Do your kids want a dog but you don’t want to spend your life cleaning up doggie do do?  I think Leapfrog have the answer……

In the house of Mamasim we have had a guest to stay.  A little green dog by the name of Scout.  Now Scout is very well behaved and would never dream of doing anything to inconvenience his hosts.  He really is the perfect house guest….

Scout is in fact a lovely interactive reading toy developed by Leapfrog’s learning experts.  It includes 5 board books and Scout will read aloud from them and ask a question at the end of a page to reinforce listening skills and comprehension. He also reacts when his paw is squeezed or his cheek is kissed.

Scout has been a hit with both my 3 year old and my 7 year old boys – for different reasons.  My 3 year old is less interested in reading along with the stories and more interested in having Scout as his new BF (best friend!)  In fact he hasn’t been anywhere without him for the past 2 weeks.  He even sleeps with him.  3 year old also loves the fact that Scout talks to him, especially when he says “I like you” and gives him a big kiss.  Lots of cuddles for Scout then!  We have regular bed time stories read by Scout and 3 year old prefers me to be there with them to help read along.  But that’s fine by me because I prefer it too!

7 year old showed more initial interest in the stories and happily read along with Scout a few times and enjoys hanging out with his new pal every now and then.  I’m not sure if his interest will go the distance however, as he really is passed the simple stories, that afterall, are aimed at those just learning to read.

I have found the need to find Scouts off button a few times, as any adult usually does with children’s toys that talk or play music etc.  But 3 year old never tires of listening and talking to Scout.

The only real negative is the fact that I can’t bung Scout in the washing machine.  He is getting quite grubby being carted everywhere by 3 year old.  But he is sponge clean only…..  Still.

Scout really has been a hit.  I would recommend him as a great toy that will become your youngsters best loved buddy. The fact they can also curl up with you and lead story time is a great bonus.

Features 5 interactive touch points, 70+ comprehension questions and 5 illustrated board books:

• The Pattern Book, “Let’s Go Camping!”, includes rhymes, refrains, and repetition to encourage children to predict what comes next
• The Narrative Book, “Let’s Find Scout’s Toy!”, takes children through a story put together with characters, settings, and a sequence of events
• The Concept Book, “Let’s Have a Party!”, explores concepts like colours to label and classify new information
• In the Rhyming Book, “Let’s Cheer Up Eli!”, children learn about the sounds of language while building phonological awareness
• The Learn-About Book, “Let’s Learn About the Weather!”, helps reveal our world through reading, and reinforces the concept that print carries meaning

• Box Contains

  1 x Read with Me Scout
  5 x Interactive board books

 Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where  I will be giving away a Read With Me Scout to a lucky reader!