We already had the original Tag reading system and when I thought my son was ready I purchased him this since it is more for his age. He became frustrated with it. I realize that the device is designed for little hands but it makes it much harder to get it on the exact word that you want because it is so big. One day my son wanted to "read" with the regular Tag system pen and he used it with ease. The books for Tag junior may be more for my son's age but he'd rather just use a regular sized pen because it works better.

cpeg85

USA

My 2 year old son recently got one of these and he really enjoys it. The bookpal can be touched to any image or word on the book and different noises or reading of the word will happen. He loves it especially because it lets him "read" books independently and a lot of the noises make him laugh. It can also be personalized to say your child's name when it is turned on and off, which he enjoys.

Laceellh

USA

The Tag junior reader is a decent toy. It is well designed for a toddler- the back is secured by a spring loaded screw so little hands can't remove batteries, and the USB input is also secured under this cover. It has a flared hourglass shape that is easy for small, uncoordinated hands to grasp and it sits flat on its accompanying board books. My only complaint is its inability to grow with your child. It only reads a page at a time and does not have the option to read one word at a time. It also only has the option to download audio for toddler board books, and cannot be used with any of the slightly more advanced pre-k series for the regular Tag Reader. All in all, I think that unless you can find it cheap, you're better off buying the Tag reader so that you won't have to replace it after only briefly being used. The Tag reader grows with your child, from pre-preschool through elementary school and has many more features and book options. However, if you're looking for baby proof and simple, this is your toy and it will do its job well.

MamiMeg

Banning, CA

Our sons, who are almost three years old and thirteen months old, got the Tag Junior for Christmas. Both our boys love books and we spend quite a lot of time reading everyday. This has been wonderful because even if I am doing something like cooking and cannot be reading to them they can read and interact with the book without me. Our oldest loves to "teach " our youngest so he is usually the one holding the Tag Junior which is a great size and shape for his little hands. I love the fact that the Tag not only reads the story when placed on the words of the book but also plays music, describes pictures, and asks questions when placed elsewhere on each page. They have a wide variety of books to use with it. Which brings me to the one of the down sides to the Tag Junior, it will only store five books on it. Our boys got seven books plus the one that came with it. Instead of them being able to pick for any of them we have to rotate which ones are loaded on the Tag Junior on a regular basis. Not that big a deal since it is very easy to hook to the computer and download the books but inconvenient when your child wants a book not on it right then. The only other down side is the quickness it goes through batteries. We started using rechargables to combate this and are quite happy. 

SuperMom3128

Winterville, GA

We purchased the Tag Jr. for my daugher's second birthday. It might have been a little bit early for her, but we wanted her to have it when she could use it and not have to wait for another birthday or Christmas. She loves to read, but we don't always have time right at that moment to drop everything and spend hours reading stories! It's perfect for her now at 2 1/2 and she'll be using it for years with all the different things she can do with each book. She has 5 books that go with it. It's a great toy! It's perfect for that quiet time just before nap and for in the car as she can operate it completely on her own. I also like that it has only two buttons - power and volume! It's wonderful that it can be programmed to say her name, greet her and tell her goodbye, each time she turns it on or off. The manufacturers really did a nice job on the books too. When you touch the Tag Jr. to a spot on the book it makes a certain sound or reads part of the page, but there are MANY different spots on each page to explore with. It does more than just read the book word for word. My only complaint is that the memory is so full with just these 5 books that we'd have to take one or two books off in order to be able to add others. I guess we'll just be sticking with these. The books are kind of pricey anyway to have too many for such a young child's toy.

