Llama Llama Red Pajama is about a little llama who is ready for bed. He wants to delay a little and have his busy mom come in RIGHT NOW. When she isn’t in his room immediately, he has a Llama tantrum. She comes in and gently reminds him that she’s always there for him, even if she’s not right there. It is a fun rhyming book and a great bedtime read. It’s suggested for ages 3+, but I’ve been reading it to my youngest since he’s been 2. It comes with a hard cover and regular pages. It has 40 pages, but just a few sentences (if that) per page. It is by the author Anna Dewdney.

We also own Llama Llama Mad at Mama and Llama Llama Misses Mama. They are both written in the same format, each book is 40 pages long. At home, our books are soft cover. In Llama Llama Mad at Mama, he goes shopping with his Mama and has a fit at the store, because face it – he was overwhelmed and bored. As always, the Mama Llama shows utmost patience in helping her son move past the drama and have a happy outcome. In Llama Llama Misses Mama, little Llama is on his way to his first day of school. He misses his Mama and doesn’t know what to make of the new environment. But once he relaxes and joins the other kids, he realizes he can love school and his Mama too. Both books are also by Anna Dewdney and for suggested for ages 3+.

I would say Llama Llama Mad at Mama could be read at a younger age, just be careful of the pages. And Llama Llama Misses Mama is great for little ones as they start a early childhood program or their first day of Kindergarten.

**TWO NEW LLAMA LLAMA BOOKS! ***

Now, there are two new Llama Llama books for even younger readers! These new books are suggested for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. They are 14 pages long and in a board book style for durability. They are a smaller size for little hands, measuring 6.8 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches. And they are a comparable cost to other board books, retailing for$5.99. The new titles are:

Llama Llama Wakey-Wake: This quick read lets your little one wake up with Llama Llama. He brushes his teeth, brushes his hair, gets dressed, eats, gets ready to go out for the day … and after some kisses he is on his way.

Llama Llama Nighty–Night: This book features the end of the day for Llama Llama as he gets ready for bed. He brushes his teeth, takes a bath, gets his famous red pajamas on, goes potty, chooses a bed-time book, snuggles and then the lights turn off and he’s asleep.

These new board books were just released on 1.5.12. They are part of the Penguin Young Readers Group.

OTHER LLAMA LLAMA BOOKS AND PRODUCTS:

If your child loves Llama Llama, there is a snuggle plush doll available. And there are two other books (which I so want) also available. See the list below:

Llama Llama Home with Mama: Llama Llama has a little cold. Back to bed, no school today for Llama Llama! He’s home with Mama. By lunchtime, though, hhe’s beginning to feel a tiny bit better, but Mama starts getting sick! Can Llama Llama help his Mama feel better? This book is a good read for those days when children (or their parents) are feeling under-the-weather.

Llama Llama Holiday Drama: Okay, this is the book I wanted to buy this year! I have to get it for my youngest son. We all now Llama Llama hates to wait. But during the Christmas season, all he and Mama are doing is rushing around, shopping for presents, baking cookies, decorating the tree  – but when will it finally be Christmas? The story has a nice ending, teaching Llama the value of spending time with family and friends over gifts.

Llama Llama 13.5″ Plush Stuffed Animal Doll: The Llama Llama Plush is 13.5″ long, features Llama Llama in his red pajamas and he is carrying his own Llama Plush. It receives 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

MORE:

For more information and news, visit Llama Llama online at www.llamallamabook.com.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz did receive the two Llama Llama Board Books to consider as buzzworthy. Since she is a fan of Llama Llama, she decided to introduce them along with other favorites to you.

Released by Disney Publishing Worldwide, this newest interactive storybook app for young readers is narrated by comic book legend Stan Lee! My four year old uses my iPad daily and his first words when he saw it on my iPad was a soft, “Wow…” So yes, just seeing the app instills awe.

Right from the get-go, you hear Stan Lee’s recognizable voice read the title. You can choose for Stan Lee to read to your child, auto-turn pages and be in Young Reader Mode so they can read to themselves. It doesn’t appear that it will read specific words when they tap them, though. I tried with no luck. Also, touching the images doesn’t cause an action to occur.

There are interactive elements, though. To access them you touch the Spider-Man face on the bottom of the screen. Games include:

Spider Hunt: Look for Spiders on the Page! There are 6 to locate in the story.

