Toyologist Review: Tag Human Body

Review by The Beesley Buzz.

The LeapFrog Tag Learning System (reviewed here) is just the start of the adventure, as accompanying books of all descriptions are also available. We looked at the Human Body Read & Learn package. The fairly hefty box reveals a sturdy fold-out card with bold drawings of bits of the human body. It covers, for example, the skeletal system, nervous system, digestive system and so on.

Before the Leap Frog Tag reader (also known as 'the pen' in this household!) can work with the pack, you need to download and install the software from the internet to your computer. Then download the file to go with the book. Then plug the pen into the computer via USB, and transfer the file across. You can hold information for several different books on the pen, so as your collection grows you don't need to keep moving files backwards and forwards (but you do still need to buy the actual books for it to work).

The installation process was simple - from finding the right version through to copying the files to the pen - and the pen worked perfectly first time with the software. That said, it did take several minutes so I would strongly recommend you do this before you give the book to your child - otherwise it will be a very frustrating wait for them! The book itself has information to read, songs and information to listen to, and games to play using the pen. The pen seemed to be pretty accurate in knowing what you pointed at, too. Unfortunately, the draw of playing the game was too much at times for our boys, so they didn't read the page before diving in... and then couldn't answer the questions! Still, it's a way to learn, and they have picked up some new information along the way.

My biggest gripe with the system, though, was some of the pronunciation. I cringed as it rattled off words, knowing they weren't right. It isn't the end of the world, but if that could be tidied up, this would be even better. It has kept the boys amused for a while, although I don't know for how long they would keep returning to it.

As well as the fold-out book, the pack also contains a small growth-chart made out of thin paper, but with a number of stickers that impressively work with the pen and so help reinforce learning.

Remember - to make use of this pack you need the Tag Learning System, too!