Piccolo Touch and Talk Interactive Discovery Center
© 2000 Educational Insights
This notebook-sized, battery-operated book reader is slightly larger than the LeapPad, a similar device released two years ago. Like the LeapPad, it uses special books (four color, 16 page, spiral bound sold separately for $16.95) each with a plug in RAM cartridge. Once the book and cartridge are in position, each page must be calibrated by pressing a special target mark with the tip of a stylus. At press time, titles include Franklin the Turtle Plants a Garden (seeds, plants, animals), Animals All Around (animal sounds and attributes), Colors and Shapes, Elliot Moose Makes Music (the names and sounds of the instruments), I Can Say My ABCs, My First Book of Numbers, All Around Town and Ready Set Go (a sampler of all the books, combined). There's also a set of jigsaw puzzles (Piccolo Interactive Jigsaw Puzzles) that allows children to label the illustrations in the puzzles. Strengths of the product include its clear speech, headphone port, colorful and durable books, and its ability to toggle between English or Spanish on many of the pages. Weaknesses include non-interruptible music and dialog, and the clumsy switch that gives less than desired responsiveness and accuracy. Our reviewers also noted that the sound can get distorted at the loudest settings. Note that the full name of this product is "Piccolo: the Touch and Talk Interactive Discovery Center."
$59.95, Smart Toy
Teaches: early reading, math, colors, shapes, classification, music, spatial relations