Electricity Generator: Simultaneously rotate your fingers on generators to generate electricity. I was expecting to see electricity go on the page as I did, but it didn’t. But it did keep a score on the bottom of the page.

Shake the Spider: Shake the device to get the Spider off Peter Parker. As you shake it you see an image of the Spider flying off.

Balance: Balance Crusher Hogan over Spider-Mans head by following the directions given by arrows. Tilt the device left or right.

Color: Move your finger to color in Spider-Man’s costume.

Web Sling: Web Sling through the city by tapping the screen when the spider-sense tingles.

Targets: Tap the screen at the right time so that Spidey will hit the moving targets. It’s funny because as Spidey hits them you hear Stan Lee saying,”Whip” or “Pow” or “Bang”.

You can keep track of achievements and story completion by touching the trophy.

Music automatically plays throughout the story, but you can turn it off for a quieter read. And updates to the app will include other languages, currently it is just available as English though.

The story is just as the title says, it describes how Peter Parker became Spider-Man. Many kids will be familiar with the story, but it is a new, exciting way to read it. Overall, both my sons (4 and 5) loved the app and I think it’s a great addition to out e-book library!

The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story app is available for download for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch at the App Store for $6.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-amazing-spider-man-an/id479938276?mt=8

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was provided with a free download to review.

Young children may need help when starting up this app. That’s because to make the app more “magical” it asks that you input your child’s name, age, your e-mail, your child’s gender and the country they live in. Also, this story can only be viewed in landscape.

There are plenty of navigation tools to help make the app easy to use. There is a microphone to play audio, quotes mean “read the story”, it directs you with circular arrows when you need to rotate the device to see more, then there are arrows for the previous page, next page and to scroll down.

The story follows Rudoph’s nephew, Ruben. He misses flight training school because he was busy making a new invention for Santa and the Elves. The invention is a magic Dear Santa Letter Delivery machine for children all over the world. Santa loves it and your child gets to use it on your device!

Overall, it’s not a very interactive app compared to others we’ve used in the past. Some items you push may pop up bigger, or show a new picture, but not every page has interactivity. But the story is cute and being able to write and mail Santa a letter using your device is cool.

When it came time to write a letter to Santa, I was expecting to use the keyboard. The app actually has children use their finger like a pencil to write their letter. There is no erase option if they make a mistake. They just have to go clear the screen and start over. When they are done, they choose the envelope to mail it to Santa.

Towards the end of the app, you see Santa riding his sleigh and your child’s name will appear on one of the gifts.

EXPERIENCE LETTERS FOR SANTA:

“Letters for Santa” is an engaging and magical experience for children ages 4-10 and is available for download worldwide on iTunes and on the Android Market. It is available for $1.99.

OTHER HOLIDAY APPS TO CONSIDER:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• The Night Before Christmas

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the app above for review.

When I first turned it on it had sleigh bell sounds and featured snow falling over a cityscape. You can choose to autoplay, have sounds and play a Snowflake Hunt game. The Snowflake Hunt game is an option I enjoyed, although it doesn’t track how many you find or how many you missed.

I like it with AutoPlay, narrated by Grammy award-winner, Jim Dale. As he reads the pages scroll, keeping you in the right place. Even during the AutoPlay you can touch different images to make cats meow, wreaths move, Santa laugh and bells jingle. The page illustrations have a classic feel to them, filling a page with so much to look at. The illustrations are bordered in Christmas colors with accent images on the border, as well. The music is by the acclaimed Boston Pops Orchestra.

Overall, it brings a classic story to life on our iPhones, iPads and iTouch devices. The Night Before Christmas is available from the App Store for $4.99. All of Jan Brett’s proceeds from this app will benefit the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This app is best for preschoolers and young children – ages 4 and up.

ANOTHER HOLIDAY APP TO CONSIDER:

A Charlie Brown Christmas

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the app above for review.

From the moment you start up the app, you know it’s unique. It features a record player (like like) spinning and playing a song From Charlie Brown Christmas. Kids can put the needle on and off the record player to start and stop the narration of the story. There is also a switch on the record player to turn the music on and off. Also on this beginning image is a picture of the book, A Charlie Brown Christmas. To start the story you just tap the book.

When you open the book, you see that it is narrated by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown. (“Good Grief!”) There is a little tree that you can also decorate from the get-go. There are ornaments, toppers, stands, garland/lights, and even different trees to decorate.

