Last September I reviewed LeapFrog’s uber popular (and for good reason) Tag reader. This little handheld reading wonder is still a big hit with all our kids, whether 18 months or 11 years, and we are continually adding books to the collection. Hint: it’s the gift that keeps on giving—and gives Grandma and Grandpa a great idea for birthdays!

Did you know March is National Reading Month? To be honest, I had no clue until I received an email from LeapFrog telling me about its latest effort “to bring attention to literacy and encourage families to make time to read together.” As if introducing the Tag reader to the world wasn’t enough, LeapFrog has launched its 1 Million Reading Hours campaign in conjunction with the NEA’s National Reading Month.

What is the idea behind the 1 Million Reading Hours campaign? By pledging to set aside at least 10 minutes a day, parents can contribute to the national goal of 1 million reading hours. But it’s not just about achieving a goal. When parents pledge to spend more time reading together with their children they reinforce the importance of shared reading time in their own family. So how does the program—and the giveaway—work? Here are the details:

Visit the 1 Million Reading Pledge page on LeapFrog’s site and enter the number of minutes you pledge to read per day. That’s pretty much it! All participants will receive special rewards and offers from LeapFrog—if they give you one on the Tag reader, use it! Now for the giveaway…and this is the super fabulous part. (Okay, spending quality time reading with your child is the “real” benefit, but let’s be honest…a giveaway doesn’t hurt!)

LeapFrog is giving one lucky Daily Dish reader:

• One Tag reader plus 5 books for personal use AND


• One expanded-memory LeapFrog School Tag reader plus 10 books to donate to their local library

To enter the giveaway you will need to visit the 1 Million Reading Pledge page and enter your pledge. (Yes, I mentioned this before but as we all know, some people don’t catch it the first time.) Then return to this post and leave a comment telling us how much time you pledged in LeapFrog’s 1 Million Reading Hours. On April 1st we will draw the winner from the comments posted below. (Please include a valid email address for our drawing.)

P.S. We’re not going to check LeapFrog’s records to see who really visited the site and made a pledge; we’re all about the honor system here at Boutique Cafe. Just know you’ll feel really guilty if you didn’t pledge and end up winning…

• Congratulations to Johannah B., the winner of the Tag Reader giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

Playing tag was never my thing. I was too slow to tag anyone and therefore too slow to avoid being tagged. I was “it” for an unusually long time and never found the game fun. I’m also not a fan of those tags in shirts that just won’t stay tucked down no matter how hard you try. On the other hand, a price tag with a huge markdown is one of my favorite things. Right up there with a great sale is LeapFrog’s new Tag Reading System. Heck, it might even be better than that red-lined price tag!

We love LeapFrog’s line of educational toys. Our fridge is adorned with the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics set and my girls have thoroughly enjoyed SpongeBob SquarePants on their pink and purple Leapster. We had one of those LeapPad’s when they first came out and it was a big hit as well. When LeapFrog’s new Tag Reading System came out I knew we had to test it out and see if it were worth all the hype—yes, it definitely is! Actually, I think it could use even more hype so I’m happy to hype away!

The star of the Tag Reading System is the Tag reader, an easy-to-use handheld “pen” that helps bring books to life. With just a touch the words and pictures in the Tag books (over 20 in the collection) talk and sing, instantly engaging your child in the story. How does it work? A small, sophisticated infrared camera at the tip of the reader “reads” letters, words and symbols printed on the special dot-patterned pages of books. Designed for children ages 4 to 8 your little reader can choose to listen to an entire story, hear it read line-by-line or hear individual words. The Tag library is just as diverse, entertaining and educational as the Leapster games and includes some of our favorites like Olivia, The Little Engine That Could, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and even our ol’ pal SpongeBob.

But the Tag system is more than just a talking pen. Using your PC or Mac you can download each book’s audio, then drag and drop content onto the reader. You can also track your child’s progress with LeapFrog’s Learning Path. Okay, so maybe this Tag is even better than a great markdown.

The minute, and I mean the minute, we received our Tag Reading System my toddler was begging me to open it up so he could play with it—and that’s what I love about LeapFrog: learning becomes play. Though he isn’t quite three and still a little young to fully understand the ins and outs of system he thoroughly enjoyed using the Tag reader on the characters in the accompanying Ozzie and Mack book, listening to their exclamations and expressions and the wonderful sound effects hidden in the background. With Mom’s help G had fun with the extra educational activities in the book. G was anxious to “read” the other two books LeapFrog sent but my computer’s older system wasn’t compatible with the software. (Honey, if you’re reading this that’s your cue to upgrade my computer…)

With all the features and capabilities of the reader I cand tell this is a system that will grow with my child. For now he’s enjoying the voices and listening to the story in full. Before I know it he’ll be reading along with the words. I can’t wait! Even my older girls couldn’t wait for G to fall asleep so they could check the system out for themselves. (Mom had a turn too!)

If you’re taking a road trip be sure and pack your Tag Reading System. It’s even headphone compatible, and with 16 MB of on-board flash memory and a built-in USB port, you can upload up to five books at a time! I am so impressed with LeapFrog’s new Tag Reading System we’ve purchased three more books for G’s birthday in October bringing our Tag library count up to six. And with the holidays less than four months away I have a feeling our library will continue to grow.—Emily