Customer Reviews

Jakks Pacific Toymax Telestory Console W/ Dora Cartridge

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The TeleStory sytem connects to your TV via the AV input to allow your child to either listen to a story being read (with words highlighted as they're read) or to read a story on his or her own, in which case a "difficult" word can be highlighted to be read out aloud. I bought our TeleStory system with the two Dora stories for just six bucks at my local Toys R Us -- and it's a really good value, considering each story is long enough to keep a young child's attention for quite a few minutes. Plus, there are animations that are activated by the four color action buttons, so the child will stay busy for a while.

TeleStory can also be used without a TV: you plug in a pair of headphones and let your child listen to the stories. It can be useful on the road, although your child will probably need some help understanding the instructions in the beginning.

There're only 7 story cartridges to choose from, and each cartridge features 2 stories. If you can find them for three or four bucks per cartridge (which shouldn't be difficult), they're a great value. Otherwise, don't pay more than eight dollars for each.

My two-year-old loves Thomas & Friends and he's having a lot of fun playing the 2 Thomas stories over and over again.

My only concern is the system, made in China, feels cheap and may not last a long time. Nonetheless, I think I'll pick up a few more as gifts for friends who have children in the 2-5 range.

I purchased this product for my 3yo thinking of making a good deal for the price. Unfortunately the toy is qualitatively below what I expected for the following reasons:

Cartridge: It's very bulky and not easy to insert for a child. Unlike cartridges from other brands, in this case an adult should insert it. The stories are short (less than 10 minutes). Also, I expected that when using it without a TV to plug in, like on a trip or sitting in a waiting room, the cartridge or the device would offer some imaging or pages to turn in addition to just hearing the story in the headphones. Nothing at all. I originally planned to take the tele-story with us on a next air trip, but it's not worthy the weight. A portable DVD player offers much more on a trip.
The images on the Tv are not sharp and bright. It lacks good definition.
There is no interaction with the story itself that the child can control and learn from, only interaction with the image unrelated to the reading . For example by pressing a button the hand of Dora waves-if you can notice it- while the story continue reading by itself.
The cartridges can be found only on clearance shelves of stores, if you find them at all.
My daughter is not very interested in it.
I would not recommend it.

First, the problem is that if you accidentally bump into the console, push a button too hard, or breathe on it wrong, it freaks out. The television picture goes all wonky and it lets out a sound rivaled only by the Emergency Broadcast alerts. My daughter almost passed out twice when she heard it.

That aside, there's just not very much that's interesting about this device. Yes, it reads stories, but really, all that means is that it shows a picture of Dora and her friends while an adult who sounds nothing like Dora reads the text. Then kids can press buttons to make the characters do little actions, like waving or rocking in a ferris wheel chair. The text is just like closed captioning, with one word at a time highlighted in blue as it's read aloud. I thought there might be more instructive material here, as it's touted as a program to help kids learn to read. Really, kids who aren't yet readers are just not going to look at the words. It's a waste.

I didn't think this product was even still sold. I don't know how it can compete against the many better products for kids that are out nowadays to help kids learn to read.

Recently bought this toy for my 3 year old. She loves it ! Can't wait to plug it in to the TV and will sit for hours 'reading' her new Dora books. Recommend this for 3 and up !

The TeleStory Unit is great! My almost 4 yo loves it. The directions on what to do next are verbally given along with pictures on the tv showing which button to push next and also color coded to match the buttons on console. Child will match shapes and colors, hear a good story, follow along with words as they get older and eventually read story alone. The other reviewers may feel that it doesn't teach child to read. Hello!!! That is a parents job not a machine's job. Our children need us to utilitze toys such as this one to complement their learning which can be done by switching modes, pointing out the blue word on the screen, and sounding the letters and words with the child. You can move the blue word as you read the story with your child. Again this is a wonderful learning aid, but it will dissappoint any parent who just expects to sit a child in front of a tv and let the tv do their work.

I brought this for my 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter and she loves it. It doesn't appear to be able to withstand abuse, but I feel its a good learning item. I would recommend it

My sister bought this for my daughter about a year ago, and at first, she wouldn't use it. Then I bought a few more cartridges like Winnie The Pooh, and Cinderella, and now she loves it!! She changes the cartridges by herself, and sits and plays for hours.

Bought this for my niece for her birthday along with a cartridge. Awesome deal for the price. Great for a young child. Doesnt have much of a library though but makes a nice gift.