The story is every interactive. As you read (or the narrator reads) you have options to play with the images on the pages. You can make characters skate, help Snoopy decorate his dog house, make characters dance, play a piano, paint, and more. There are plenty of new things to see on every page.

I would download this app … today! It’s a great way to share A Charlie Brown Christmas for the holidays. To me, it’s just not Christmas without the movie. And now we can read the story together too! Young readers can turn the narration off and read to themselves, touching a word if they need help. Or you can cuddle on the couch with your kids to read to them, with a cup of hot cocoa nearby.

See the app in action:

A Charlie Brown Christmas is compatible with the iPad, iPhone and iTouch. It retails for $4.99 from the App Store.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the app above for review.

For just $4.99 you can download Entenmann’s Home Baking App from the iTunes App Store. Not only will you want it to come up with fab recipes for Holiday Bake Sales, Holiday Desserts and even giving some delicious treats as Christmas Gifts to friends and family – it also makes an affordable gift for any of your relatives that love to bake and own an iPad! In fact, if your mom/sis/aunt/grandma are getting an iPad from someone this year, this is a great add-on gift so they can immediately start using their new toy – and filling your tummy with goodies!

Another perk about the app is that it’s portable. If you are going to bake at a friend’s or family member’s house, just bring your iPad with the app for over 140 recipes, complete with full colored photos, printable grocery lists and step-by-step directions. You can even highlight your favorite recipes as you go through each one!

And another perk of the app is you can share the recipes via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter with the touch of a  button! If your sister wants the recipe for an Almost-Homemade Caramel Breakfast Bake – share it with her on Facebook! Your mom wants the recipe for the Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, send it to her via E-mail. It’s just so easy to share! And yes, both of those recipes are marked as favorites on my app. And if I try it and decide it isn’t quite to my taste, I can remove it from my favorites without damaging a page by flipping it or sticking a post-it on it.

Like the book, the app is divides into the following sections:

• Party Cakes
• Donuts, Danish & Puffs
• Crumb Cakes
• Muffins
• Loaf Cakes
• Brownies & Bars
• Cookies
• Pies
• Indulgent Cakes & Dessert
• Almost Homemade

Special features for this app include:

• Over 140 recipes with high-resolution photos
• Easy-to-follow recipe instructions and ingredient lists
• Shopping list with email and print functionality for keeping track of needed ingredients
• Search by ingredient function
• Email-to-friend functionality for each recipe
• Digital timer embedded in each recipe for convenience
• Bake along to your favorite tunes. Listen to music on your iPod while using the app

The only thing I WISH this app had, was a way to add your own comments to a recipe for future use. For example if you want to replace sugar with Truvia or some other modification. That would make the Entenmann’s Home Baking App that much sweeter.

The Entenmann’s Home Baking App retails for $4.99 and is a companion piece to Entenmann’s first ever cookbook, The Entenmann’s Big Book Of Baking.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

www.facebook.com/entenmanns               @entenmanns

www.facebook.com/parragonbooks               @parragonbooks 

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the app to review.

Well, the idea behind the book has been turned into an app for iPhones and iPads. And this is the coolest e-book to date, because it’s by Mo Willems … and YOU! (Or your child.) You see, your child can record their voice and/or choose options to help create the story. From the trouble the Pigeon wants to get into to helping him complete excuses of why he should be allowed to do what he wants. It’s HILARIOUS to hear some of the ideas the kids come up with.

And there are three levels of play – Egg, Chick or Pigeon. Egg is best for little kids, maybe 2 years old. That’s because they aren’t recording their own voice, just shaking the pigeon to get a new story. Chick let’s them have more say in the story, as they answer the bus drivers questions by tapping multiple choice pictures. They also get to record their name. And Big Pigeon let’s them record lots of different parts of the story. That one is funny, because obviously the pigeon’s voice changes as their voice fills in for parts. But the pigeon just explains he’s a little hoarse.

After you’ve created your story, you can save it to the library. It can save 6 stories at a time. And there is also a fun activity where they get to learn how to draw the pigeon. And they might even see their drawing reappear when the story is being read! I was so surprised by that incorporation.

With so much interactivity – drawing, recording, making choices, helping develop a story, shaking the pigeon, etc – this is my most favorite e-book to date for preschoolers and elementary school children. Both my childre (4 and 5) love this. And I know from experience that my 6 year old niece would love this too.

