droolicious : tag reading system

Giveaway: Win a LeapFrog Tag Reading System + 2 Dr. Seuss Books!

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Happy National Reading Month! To help mark the occasion, we're teaming up with LeapFrog to give away 10 of the company's award-winning Tag Reading Systems to lucky Droolicious readers. And since this month also happens to mark another very special event -- the 105th birthday of Dr. Seuss -- LeapFrog has thrown in two classic Seuss titles redone especially for Tag: The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. That's around $78 worth of reading fun altogether!

Read along with the kiddoes, or turn them loose with Tag's interactive talking pen so they can explore pages, passages and individual words in the Seuss classics or the equally fun Ozzie and Mack, which comes as part of the Tag core system. And be sure to visit LeapFrog.com during National Reading Month to sign up for the 1 Million Reading Hours Pledge, LeapFrog's new program to encourage a love for reading. You'll get a free reward certificate and a $10 coupon toward Tag products at Toys "R" Us when you sign up to pledge participation.

As for this contest, here's the skinny: To enter, just email us at babblecontest@gmail.com with your name, address and daytime phone number. We're keeping the giveaway open all month, so spread the word -- 10 winners will be chosen at random on March 31.

Good luck!

New from LeapFrog: This Book is Alive!

elizabeth leach — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Why should the big kids have all the fun? LeapFrog’s highly successful and award winning Tag Reading System gives big kids the world of books at their fingertips and, now, toddlers can have fun discovering books and learning to love reading, too. Tag Junior is made for little hands and is perfect for their stage of reading development.

This is how it works: Touch the cute Tag Junior Book Pal anywhere on the book and hear the text spoken, sound effects or music. It doesn’t matter where you touch the book, something always happens! Parents download the audio to the Book Pal from their computer. Book Pal holds up to five books at a time so this is the perfect toy for travel or on the go. (A super adorable carrying case is sold separately.)

Nine books will be available this summer with classic titles, favorite characters and original stories, too. The Tag Junior System will be sold for $34.99 and books will be $10.99.

LeapFrog Sitewide Deals Extended But Going Fast

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Lisa tipped us off to the 25% sitewide sale at LeapFrog.com that was originally slated to end on Cyber Monday, but LeapFrog has kept the deal going on selected products while further slashing prices and shipping costs on others. The Leapster2 Learning System handheld pictured here, for instance, is now $10 its regular price of $69.99, and that's just the start.

Below, we've rounded up some other hot deals you'll find at LeapFrog.com today (which, incidentally, also happens to be Free Shipping Day). Midnight on Dec. 19 seems to be the ending date for most of these, so get to it!

Free shipping on all orders of $49.99 or more

Save 25% off Tag Reading System, Leapster2, Didj Custom Gaming System, and ClickStart My First Computer purchases, or snag a FLY Fusion Pentop Computer for just $29.99 (regularly $29.99)

Buy a Didj and a Crammer Study and Sound System together, and save $55 of the regular combined price of $155 (enter promo code HY8NDC)

Get a Tag Learn to Read Gift Pack (six talking books plus the Tag electronic pen reader) for $83 (regularly $119)

Save $72 on a Didj Hannah Montana Gift Pack (regularly $152) and $35 on a Star Wars-themed Leapster2 (regularly $104.98)

Just $39.99 (regularly $132.96 to $162.95) for the FLY Fusion Ultimate Homework, Writer's and Math Pro Gift Packs.

Spike, Barbie, TAG and Gazillion-Selling New Star Wars Game Top TRU's 2008 Hot List

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:50:00 GMT

Toys"R"Us today rolled out its annual Hot Holiday Toys shopping guide, and though we're not sure of the exact scientific process the company used to nail down its picks for this season, the list is looking pretty much like we'd expect: Star Wars, Barbie, LeapFrog and robots of various stripes.

