LeapFrog Tag Reading System - Toy Review

Christmas Toy Review #2:  LeapFrog Tag Reading System

William received his Tag System from his Grandparents last Christmas.  It is all he wanted and was so excited to see that green box emerge from the wrapping paper! I have to admit I was too!

The Tag System is comprised of a Tag "pen" and a variety of books.  You download electronic files onto the pen and it matches up with to books you own. The pen can hold up to 10 books at a time. Then you can point at a variety of settings within the books to do various activities: Games, reading word by word, sound out words, reading entire page, and spelling.
The Tag  uses 2 AAA batteries, but don't really have to change them out very often. Comes in two colors Green or Pink.

What I love about this toy:

• Really does work!! I'm not saying this will teach your child to read, but I can  say I saw a significant improvement on Williams word recognition after he started using this toy! We also have books that focus on certain vowel sounds that have come in handy during schooling.
• Ease of use: William received this toy at age 4 and was a pro!, but even Cade (3) is able to use all the functions and Brennan (2 1/2) can use some of the functions. All with a print rich toy! We also have a friend with a 7 year old daughter who still loves to play with her Tag system, and has asked for more books at Christmas
• Book: There is a huge variety of books! Some gender specific, others not. I also love that there are classic titles included, ex. "The Cat in the Hat" and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom".  Most of all, I love that the book look like regular books. Most of them have hard back covers and paper pages, just like every other book on the shelf. Williams quote, "Mommy, these books are just like the ones you read to me". 
• Compact: You can buy a storage case for the Tag Reading System, but we keep ours in a small toddler backpack. The books are all the same size, and store easily. And the "pen" is no bigger than a soup spoon. Great for travel! 
• Also the software for the books is kept online. I love that I don't have Cd's for every book we own floating around in our house. Just the pen, the books and the cable to connect to the computer.

Cons:
I honestly can't come up with anything I don't like about the Tag.

It is a great buy!!!

Does your family own a LeapFrog Tag System?  What is your favorite Learning Toy? 

Happy Toy Shopping!