This app was launched by Disney Publishing Worldwide and features the voice of three-time Caldecott Honor winner Mo Willems. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Run this App!”is now available from the App Store for $6.99 from the App Store on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. For more info and e-book ideas, visit www.disneybookapps.com and www.facebook.com/DisneyDigitalBooks, or follow @DisneyDigitalBooks on Twitter.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received a promo code to review this app.

That said, we recently had a LeapFrog Learn, Create and Share Party where the kids got to play with the Tag Reading System and this GIANT 2-sided Board World Map. They used the Tag Reading System pen to play geography games and learn more about the people, countries and landmarks on the World Map.  They were so involved! It was so cool! I wish we could have played with it more than one day, but one of the moms “won” it during the party for her son – so we had to say good-bye.

But during the party I kept telling all the moms that there are other “boards” that you can purchase for the Tag Reading System, like a Solar System Adventure Pack, which retails for just $13.99. And two weeks later I had the chance to review the Solar System Adventure Pack with the Tag Reading System for theMomBuzz.

I have to say, it’s just cool. Most little kids LOVE space. And this 2-sided board is a great way to foster and develop their interest. The board has our Solar System on one side, where they can either use the Tag pen to learn more about the different planets, comets, asteroid belts, etc. Or they can actually participate in a game, where they use the pen to answer questions. And on the back there is a “board game”, where two players can play using the Tag Pen answering questions to space-related questions. And there are all sorts of little areas that they can interact with to further their space quest!

The map is over 3 feet long and recommended for children 4 – 8. I admit, my 5 year old plays with it more than my 46 month old. My 5 year old has also learned about space in school. I love how the map will teach adults space facts they might not even know. Like they list Pluto not as a “planet”, but separately as a dwarf planet. (I watched a television special on that recently – so interesting!)

MNEMONIC FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM:

If you are like me, you learned the solar system using the Mnemonic “My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pickles“  – which stands for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. With the removal of Pluto from a planet into a dwarf planet, my new mnemonic is “My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us … NOTHING!“

So, we’ve played with the World Map, the Solar System Map … and there is also a 2-sided US Map for the Tag Reading System which retails for $19.99. I loved the maps we played with and based on that would totally suggest any of the maps for someone who owns or is interested in purchasing the Tag Reader.

USING THE TAG READER:

Using the Tag Reader with the maps has been simple. You need to upload the content into the pen using the supplied USB cord. But once that is one, all you have to do is turn on the Tag Reader and place the tip on an image, word or icon. There is a volume control on the pen. It’s easiest for the person holding the pen to head, the way the pen is designed with the speaker facing the person holding the pen. So when my son holds the pen, I can’t hear as easily. And when I am holding the pen, I face the speaker towards him so he can hear the instructions easier as we play together.

Currently we don’t have any books in our Tag Library, other than the book the Tag Reader came with. That book is mostly a sample of other books and games that we can purchase. There was a fun Toy Story game in that sample book, where it gives a description of an alien and you are supposed to identify it out of all the aliens on the page.

On my BUY LIST

Since I need to build up my Tag Library with more than the sample book and the Solar System Map, I thought I’d share what’s on my BUY LIST for my boys (ages 46 months and 5).

• The Penguins of Madagascar: Puzzle Time
• Pixar Pals: Puzzle Time
• The Amazing Spider-Man: The Lizard’s Tale
• I Spy: Imagine That
• Pirates! The Treasure of the Turtle Island

PURCHASING:

You can purchase the Tag Reading System, Books and Maps at Target, Amazon, Toys R Us and LeapFrog.com. The pricing you can expect is:

Tag Reading System retails for $39.99

Books retails for between $9.99 and $13.99

Maps retail between $13.99 and $19.99

VIDEO QUICKIE: You get to see the Solar System Map

MORE REVIEWS TO READ:

• Cartridge: LeapSchool Reading
• Cartridge: Disney Pixar Cars 2
• Cartridge: I SPY Super Challenger
• LeapPad Educational Tablet

One reader will win a Tag Reading System with Solar System Map (Approximately $55 Value)

FIRST: MANDATORY ENTRY:

Who would you like to win the Tag Reading System for?

