Reading and Writing Reviews

Baby Tad is a wonderful interactive toy that makes early learning fun and easy. Baby Tad (short for tadpole) helps your preschooler learn shapes, colors, activities, and songs. When your little one presses a colored light-up button, Tad identifies the color and shape indicated on the button. With his cheerful demeanor and infectious laugh, Tad offers support and encouragement and will quickly become a close and trusted friend. Besides various greetings, a squeeze of Tad's hand brings forth favorite children's songs, sung in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. --Alison Golder

Ribbit! This huggable froggie is one great learning tool--teaching toddlers and preschoolers the alphabet, phonics, numbers, colors, and vocabulary. When kids press the letters on his tummy or other buttons on his webbed fingers, he'll say the selection aloud. Little ones can also follow along in his 26-page alphabet storybook. Read and Sing Little Leap engages kids with tunes like the ABC's and an interactive phonics song, as well as four learning activities. Although this little guy is never too taxing on the eardrums, the volume control and auto shutoff are wonderful features that allow kids to take their smart friend with them into dreamland (and ensures longer battery life). The frog requires three batteries, which are included. --Melissa Wilson

With LeapFrog’s Pretend and Learn Shopping Cart children can have fun and learn while grocery shopping. This interactive shopping cart encourages open-ended, imaginative play and introduces fundamental math skills to preschoolers. Play begins with the easy-to-use scanner attached to the basket. Start by selecting one of three learning modes: Explore, Learn, or Shopping Games. Buddy Tad will start the fun by asking what items need to be scanned. As a child picks and scans the items, Tad will encourage and help them along with fun songs and clues. Kids can learn about colors, food groups, quantities, counting, and healthy facts about food. As with all LeapFrog products, children will develop language skills, reasoning skills, exploration and creativity, cognitive development, and gross motor skills. If quiet play is desired simply switch the cart to the Off position and let your child explore and learn on their own. The shopping cart requires minimal assembly and is made of durable plastic with smooth, rounded corners for small hands to grab easily. It measures 22 inches high and stands sturdily on the wide base and four solid wheels. Requires three AA batteries (not included).

This electronic writing desk teaches kids the alphabet, letter sounds, letter formation, spelling, and word creation in a fun, interactive format. Kids can choose from six games: letters, a letters quiz, phonics, a phonics quiz, spelling, and "create-a-word." In the letters game, children push a letter to hear its name and see how it is formed on the LCD screen; players can also write their own letters on the "magic" writing screen. In the spelling game, children learn to spell simple words. In the phonics game, children first hear a letter and then are given a short word as an example. Along the way, the always-helpful LeapFrog "coach" offers lots of cheerful hints so children won't get stuck in any of the exercises. Additional features include an automatic shut-off, an oversize pullout handle, a variety of comical sounds for incorrect answers, and a two-position volume control. --Tami Horiuchi

LeapFrog's arsenal of learning toys are all designed to boost children's skills at an early age and get them ahead of the curve. And what could offer a better head start than the LeapPad, which is essentially a lightweight child-sized laptop. Instead of a mouse, the LeapPad comes with a wide easy-to-grip pen that allows children to point to pictures to hear music or sound effects or point to words to hear them spoken. In addition, kids can use the pen to practice making letters and numbers. This set comes with two books focused on writing skills and children place them inside the LeapPad tablet and boot up to begin learning. This learning system pack come with a writing practice book geared to pre-kindergarteners to first graders to teach how to write letters, numbers, words, and equations. A second interactive book offers an assortment of stories and lessons in phonics, science, geography, music, and more. --Cristina Vaamonde