Weekend Review: Tag Jr.

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For her second birthday, Angelica got a special gift from Mommy. (Okay, not really from Mommy. We had some Target store credit which allowed me to buy it, thanks to wonderful friends!) A Tag Jr! She loves books almost as much as she loves chocolate, but I was nervous about this gift. I wondered if she'd understand how it worked. I wondered if the technology would work as good as it claimed. I wondered if she would play with it for ten seconds and then forget all about it. For $34.99, plus $10.99 per book (at Target), it's a pretty significant investment, especially if you plan to grow their library.

Here is where I would have inserted a cute picture of her using the Tag Jr., except that she was in an unusually cranky mood tonight and only wanted to lay on the floor and cry scream. So here's a picture of the Tag Jr. itself and her books.

The package came with the Tag Jr. device and the "If I Were..." book. (Note: I purchased the purple one, but it also comes in green.) I bought the Dora 123 and Monster Faces books separately.

Shocking that she got a Dora book, right? (Note the sarcasm!) I'm pleased to say that the Tag Jr. not only met, but exceeded my expectations. It connects to the Leapfrog Connect, where you download the book audio, as well as customize the device for your child. It says "Hello Angelica!" or "Welcome back, Angelica!" when it turns on and "Bye bye, Angelica!" or "See you later, Angelica!" when it turns off.

As far as functionality goes, it also exceeded expectations here. It doesn't just read the book. The amount of responses it has varies book by book, but I know one of ours has over 150 ways it responds. I find myself playing with it just to see what else it will say sometimes. (Fun for childlike grown-ups? Check!)

Most importantly, though, Angelica LOVES it. She loves hearing it say her name. She loves moving it around on the pages to see what it does. I really only had to show her once how it worked and she understood it from there.

I'd definitely say this is a toy worth the price tag for a two year old (and maybe some 29 year olds as well).

Disclaimer: This opinion is my own. I am writing this review without the request of the company. They have not contacted me in any way, did not provide me with the product, nor did they compensate me for my time.