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:

To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter
• Share this contest on your Facebook page – Link it to @theMomBuzz – Here is the text:

Win a LeapFrog Tag Reading System @theMomBuzz. Give-away ends 11.20.11 http://themombuzz.com/?p=18851

• Tweet the following – can be done daily:

#win a LeapFrog tag Reading System at #themombuzz – Visit http://themombuzz.com/?p=18851

• Stumble any review or post on theMomBuzz.com (Please don’t Stumble Give-aways). Let me know what you Stumbled!
• Leave a comment on my Learn, Create and Share Party Post!
• Add the Mom Buzz to your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)

Contest ends 11/20/11. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the products above for review.

When I think “picture book”, what comes to mind is “Goodnight, Gorilla” or something similar. But one of the coolest picture books for Fall is Curious Critters, by David FitzSimmons. He uses stunning photographs to capture unique animals on a simple white background. Along with the full-page photographs, he has included simple, cute text to let readers know what the animals were thinking/saying during their photo session.

The text presents facts in a fun way. So children and adults alike will learn what turtles have in common, why black swallowtails impersonate their toxic cousins and why frogs sing.

Text Excerpt from the Jabbery Jay, who explains that he loves to imitate other birds:

Kee-eeeee-arr. Kee-eeeee-arr.

Ha! I scared you with my hawk call, didn’t I? You thought I was coming to get you. Actually, I’m just a jabbery jay, but I love to imitate hawks and other birds.

The book is hardcover and features 21 animals – some of them getting 2-page spreads. Animals include Bullfrogs, Crawfish, Brown Bats, Goldfish, Blue Jays and Jumping Spiders – just to name a few. On the last spread there are animal silhouettes, so the kids can try to guess which silhouette belongs to what animal in the book. And there is a glossary, useful for adults and kids, at the end of the book to define some of the terms, from amphibian to vernal pool.

There are a few curious critters who pictures make it in the book, but not as an “official page”. If you want to know what they are, their labels are on the second page of the book. And to see some of the gorgeous sample photos from Curious Critters, visit Curious-Critters.com.

I would suggest this book as being ideal for ages 5 to 8. I am sure older children and adults will love it for the photography. But the text is best for beginner readers from Kindergarten to 3rd grade. It’s a nice size lap book, measuring 11 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches .

Curious Critters retails for $19.95. You can find Curious Critters for just under $15 on Amazon.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. A copy of the book was provided for the review.

Every week a group of moms and I bring our sons together to hang out. Between us we have 7 boys! That makes for some action-packed fun. But recently I combined some leaping fun with some LeapFrog technology to create a super play date for our boys. The goal was to introduce the boys to the new must-have LeapPad and a the buzzworthy Tag System as part of MomSelect. They were kind enough to send two products with accessories for the party. And I love to share the fun, so I let one mom go home with one of the LeapFrog systems. Read on about the party and what we played with.

About the LeapPad:

Playing the Roly Poly app

The LeapPad is the must-have educational tablet for kids, ages 3 to 6. The tablet is created with children ages 4 – 8 in mind. But, parents and grandparents of tech-savvy kids – if your children/ grandchildren know how to operate apps on your Smart Phone or Tablet, they will be able to use the LeapPad. And the big bonus is that the LeapPad cartridge games, videos and apps are DESIGNED to increase their skill levels in math, writing, language, science and more.

It has a bright, 5″ touch-screen, volume control, headset capability, and built-in camera and video recorder. You can either purchase cartridge games to use with it or you can upload apps into the system. There are a few built-in games, but for full-fun I suggest purchasing two cartridges and 2 apps from the get-go. I also suggest, if giving this as a gift, that you go ahead and open it carefully and get it running. You’ll have to upload some software and you don’t want your child WAITING to play with the LeapPad on their birthday or Christmas morning. Yikes, right? So for our play date, the LeapPad was ready to go and we had the LeapSchool Cartridge in it.

The boys loved the Roly Poly Picnic app. That was the biggest hit at the party. With this app, you roll this roly poly bug around to spell words as he rolls into letters. You roll the bug by tilting the LeapPad. It has motion detection inside.

My sons personally loves taking photos and videos. We got some cute shots of the boys at the party which they used to create fun pictures, imposing their heads on cartoon bodies. The camera and video recorder are part of the LeapPad, not extra components like with the Leapster Explorer, and so is the Art Studio. You don’t need an app or cartridge for that.

