LeapFrog is an undisputed leader in children’s educational toys, and to their credit, their latest Tag Reading system is definitely cutting edge. The Tag Reading system is essential an interactive paper book. “By simply touching the Tag reader anywhere on any page of a Tag-enabled book, children can bring their favorite stories to life, easily skipping from page to page or book to book.” For example, just touching a character or object unleashes a different aspect of the adventure they are partaking in. In other words, the book isn’t just a linear story that is read from beginning to end. Instead, kids can go back and read it over an d over, continuously discovering new elements. The Tag Reading System retails for $49.99 and there are already several available titles to choose from including the Little Mermaid, Disney’s Cars, and SpongeBob SquarePants, just to name a few. Each of the books retail for $13.99 and the Tag Reading system is suitable for ages 4 to 8.

Ba-Ba Baby Elmo from Fisher Price isn’t technically a hi-tech gadget but it sure is darn cute and I have to say it’s techie enough for any 2 or 3 yr old. As I wait very patiently for Elmo Live to make his debut, I got a chance to review Ba-Ba Baby Elmo which is just as adorable.

There isn’t much setup involved, just undo the twist ties from the packaging that he is in and then pull the plastic tab from his back to get baby Elmo out of “try me” mode.
Ba-Ba Baby Elmo has 3 main features. 1. You can feed him his bottle. 2. you can also burp him 3. and then put him to sleep.

Of course the first thing I did was give him his bottle which doesn’t require much, in fact he actually requests it if you wait to long by saying “ba-ba, ba-ba please.” All you do is lift both his hands with bottle in between to his mouth and then he will make slurping noises. Pull the bottle away, a suction sound will occur and then he will say “more please” and kick his feet or say “mmm, mmm!”

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G2: Game Generation is a new kind of video game for kids that brings together the rhythmic game play of adult video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but brands it with Hannah Montana and Highschool Musical. The game comes with an actual guitar for rhythm and pattern matching on screen. And fortunately, the game doesn’t require a console, all you need to do is plug it in to any TV and it’s ready to go. There will be a Hannah Montana Deluxe TV Game, and a High School Musical Deluxe TV Game available, both in which kids get to choose their favorite characters and live out their Pop star fantasies (which is either a good, or a bad thing). The G2: Game Generation TV Games will be available in the Fall for $49.99 from Jakks Pacific.

13 Million registered users belong to the BarbieGirls.com virtual world and with the launch of the new subscription service Barbie Girls V.I.P parents are about to spend a little more money on Barbie. The V.I.P. membership will cost $5.99 a month and unlock a whole new world of possibilities. In addition, BarbieGirls also launched Parents’ Place in late April to encourage open dialogue about on-line safety as well as play with their young children. Mattel has always emphasized the importance of fun as well as the overall safety of children with the involvement of their parents. Later this summer Parents Place will also be expanded on BarbieGirls.com. Parents will have an even more interactive experience with their young children so they that they both can enjoy BarbieGirls’ virtual world safely.

These are just a list of some of the new fun and exciting things a V.I.P. Subscription will get you:

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Forget designer skins, leopard prints, and blinged out cases. Want to add some flair to your ipod? How about a case that features one of your favorite cartoon characters? Mobo has a great selection of ipod, ipod Nano and iPhone cases with your favorite Disney and Warner Bros. They also have themed cell phone cases, stands and charms. Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Tweety, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh and even Betty Boops are amongst the characters available. However, strangely enough Betty Boop’s cases are only available in South America. Guess we’ll have to drown our disappointment with High School Musical cases… or not.