LeapFrog LeapReader Learn to Read, Volume 2 (works with Tag) Review

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I am an elementary school teacher. Even though my family has officially banned anymore educational toys from my children's playroom (instead insisting on some "regular" toys), I just couldn't help myself. I love LeapFrog® toys. I have had my eye on the Tag since my oldest son was 2½, but finally at 4½ I feel he is ready for it.

This set includes six books: Long A, Long I, Long O, Long U, Y as a vowel, and a Review book. They are different from regular Tag books in several ways. There are no licensed characters featured in the set (e.g. Dora, Diego, SpongeBob). They are also paperback books. The biggest difference though is the educational substance of this set. With regular Tag books, a child has the option to play games (book-wide or page-wide games), have the entire page read to them (like a Story Reader), to point to the individual word and have it read, or point to any graphic on the page and have it do something. While these books have all of that, this set is additionally designed for TEACHING phonics. Each book page has three modes the child can choose from: Say It (default), Sound It, and Spell It. I will describe each:

' Say It just like regular Tag books, you put the Tag pen on an individual word and it will say it.

' Sound It (or phonics mode) sounds out individual consonants, vowels, or special grouped combinations (like "ea", "ou", "kn", etc) which are too difficult to explain efficiently in this learning format. For example: while running the Tag pen across the name Lily, it would sound out, "Llllll ih lllll eeeee, Lily." You will also hear things like, "this e is silent," and other phonics rules.

' Spell It self-explanatory

What makes this set so unique is the phonics mode. LeapFrog should incorporate it into all of their Tag books. The Long E sound is missing. Long Y could have been incorporated into the Long I book to exaggerate the point of their similarity ("spy" "sky" and "bike" "hike") to make way for a Long E book. Perhaps they left it out because E is not long "stand alone" and needs another vowel to combine with it to sound long ("feat", "bee", "sea", "ear"). Long E still has a functional sound and should be addressed for consistency's sake, especially given that the books include and acknowledge other vowel combos, and especially given that no vowel is long stand-alone without another vowel helper like the silent E (in June, huge, dune, rule, lone, cane) or within a vowel combo like (suit, fruit, bait, loan).

Also, each book does not make a point to EMPHASIZE the vowel sound they are trying to teach other than simply including a lot of words with that sound in the story. In my opinion, it should be exagerrated textually and phonetically so the child can make the connection. Overall though, this is a helpful set, I like it better than regular Tag books, and it WILL help your child.

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One problem I personally find with most educational toys is the age rating. Age 4-7 and 5-8 are huge ability gaps (yet these are how the Tag books are age-grouped) and I do not think all books are appropriate within the full range specified. I especially notice this in the Tag Junior books which say they are for 2-4 year olds (which I bought for my 3-year-old and some of the books are appropriate for my 15-month old!). While the Tag Reader and Tag Junior reader are appropriate for the ages specified, Tag books should be more precisely age-rated perhaps 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8. Some Tag books are way over a 4or 5-year-old's head and some of the books are not challenging enough for 7to 8-year-olds. I bought some books for my 4½ year old that he enjoys listening to but cannot fully utilize yet, which is disappointing.

Unlike me, read up on the book content before buying and that should ensure you spend your hard-earned dollars on what your child will use NOW and not something that will be used in a year or two! Amazon, Wal-mart, and Toys-R-Us reviews are very helpful in this. HTH!

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Excellent value for money. This set is currently not sold in the UK and I've had to purchase it through family in the States. A shame really as the books have allowed my daughter to excel in her reading skills in a very short space of time. I thereafter went on to buy the Long Vowels series and other Leapfrog Tag books and games. Excellent products for an enthusiastic child you loves learning. Would definitely recommend.

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I bought these for my son who is learning how to read. He likes the book and "reads" them regularly with his leapfrog pen. They are paperback so I would recommend taking care of them and buying a hard case to store them in (we bought the leapfrog case that holds a lot of books and has a slot for the reader pen) or they may be damaged. These along with hooked on phonics seem to really be helping my child to read and he enjoys the freedom of being able to learn from them without an adult being there. If you have the reading pen and get these for a decent price they are worth the investment.

Honest reviews on LeapFrog LeapReader Learn to Read, Volume 2 (works with Tag)

My son enjoys all of his LeapFrog products but I think he enjoys this best because he is recognizing his site words, learning the beginning and end of sentences, etc. All requirements for kindergarten in our area. Once again, LeapFrog gets an A+ in our household.

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Very affordable..we got this for my son he is 4 and he loves it..well worth the price..he loves to use the pen to read before I couldnt get him to sit and look at a book..love this product