LeapFrog Tag Reading System

The LeapFrog Tag Reading System ($39.99 list) is a halfway point between an interactive website and a physical book. The Tag Reader uses physical books with a pen-like stylus to help kids read stories, solve puzzles, and sound out words that they?re learning to read. The stylus is actually an optical pen with a built-in speaker to give your child audible feedback during reading and play sessions. It?s pretty neat, but there are a couple drawbacks to its use.

The Tag Reader stylus fits easily in a child or adult hand, and works even if you don?t hold it perfectly straight. However, there definitely is a ?more correct? way to hold it that's both more ergonomic and lets the internal sensor see what you?re pointing at more accurately. This is because the stylus body is slightly curved, and the sensor at the tip of the stylus works best when the pointed end is above the word you want to point at. Once you hold it right, the stylus responds quickly and accurately. It has obviously been playtested with kids, since the Tag Reader was able to keep up with my four-year-old son?s rapid tapping on several words in succession. Even faster than many well designed interactive websites, the Tag Reader reacted to split-second shifts from one word to another. It can read words at New York City speech speeds or the more leisurely pace of a toddler trying to read a passage for the first time. This is one of its strengths, as your child can go as fast or as slow as he wants.

The Tag Reader I reviewed came with a book with sample pages from several titles, including pages featuring Disney characters, other licensed characters like Scooby Doo, and Leapfrog?s mascot Little Leap. The sample book can give you an idea of how the system works for your child, but to get the full potential you?ll need to buy the full priced books. Books on learning to read, write, and use basic mathematics are supplemented by maps that teach geography, science, and social studies. The books are aimed at the 4-to-8-year-old crowd, including prep for kindergarten. The presentation and knowledge were interesting enough to temporarily transfix my 12-year-old daughter as well, particularly the geography pages. The Tag Reader holds 32MB of data, enough for about a dozen or so books and activities. You?ll need to connect the Tag Reader to your PC or Mac to download the audio to the stylus? internal memory via a USB cable. All of the audio is accessible online, though you won?t be able to hear the audio unless you buy the corresponding physical book. It?s an interesting take on the old handle and razor blades model, but it does work. There are over 40 titles and map sets currently available for purchase.

Are there any drawbacks aside from the need to download audio? Well, the PC and Mac conduit programs are free, but they require the use of Adobe Flash, which can be temperamental on some systems. There?s also the animation factor: When you use a learning website or software on a computer, that learning experience is likely to be embellished with sound effects and animation. You?ll get the sound effects with the Tag Reader, but you won?t get the animation. The audio is certainly more effective than simply reading a book, but it can?t compete for attention like an animated website or console game. Make sure you?re letting your child use Tag in a room away from the TV or an easily accessible computer.

The Leapfrog Tag Reading System is a well designed, well supported way for your child to learn how to read at his or her own pace. It takes the constant adult supervision out of the equation, so the child can repeat a single word or audio sequence as many times as is necessary (to him or her). This is a good thing when your child?s favorite character is based on a goofy cartoon. Or named Walter the Farting Dog.

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