Editorial Review

What's really cute? A kid that can pronounce tough words with confidence and finesse. LeapPad's multisensory, experiential interface allows a child to do just that. With The Day Leap Ate Olives, kids see, hear, say, and touch throughout the book, making it easier to retain and enhance oral, vocabulary, and phonics skills while distinguishing between consonants and vowels. Leap and his friends help kids to identify, comprehend, and pronounce 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 work on both LeapPad and LeapPad Pro, like this one, but some books only work with one system. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Daughter loves it!
I bought this for my 2.5 year old daughter. She recently discovered Dora the Explorer so anything with Dora on it is an immediate hit. She loves the different books that come with the my first leappad. She'll spend an entire evening going through her books. The Animal Counting Farm and the Dora books are put together very well.

My favorite part of this toy is that we can use it together or she can use it by herself. The concepts are appropriate for her age and development stage. There is reading comprehension, games to play and music on most every page. I like to sit with my daughter and work with her on the different included concepts.

I also like all the different books that come with the Leappad. My daughter finds it easy to snap in a new book and insert a new cartridge when she's done with the book she's playing with.

My other favorite feature is the volume control. My husband and I are not fans of electronic toys due to the noise issue. However, this toy, included on each book, comes with volume control that is easily accessible.

All in all, I think this is a good toy and I have been very pleased with it.

Dora and Tad take over the world
Leapfrog is a nice, interactive reading program that allows kids to entertain themselves in the car or when parents are too exhausted to read them a story. It doesn't replace reading to kids and I'm not so sure that it improves a child's ability/chance to read. It is entertaining and does teach a child some of the basics of using a computer (although you point a pen at the word and click it vs. using a mouse). Is that good?Well parents will have to decide for themselves.

The stories are very good and have nice values. Again, the Leapfrog is a bit awkard to use as it flips up vs. flipping right to left like traditional books (or even the leappad). That's made it problematic at times. The spiral book will frequently slip off the leapfrog. In a way, that's good particularly since it gets the parents involved but its also frustrating for children that tend to want to do things for themselves. That frustration translates to dropping the leadfrog and moving on to play with something else or reading a real book (i.e., looking at the pictures while the parents read the book).

I feel that the leapfrog was aimed at toddlers to get them in the habit of using it so they're prepared to ask for Leapfrog. It's also designed to make parents feel good about purchasing "a toy". It's educational value remains to be seen although I did notice that after using each book that my toddlers were able to recognize the shapes, colors and letters involved. As to whether there is retention, we'll see. It's nice to have for trips and is preferrable to television but it won't replace a traditional book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellant Book
We bought this bok for our daughter and it wonderful. She's in kindergarden now and this book has helped her to learn how to read and spell. Kids must learn their short vowels in kindergarden and this books helps them learn just that. She really loves the games in the book ! This is trully an excellant buy!

Very educational book-!st one I bought
I bought the leappad for my 5year old in kindergarten. He was alittle confused about rhyming. After playing with this book, he is so excited that he now understands rhyming. This book also helped him sound out words and spell them. This is a great book. ... Read more

Features

• Handheld interactive educational gaming action
• Includes 4-game cartridge
• Expandable with large library of games
• Teaches phonics, spelling, math, art, music and more

Reviews (4)

I don't give it a 5, I give it a 10 star rating!!
I bought the Red leapster for my daughter who's 4 and the silver leapster for my son who's 6. Let me tell u it has been the best well worth money that I have spent on them. They compete with eachother and play with the leapster all day. I take it with us in the car and it keeps them quiet. Now my 2 yr old is asking me for one. So I definitly recommend this to anyone that has any doubts about getting it. You won't regret it. I just hope they keep coming out with much more games.... 5 Stars***** Definitely

SuperIdea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought one of these for my daughter who is 6 and she loves it!!! My 8 year old wants one now too, and it's great for on the road going to practice or on a road trip. And it is visible at night which is GREAT!!!!! A MUST HAVE!!!!!

