doug ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great like all M & D products
My two and a half year old swiped this from the dentist's office (with permission). She loves it and so does my one year old son. ... Read more