Playing Disney Pixar Cars 2

One of the boys loves Disney Pixar Cars, so the Cars 2 was his game of choice. This game I’m familiar with, since my son owns it for his Leapster Explorer. It lets him practice measurements, problem-solving, graphs, sequencing and patterns. It is way cool on the LeapPad – amazing how the LeapPad knows the difference and it will create a D-Pad on the screen for the boys to play.

One of the boys even created a profile for himself on the LeapPad, so next time he comes over he can play right where he left off. See, on the profile you add your picture, your grade-level, choose a pet and a background that is unique for you. As you play games under your profile, it will remember your child’s successes and where they need improvement. So now if one boy starts playing I SPY he might be further along than another boy who signs on under his profile. There is room for three profiles and a guest.

But at the end of the party, the boys were simply crowded around this LeapPad. It would be cool if future generations of LeapPads could communicate with each other so that it would be more of a group activity, but they were pretty good about taking turns. Although, they were sad when they all couldn’t take a LeapPad with them!

WHY US MOMS LOVED THE LEAPPAD:

1. Handheld gaming system that has fun games, but is educational

2. Fosters creativity with the Art Studio, Video Recorder, Camera and cool cartridges like the Disney Animation Artist app.

3. User-friendly. Just like the iPad, it’s easy to figure out and use with little direction. Once you upload the apps and download the software, your child is good to go.

About the Tag Reading System:

The Interactive Map with the Tag Reading System was fun for everyone, with cool challenges and games.

Now, I’ve had electronic reading systems in the past and so have some of the other moms. I think we weren’t sure what to expect with the Tag, since none of us owned this one specifically. But we were all in awe over the Tag Interactive World Map. That made the Tag Reader the coolest thing EVER. The kids used the pen to identify the different countries and interact with the animals, children and landmarks on the map. The map was two-sided and there were even little areas that they could hit to play different, challenging games – like Treasure Hunt and Map Racer. The map was HUGE, so we laid it on the floor for them to play as a group. If it was just one boy, I’d have put it on the table. And I’ve heard buzz that there is also a Solar System Map – that must be SO COOL! And it’s only $13.99!

The Tag System did come with one book. I barely got a look at it, since the boys were hog-wild with having their favorite characters talk. There were options to have have the pen read the whole page, help the child as-needed or they could touch different characters to hear them make sounds or exclamations. The sound from the pen was loud and clear and the kids had an easy time using it.

WHY US MOMS LOVED THE TAG READING SYSTEM:

1. The Tag Interactive World Map. If you are getting a Tag Reading System, get this map to accompany it.

2. No cartridges to lose. You download the “story” right into the pen.

3. Over 40 books to choose from with characters kids love – like Chuggington, Disney Friends and Penguins of Madagascar

4. Helps children learn to read with listening, reading comprehension, vocabulary, phonics skills, word recognition, book and print basics and phonological awareness.

WINNING!

Since I didn’t want all of the kids to go home empty-handed, we had a contest so that one mom could take the Tag System home for her son. It was the Tag System, the Map and a set of books. The mom was SO EXCITED! But they all wanted that LeapPad too! I tell you – it was loved by parents and the kids!

1-Minute Video Review

OTHER FUN:

Well, you can’t have a playdate with a hungry horde of boys without food and lots of physical activity. So I thought to bring out our “Leap House” (aka: Bounce House). And we served “LeapDogs” (aka: Hot Dogs). And they also took turns on the Extreme Coaster. I have no “LeapFrog” nickname for that.

We also handed out some fun LeapFrog activity sheets and coupons for $5 off LeapFrog Explorer/ LeapPad cartridges and $4 off any Tag book or Map.

The party lasted for 3 hours. There was educational entertainment inside, physical activities for outside and lots of fun for all! And I had the chance to introduce my mom-friends to one of my favorite brands (LeapFrog), introduce my favorite new product (LeapPad) and learn with them about how fabulous the Tag System is!

Join in the FUN!

You can purchase these same fun LeapFrog items my fellow-moms played with from LeapFrog.com, Walmart, Target, Amazon.com, Kmart, Barnes and Noble, Toys R Us and Best Buy. You can also catch an in-depth review from me about the LeapPad on most of the sites – my favorite review is on Amazon.

The LeapPad retails for $99. The Tag Reading System retails for $39.99.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz received free Leapfrog products and accessories to host this Learn, Create and Share Party. LeapFrog did not influence my opinion expressed above as a result. I was selected for this party as part of MomSelect.