The Best Learning Toy Invented---I LOVE the Leapster!!!
I bought the Leapster at another retailer (silver case), but when I saw the red one here at Target.com, I decided to order this one with the intentions of returning the first one. My daughter received her red leapster as Santa's gift for Christmas, well my 8 year old cousin who lives next door couldn't keep her hands off it, so I decided to give her the first one I bought.The Target Leapster comes with the red carrying bag as mentioned before (the carring bag is a must).I just simply can't say enough about the Leapster, my daughter hasn't stopped playing with it since she opened the box. I think this is the best toy ever invented. Thanks to Leapfrog for making such a wonderful learning toy.I think every child should have one!

fabulous product in an awesome bright red
I bought this in our Super Target today for our 4 year old son and it is just fabulous!!! We love the red and always love Leapfrog products! We got the matching red case as a bonus with the Leapster... I highly recomend it! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Take learning to the next level with Barbie! This electronic learning aid works alone or with your TV for an interactive experience Barbie fans will love. Much like the popular LeapPad books, this "Education Center" provides interactive storytelling, lessons, and activities. Just open up the sturdy pink plastic laptop-style unit, snap in the reversible spiral-bound book (one side is for ages 3 to 5, the other for ages 6 to 8), and gently touch the point of the attached pen to any page you choose. Now let Barbie's perky voice take over. "Hi, it's Barbie! With so much to see and do, let's get started!" She guides players to match upper- and lower-case letters, help her choose an outfit (which she then tries on in the TV-enhanced version), play along in Skipper's jam session (with the included microphone), learn a little about French, test rhyming skills, and more. Pages like "Shoe Review" will appeal to the fashion-conscious learners, while "Ocean Fun" will draw future oceanographers. A fun, non-threatening way for girls to get into interactive learning. --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Is there more?
I received one of these laptops for my child. I would like to find more books and memory cards for the laptop so that they can get more out of it but I can't find any. I've even tried Toys R Us but I'm told they don't have any. Is there more activity books available and if so where can I get them? I thought that if these stores stock this item they should have other items available to go with it. What is the point of having other features for the laptop if they can't be found in the stores. My kids are beginning to lose interest in the laptop because they have done about all they can with it.

Barbie B Anything Education Center
I had absolutly no problem operating the toy nor did my five year old. I also do not see what joy a child would have playing with the toy without it being connected to a television. That feature alone is why I purchased it. All it takes is a couple of C batteries or the purchase of an adaptor. Switch the TV function to video and plug it into the television. It is comparable to the games played on the Barbie website. I mean really, what does one expect to get out of an electronic device that costs $39.99. You get what you pay for. I quess they expect Barbie to get up and walk out of the TV and do the electric slide or recite the bill of rights. The toy was all that I expected it to be for the price I paid for it. My five year old enjoyed playing it and had the patience to play the game with out any difficulty.

B Creative
Our 6 year old got this item for her birthday. What a disappointment it has been. It did not come with a cartridge to accompany the Barbietown book. Cartridges are sold seperately (according to the box and instructions) but we have yet to find a store that carries them; even the store that sells the B Creative Education Center! She hasn't been able to play it even once which is sad for a little girl that absolutely adores anything Barbie. Don't waste your money on this item. Stick to the dolls and accessories.

Daughter was disappointed
Santa brought this item for my 5 year old for Christmas. We had a hard time getting it to work even after following the assembly directions closely. After it finally worked, it only worked for about 10 minutes then it stopped. It did not work again after that, so we returned the item. Don't buy it. It's a waste of money.

Don't Waste Your Money
My daughter wanted this for Christmas, so Santa bought it. It is the biggest piece of junk yet. We had problems with it from the time we first put the batteries in it. It is temperamental. At times it will work when we use the touch pen and at times we get nothing. To get the real effects, you need to be connected to the TV, even though it says it can work alone. The pages of the book do not go in properly. This causes the device to not work correctly either. You must use batteries with it in order for it to work. However, you can order an adapter for more money.

Santa also brought the Barbie Beauty Boutique. This software was excellent. My six year old loves it.

