Tag Junior electronic book pal helps toddlers to read
— -- Nothing beats having your child curl up in your lap to read a favorite book. But for those times when you can't be the reader, or when you might want to introduce fun sounds and music into listening to a story, a new gadget called the Tag Junior can help.
From LeapFrog, the maker of last year's award-winning Tag Reading System, Tag Junior brings assisted reading to a younger audience — kids ages 2 through 4. Tag Junior is a small plastic device that looks somewhat like a little chick with eyes, and it fits comfortably in little hands. This book pal can read any page of special Tag Junior board books. All kids have to do is place the Tag Junior on top of words on a page, and the Tag Junior reads them aloud. The Tag Junior also responds to illustrations on the page by making sounds, adding further dialogue or creating music.
The Tag Junior has a tiny optical scanner on the bottom of the device that allows it to read the special Tag Junior board books. Its speaker is found on the belly of the book pal. Using two AAA batteries, this book pal will turn itself off after a period of inactivity. It has an on/off button on the side, and another button to adjust the volume.
The Tag Junior comes bundled with an "If I Were..." book and can store the audio for up to five books. Additional books cost $10.99 each, and the audio for any of the nine additional books available at launch can be found online.
To connect the Tag Junior to the Internet, adults must take off the battery cover and plug the device into a computer using the included USB cord. Once the LeapFrog Connect Application program for the Tag Junior has been downloaded, parents can control which books are stored on the device, and easily switch out the audio books carried on the device.
Parents can personalize the device by having it say their child's name when it is turned on and off. They can also download printable pages to go with each book that have coloring and other activities. Additionally, parents can track how their child uses the device by getting information about how long their child plays with a specific book and which pages held the child's attention.
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