Lately on the blog, we’ve been looking at different products to help with children’s literacy. The LeapFrog LeapReader is one that I was really interested in trying out with the boys.
The LeapReader is an electronic reading and writing system in the form of pen which is compatible with a wide selection of books. The LeapReader interacts with the books when your child places the tip of the pen down onto certain parts of the page, this allows the child to get a hint or prompt on words they are finding difficult as they can touch those words and hear them read. It’s great for very early readers as they will need more support and can get it easily through the LeapReader which should help to feel less frustrated with their reading.
All of the children have been using this. I initially thought it would be more for Z (age 5) but they all really like it and depending what books you buy it can be well suited for a wide age range. The LeapReader is recommended from 4-9 and there is also a junior version for age 1-3 years which works on board books.
The LeapReader comes with an activity sampler book and one sheet of Learning Paper for writing. The sampler book gives you an idea of all the different books available as it has a sample from a different book on each page. They are all fully functional pages so it gives you an idea of what level each book is at and the kind of activities included. The boys actually quite liked the variety within this but did have a few clear favourites within the book, one being the Cars Early Reader book. This level is quite easy for Mr Z to read now so he can do it confidently, and Mr T and Mr R get quite excited with their favourite characters like Lightening McQueen!
As well as reading the story, these books also include reading comprehension quizzes which is brilliant to keep the children engaged for longer and to make sure that they have processed and understood what they are reading. This is a really important literacy skill, and it’s great for the children to have a chance to practise in a fun way. I did find with Mr Z in the past, when he was newer to reading, he would be concentrating so hard on decoding the words that he would not always actually know what he had read or pick up the meaning of the story – so after reading a book to me he would want me to read the same one back to him as he wasn’t sure what had actually happened! I think that is quite a common stage that young children would go through as they learn and the LeapReader is ideal for that as they can decode the words themselves and read the sentence, and then use the LeapReader to read it all back to them to reinforce what they have read and using this tool allows children do to all of this more independently.
The reading comprehension quizzes come when the the LeapReader touches the star logos near the bottom of some of the pages. There are also logos to tell the LeapReader to read the whole page, to read one word, to sound out a word, spell a word, and more. When any of the characters are touched then the characters will say phrases and certain areas of the page may result in sound effects.
We were also sent one of the Read on Your Own Series books: Monsters University 3d book.
This is a more complex story so is a great level for Mr Z now, and not something he would grow out of too soon. The boys actually haven’t seen Monsters University yet! But they tend to love anything from Disney Pixar so it’s good to introduce them all to a new story. The Read On Your Own series still have plenty of pictures on the page and are not too overwhelming, but do have a more challenging level of language than the Early Reader books so are perfect to stretch a child’s reading ability. There are reading comprehension and quiz questions within this book too, although not on every page. It’s on about half of the pages. It also comes with 3d glasses which gives the effect of the images popping out of the page a little more.
The LeapReader can also be used to help develop writing skills, when used with the LeapFrog Learning Paper and there are several books with this function – see which ones here. The LeapReader does not write when on any other paper. Being in a pen shape means that children can also practise holding it with their correct tripod grip even when using it to read or for the quiz activities throughout the book, to help them get comfortable with this grip.
Setting up the LeapReader was easy enough. You need to download the LeapFrog Learning Lodge and then connect your device. You can choose content to download through the Learning Lodge and you get one free audio book, trivia challenge and music album download with the LeapReader.
The LeapReader comes with headphones which is handy and it charges through USB rather than having to insert and keep replacing batteries, which is a massive plus for me. We do have other educational electronic toys for the boys that are really good but go through batteries too quickly and I find that really inconvenient, as I’m sure many of you would feel the same.
I would recommend the LeapReader system and will be looking out for some more books to add to the boys’ collection 🙂
Have you tried the LeapReader before? Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
Find out more about the LeapReader here on the LeapFrog website.
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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
We have the tag reader which has been great for Ethan though he doesn’t really use it much now he can read confidently. I am definitely hanging onto it for Fyfa though as I think they are great!
We’ve got the Leapreader and they love it – my 3 year old likes to ‘read’ in bed with it at night before he goes to sleep. I think it’s excellent for encouraging a love of books and independent reading 🙂
Looks great fun, 3D books 🙂
We love the leapreader and did you know you can use it to read the whole story ie like an audio book. Perfect at bedtime when being asked for just one more story!
My kids had one of the first ever Leap Pad products! Wow, that makes me sound old. I think they’re fab. Your kids certainly look like the are enjoying themselves 🙂
i love their products! look good!
Love Leap pad’s such a great way to bring a love of books to children.
Sounds like a need product. I keep being surprised at the advancement of technology fo early learners.
I would love one of these, they look great. My little one has a birthday coming up so I think it’s probably time to invest! Thank you for sharing.
I think my little boy will love this! And the 3D book looks super cool as well.
I think my two would LOVE this! Interesting that it works for the different levels and ages that your boys are at. We inherited an ancient version from a friend, and both of mine (almost 2, and 4) like it – admittedly, Gwen just like poking it with the pen to see what noises come out! But I love the age versatility.
that’s what my 2 year old does just pokes it! the other two use it a little more properly but tbh its very fun for my 2 year old too I just supervise him cos its paper and if he ripped it would be such a shame!
We have the younger version on this we find it so good , will have to give this one ago as my daughter starts pre school n sept .x
Sounds really interesting, we got Monkey an Innotab for Christmas as our first venture into electronic learning but the battery life has been awful. This looks like a really good option.
We have that problem with our innotab too. We have the baby one – I think the newest one out is a power one which can be recharged, must be so much better!
I found with Leappad (admittedly years back when the now 16 yr old had one of the first) that there is a v small window when they are of use, they need to be almost too old for the other learning tools when they need it for the reading. Maybe I’m just a traditionalist but didn’t work for us, and actually your child will read in their own time without expensive gadgets. As a teacher I tried many things to help with son #1 but had to relearn everything with son #2 who only learned to read when I refused to read Pokemon any longer!!! Leapads are a good idea and have their uses but I don’t think they help much with reading.
The smiles on their faces say it all.. no need for words when kids are loving reading, playing and learning 🙂
I had a much much much much earlier version of this when my children were younger, and I thought it was fantastic!! This all singing all dancing version is astounding!! Anything that encourages children to be interested in books gets a big thumbs up from me 🙂
No, not yet, we have an iPad and tons of apps and literacy games on it. I might give it a go once the little lady goes to school in September, if I see the need for one.
What a fab little device! My daughter would love it, I reckon. Thanks for the detailed review. Super cute pics too x
Ooh, that sound interesting, I’d like to give the one for younger kids a try, my son is 3 and has started asking me what the different words on the page are.
how cool! We love LeapFrog products in our house! x
This looks great. I’ve been looking at them recently wondering if Emmy would use it or just get bored
Mine are a bit too old for this now but we used to love all Leap Pad products x x
That looks amazing! Thanks for the review, will definitely think about this for our little girl’s birthday.
These are such a great idea 🙂
Leapfrog Leapreader seems great for learning. Fun and educational.
So glad I have seen this review…….was thinking of getting Cody one for his birthday but was unsure. You have helped me a great deal….thank you 🙂
Grace used to have the Leapfrog Reader with the special pen and she loved it but it didn’t get that much use unfortunately :S. A really comprehensive review and thank you for linking to PoCoLo x
great review and if it helps children to read and learn it cannot do any harm