jeavinl's Full Review: Fisher-Price Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Storyboo...
I'm usually not a fan of electronic gadgets that purportedly stimulate my kids' preliteracy skills. Good-old-fashioned books work just fine, thankyouverymuch. But when my son received this Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Storybook Rhymes toy, I brushed my preconceptions aside. To my surprise, it's a cute interactive toy that isn't annoying and seems to entertain my kids.
The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Storybook Rhymes toy is a battery-operated hard plastic interactive book. There are only six "pages" with just as many rhymes-"I Went to the Animal Fair," "The Ants Go Marching," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "One Two Buckle My Shoe," "Hickory Dickory Dock," and "Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake." Depending on which page is turned, a singsong female voice sings the rhyme. There are three buttons-numbers, letters, and colors-down the center of the book that when pressed stop the rhyme song and tell information about the accompanying illustration. For instance, when the page is turned to the "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" page, the numbers button (labeled 1 2 3) says there are 3 boats, while the letters button (labeled ABC) says "B boat" and the colors button (labeled with splashes of red, blue, and green) proclaims "red boats." When pressed a second time, those buttons give information about the rhyme on the opposite side.
The book is designed in such a way that the spine/center of it looks like a friendly caterpillar who has light-up features on its hands (that blink to show which page is being read) and nose. There is an on/off switch as well as volume control that can be set to soft or loud. It requires 3 AAA batteries. It measures approximately 10 inches by 8 inches. It is meant for children ages 6-36 months and sells for about $15 at most toy departments and stores.
My daughter, who is almost five, got a kick out of this book when our little guy got it as a gift last Christmas. She could already read and would follow along with the songs. At only a little over one, he took an immediate liking to it as well. Mostly, in the beginning, he just liked turning the pages, which automatically activates the accompanying rhyme songs and lights up the caterpillar. Now at over two, he'll sit with this toy and press the center buttons to hear the additional information. I don't think he quite gets it all but he's content interacting with the toy and realizing the cause and effect of his actions.
The selection of rhymes is good. They're all common ones that I'm familiar with and so are the kids. The illustrations are full of friendly and colorful animal characters. The voice singing the tunes sounds natural and maternal, not annoying and electronic. The low volume setting is perfect, not too quiet, not too loud. Even the loud one isn't too bad.
Though I'd still prefer my little guy to flip through the pages of a board book over this electronic toy, I have to admit this is a nice educational and fun gadget that encourages babies and toddlers to learn some preliteracy skills such as how to hold a book, which way to turn pages, how to read/listen to illustrations and words, and what some basic preschool concepts are (colors, numbers, and letters).
Storybook learning comes to life with a friendly bookworm, lights and sing-along nursery rhymes. Light-up hands point the way for baby to turn pages a...More at Amazon
Storybook learning comes to life with a friendly bookworm, lights and sing-along nursery rhymes. Light-up hands point the way for baby to turn pages a...More at Amazon Marketplace
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