Fisher-Price's big honkin' animatronic beast Spike the Ultra Dinosaur ($139.99; pictured above) heads up this year's list, even if today he doesn't seem to be available online. Check back, though, because Toys"R"Us is throwing in a "buy two, get a third free" deal on all Imaginext (the series for which Spike is the alpha male) toys bought through its site.

Ditto on that deal for Barbie toys: Throw Princess Liana ($24.99) here into your online cart, add a friend, and you can pick up a third Barbie free.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($49.99), the Clone Wars-clobberin' new adventure that's already sold 1.5 million copies since its release Sept. 16, may not be aimed at the littler gamers in your family, but if you or your older kids haven't yet wielded your Force-lightning as Vader's Secret Apprentice, we guarantee you'll want a copy this season.

And finally, our old friend TAG ($49.99), the newly launched reading system (complete with accompanying book series) from LeapFrog that's like a virtual phonics teacher/video game in pen form, is kicking much behind in the learning-toy category. It's pictured above in a pink version, but if you're looking to go more gender-neutral, there's a green counterpart.

This, of course, is just the start of Toys"R"Us' list this season -- hit up Hot Holiday Toys for a look at everything your little ones will be demanding come December, and in the meantime, let's start talking: Drop us a note in the comments about your own picks for the best toys of '08.

The Babble Review: Leapfrog Tag Reading System

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:04:00 GMT

Leapfrog's new Tag Reading System officially went on sale this past weekend, and based on the few days' experience I and mine have had with the gadget, it's looking as though this one could be a monster hit.

If you're familiar with LeapFrog's popular LeapPad or FLY Fusion Pentop Computer, you're halfway to understanding how to use Tag -- and given the intended audience (pre-readers ages 4-8), the learning curve here is short even when compared to LeapPad (with the older-kid-oriented FLY, it doesn't even compare). Outside of the included USB cable and PC program, the latter of which is used for keeping track of your budding reader's progress and downloading additional content, the technology is contained inside the pen. Simply point the infrared tip at words or icons in the accompanying books -- more on those in a second -- and Tag brings them to life.

My middle child, who just turned 5 and is itching to read as well as his 7-year-old brother does, tested Tag on two books in the system's library: Ozzie and Mack, which comes with the basic system, and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Tour de Bikini Bottom, which is among the 20-plus Tag-compatible books sold separately. (For those not into cartoon-themed books, there are several kids' classics -- from The Little Engine That Could to Olivia and beyond -- available, as well.) After a few minutes of mild impatience during which I installed the PC program and downloaded the audio content for SpongeBob, my son was able to start using the Tag pen, and though I attempted to cover the ins and outs of the system before handing it over, it didn't take long for him to figure it out on his own.

Though Tag's audio doesn't come close to the pristine, stereo-quality sound portrayed in the online demo, it's also nothing to sneeze at: As my son moved the pen across the pages in either book, the words came to life in surprisingly crisp detail regardless of whether he was playing whole sections, listening to the entire book, or moving one word at a time through the page (by far one of Tag's best features). Depending on how fast he was moving the pen, or how close to the center of a longer word he applied the pen, there was some mild garbling in which the words sometimes ran together (sort of akin to the sound you get when you rapidly mouse-click a piece of Flash audio), but for the most part, Tag came across like a steady, patient reading instructor working one word at a time through each paragraph.

My son isn't reading yet -- it's only been a few days! -- but as he and I have been going through the books together, I get the feeling that he'll be better prepared to start ahead of schedule with Tag's help. The fact that he can spend hours poring over a SpongeBob story when we normally cut off his TV time after an episode doesn't hurt, either.

Available pretty much everywhere you'd expect, Tag is $49.99 for the starter system, and $13.99 for additional books -- and if you buy it through LeapFrog's online store, you can also make a pledge to trade up your used LeapPad, Little Touch or My First LeapPad to receive a free book, T. Rex's Mighty Roar. (Offer ends June 30.)