JeanBetween85

Fort Wayne, IN

So after looking at this product a great deal finally decided to get this for my daughter she is a little reader.  Shes three and loves to hear us read to heaar she even pretend reads to her dolls I have no idea whats shes saying, one thing I liked is their books had some of her favorite chararcters and I got it on sale and thought I'd give it a shot.  Know you do have to go online and download some software and it defintiely takes a good amount of time once you do it is so easy to download books to this things.  At first I was a little skeptical how would this work.  I got a few books and its great.    First of it does so much more than just read the words.  If a book is not downloaded it recognizes it and tells you.  And the best part my daughter can easily use it no problem so now she can sit down and "read" by her self.  It also has interaction also it ask question like point to something red.  Amazing a definite must in my opinion for that prereading stage definitely great for us.

sarkell

Prairie Village, KS

I was so excited to get the LeapFrog Tag Junior Book Pal for my toddler.  He loves books and I thought this would a great way to encourage some independence.  When he first got the LeapFrog Tag Junior he was just entering that stage of wanting to do everything himself, so this was a great system to introduce him too.  My son does love his Tag Junior.  I find it to be wonderful for long car rides.  He can just sit in his car seat and I just put his book bag next to him so he can go through all of his books.  I recently came across a major flaw in the the book pal that has made me regret my purchase.  You have to download each book to your child's book pal so it can read the story and identify objects in the book.  However, there is only enough memory on the book pal for 5 books.  My son wanted more stories and now this has become a source of frustration because some of the books "don't work" because I have to remove them from the memory of his tag in order to download the new books.  I don't understand why they sell so many books if they can't provide enough memory for your child to be able to use all the books he or she has.  Major let down! I have tried to hide the books that are not currently on the tag but my son knows everything he has and he will ask where the missing books are.....oh well.  I would love this if they could rectify the memory shortage.

veniceangel

Appleton, WI

My two and a half year old son loves his Leapfrog Tag Junior reading book pal!  He just goes and gets the little book pal, turns it on, and starts touching it to his books.  Sometimes he still touches it to his books that are not leapfrog junior equipped but he realizes it and picks out ones that are leapfrog.  He only has three books right now, the little one that comes with it and he got a free one online from leapfrog (they might still be doing it, just google free leapfrog tag junior book) and I bought him the dinosaur one since he loves dinosaurs.  His favorite is definitely the abc band one (Not sure of the actual title but it has an elephant on the front).  He loves it because each page has the animals playing instruments and when he clicks on them they start playing their instruments and say the letter they start with.  The last page sings the abc's and he loves clicking on that and doing it with them.  I really think it will help him learn his abcs and he doesn't even think he's working.

jcurtis1023

Hendersonville, TN

The Tag Junior by Leap Frog is a fantastic learning tool.  We have purchased several Leap Frog toys for our son and have always appreciated the educational elements to each of their toys.  The Tag Junior along with Tag are perhaps LeapFrog's most well-known learning tools and Tag Junior certainly does not disappoint.  The shape of Tag Junior is perfect for little hands and our child easily handles this device.  He enjoys moving the device across the Tag Junior books and is always excited as it reads different words to him.  A few things to be aware of when purchasing Tag Junior.  First, books can be expensive but I have been able to find a number of coupons to help with the price.  There is a decent selection of books for the device - many books with characters from Disney and Nickelodeon cartoons.  Second, Tag Junior books will work on the Tag once your child gets a bit older but the opposite is not true - Tag books cannot be read by Tag Junior. On the whole, I feel Tag Junior will help to contribute to my child's development and budding speaking and reading skills.  He certainly seems to enjoy the device and will likely appreciate it even more as he learns to read. 

Nicolebd23

Carmel, IN

My 2-year-old daughter is starting to show an interest in "reading" books (which means she recites them from memory!).  I had heard many positive things about the LeapFrog Tag Junior Book Pal and thought it would be the perfect reading companion for her.  The Book Pal is easy for her to hold and navigate over the pages of the books and she loves pressing it against all of the pictures.  She hasn't quite figured out how to "read" the words, but I'm sure that will come.  She really enjoys all of the books she has, her favorite being the Dora book.  The only problem (and it's not even a problem, more of an inconvenience) is that you have to download the books to the Book Pal before they will work.  It doesn't take long and it's not complicated, but the Book Pal will only hold 5 books at a time.  My daughter has more than 5 Tag Jr books and she gets confused and frustrated when she tries to look at one that's not currently loaded.  Overall, I think this is a great educational toy for her.

mommy-diva

Overland Park, KS