LeapPad

This product produced a tremendous stir in our house. I have not seen anything in the field of reading instruction that has excited me this much in many years! If you have children who are learning to read, this is something you definately will want to buy....yesterday!

LeapPad is a hard plastic book, approximately 9x12. The cover opens, revealing a storybook which pops into the holder. A small computerized pen is attached (thank goodness!) to the side of the book. This is where the fun begins.

The book that comes with LeapPad includes three short stories, and some academic areas covering states, parts of the body, musical instrument families etc. The stories are all in the pre-K-2nd grade reading range.

On each page, your child must click the 'go' button. He can then click on the ear, and listen to the store being read by a narrator. That's neat, but not where the power of the product is. By clicking on the Say It button, your child can point to any word on the page and hear that word read aloud. This allows him to read independently, asking for help wherever needed. The book has eternal patience, never gets sleepy, and never sounds the least bit bothered when asked the same word for the millionth time.

When the Sound It button is clicked, things get even better. Each word can be sounded out phonetically by the narrator. Letter combinations, such as ea, or th, are highlighted in yellow and pronounced as one sound. The word is sounded out at the same speed your child drags the pen across the word, making this extremely accurate.

If your child is a bit more advanced, have him click on the Spell It button, which then spells and repeats each word pointed to.

There are more books you can purchase for this system. You can find Winnie the Pooh storybooks, Richard Scarry books, and a series done by Whoppi Goldberg dealing with 'life's lessons.' This book is something that will not replace sitting and reading with your children. It will, however, let them practice at their own pace any time, any where. You can even plug in earphones on the side of the book. I love the fact that the words are sounded out for my kids. This books reads with them the same way I do: "read what you can and I'll tell you the words you don't know." I am very excited about this product and would highly recommend it to any family with children who are learning to read. The best news is that it is not too expensive.

One problem we found after publication: If you run the 'wand' over a word too quickly, the book skips letters of sounds. Please watch your children until they get the feel for the correct speed. My kids learned very quickly what speed to use, but you will want to be involved at first.