Don't waste your money on the B Anything Education Center. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

this is really not a toy...it is a learning tool
This item is a learning tool, if used properly. Most definetly this item is not a toy.
Playing with toys do several things for the person/s who are utilizing the toy reguardless of age. Relieve stress,bring families closer together create and promote great imaginations and sometimes are just mindless fun.
So, in the right hands(with some parental supervision)this is a great learning tool. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This book is very neat and educational!
I bought this book for two main reasons: My little neighbor across the street has a LeapPad, too, and sometimes I go over there and help him read with his books, and number two, I forgot which sounds the long/short vowels make! Now I know. I haven't let my neighbor try it out yet, but I'm sure he'd like it. I took it to a party and the kids there played with this book and thought it was neat. The games are actually enjoyable and, sometimes, even a bit challenging for me! I'm sure younger kids love them. There really shouldn't be an age limit on this! I think that whether you have a child who needs to learn how to read or just needs some reinforcement or practice, you should buy this book and consider the other books in this series. Lesson Books 6, 7, and 8 correspond with this activity book. Good Luck! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not a good choice.
The Hot Wheels Quick Start Laptop has 10 games. Car tunes allows you to compose a melody. Street Sounds lets you play back 10 different children's songs. With route finder you must remember and repeat a string of 4 letters. Body shop gives you a group of 5 letters or numbers and you pick which one does not belong. Dashboard digits lets you count objects. Pole position teachs the numbers 1 - 10. Vowel velocity teachs you the 5 vowels then asks you to find the vowels in a word. Super sonic phonics teaches you a letter's name and then phonetically pronounces a word that starts with that letter. Word find asks you to find a word on the keyboard (there is an accompanying pictures to help). Speed spell has you press a letter and then the laptop spells a word that starts with that letter.

This game is marketed to children 3 and above. I bought this laptop over similar educational toys because I thought its packaging would appeal to my 4 year old son - and it did! But only a few of the games are suited for a child of his age. Most were too complicated for him and some were too simple. The laptop misses the mark by offering games that don't appeal to the same age group. A child that is interested in hearing simple melodies and learning their numbers and letters can't spell words or understand phonics. I suppose the creators of this product thought that spreading the games across different skill levels would allow the child to play with it for years to come but in reality it didn't work. My son quickly grew bored with the few games that he could do and even though I took it "out of circulation" and reintroduced it almost a year later, my son remembered that it wasn't much fun and never gave it a second look.

This is a game that is destined to make the yard sale circuit. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This is great
I bought this for my grandson for his 1st birthday which isn't for a few more months. Why so early? It seemed like such a great deal that I was afraid they would be gone if I waited. Having purchased several other Neurosmith toys I knew that this would be a good one and it is. I know he's going to enjoy it and meanwhile I've played with it several times.What a fun toy! The music has a good quality to it, you can invent any kind of music on it and the toy itself appears to be very sturdy. It comes with a cartridge but it will play without it to. THis is something that I think he'll enjoy for a few years.

My twin boys LOVED it!
I bought 1 other cartridge for this and my 2 1/2year old twin boys played with this quite often. Their 4 year old sister would help them with some of the activities and it was easy for them to catch on to what she was doing. My boys are very hard on toys, and this one passed with flying colors so far. No dents, chips, cracks or dings. The boys love to take this into a dimly lit room and watch the blocks light up with the musical patterns. I woul receommend this toy again and again.

Buy with caution
I love this toy. So much so, that I bought one for my baby to play with once she gets older. I have only used it a few times and one of the block things is not working well. I like the toy too much to return, so we will try to have it fixed instead of returning it. In contacting the company, I have discovered they are no longer in business. So, if you do buy this, buy all the accessories while you can.

Musical toy for a musical boy
My 22-month-old got this for Christmas and absolutely loves it. He loves music anyway and this toy fits right in. It is versatile when you get the different cartridges. He even likes to sit and examine the shapes on each side of the blocks. My 4-year-old can really get into the composing part of it and enjoys mixing up the songs. It is durable too: it's been dropped and stepped on and is still going strong. This is a great toy to use to introduce or incorporate music into playtime in a hands-on way.

Great for your little maestro!
What a great toy! My 18 month old is a little too young to understand the concept of "composing" different songs, but this toy will definitely grow as he does. He loves to play with the blocks and push each of them to hear the different measures of music. The cartridge also works with his Jumbo Music Ball (what a plus!). ... Read more