Customer Reviews

Story Reader - Red

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I bought this toy for my very rough and tumble 3 year old boy. The toy is durable and tough. My child who never sits still will sit and listen to the story EVERY SINGLE PAGE after he listens to all of the story he trys to fool the book and he can't this was a great investment I have heard the lion king at least 100 times and he loves this toy it's also great the ear phone plug is great for the car long trips or just stuck in traffic. My son can even read some of the small words on his own he is very proud he can read.I RECOMMEND THIS TOY HIGHLY TO EVERYONE IT'S FABOULOUS TERRIFFIC AND INEXPENSIVE.

I've same problem as the other user. The reader comes with two books, Sponge Bob and Dora. And it only works for these 2 books. I bought the little mermaid, Snow White, firetruck (3pk) and none of the 5 books work on the reader. Call their customer service and they said they have never heard of the problem and suggested us to buy a new reader. Unfortunately, the reader was a gift received almost a year ago and we just waited until now to buy more books. So now we're stuck with the bad reader and Sponge Bob and Dora are driving me crazy.

When my two-year old daughter received this toy as a Christmas gift, I was sure it would be too complicated for her. To my pleasant surprise, she learned to use it (by herself) the first day! To say that she loves it is an understatement. But the really wonderful thing about this toy is that (unlike SO MANY of her other "talking" toys) the voice is extremely clear and unmuffled--by far the best I've ever heard. I can hear and understand what the narrator is saying from the next room. To keep the pieces together, we keep the books and cards in one of those slide-zip plastic bags--we haven't lost a piece yet. My only problem with this toy is that my two-year old and my older daughter (4 1/2) are always fighting over it. An excellent toy!

My daughter received this as a gift when she was 18 months old. Even with my help, she did not want to sit still to "read" this until she was almost three, so I don't recommend it for toddlers. It takes about 90 seconds between page turns, so younger children lose interest and since the books are spiral bound and the pages are thin, they could get torn easily. The books fit inside the story player and each page of the book has a chip in the upper left hand corner that tells the "reader" to begin the next page. The cartridges fit in the top of the machine and snap quite easily in place. My three year old can replace both the books and the cartridges by herself. We have Lion King, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi and Snow White. Her favorite is the Lion King followed closely by Bambi. The amount of words on each page varies from book to book and Lion King and Bambi seem to be the ones with fewer words. I do have to say that this toy uses batteries pretty quickly - which results in the reader simply making no noise when the pages are turned. I will be buying new batteries and the Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh pack of books. Overall, I give this toy a very high rating because it is one toy that my daughter loves and has really used. She will sit still for quite a while and "read" to herself.

I purchased a set of 3 books and carthridge for my daughter's Story Reader. The carthridge refuses to work and has not since the day I opened it. My first attempts to contact the company were no responded to (email) so I decided to call. Our conversation went like this:

Me: "Yes, I would like to look into receiving a replacement for a carthridge that hasn't worked since I opened it."

Customer Service Rep: "I'm sorry, our warrenty only covers the Story Reader itself, not the cartridges."

Me: "But this isn't a warrenty issue. This cartridge has not worked since the day I purchased it!"

CSR: "I'm sorry, but the warrenty doesn't cover the cartridges."

Me: "I'm not asking about the warrenty! I have a cartridge that does not seem to have any information on it! I would like to get it replaced!"

CSR: "I'm sorry, but the warrenty only covers the Story Reader itself!"

Me: "I have a product of yours that is faulty and has been since the day I purchased it! I am NOT asking about warrenty coverage, I am asking if I can send the faulty cartridge to you and have you send me a replacement!"

CSR: "Just a moment, I have to go ask." (2 minute pause)

CSR: "I'm sorry, but I was told our warrenty only covers the Story Reader."

Me: "I DON'T CARE about the warrenty! Are you telling me that your company will not replace a faulty item that has not worked since the day it was purchased?!?!"

CSR: "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about that. We only cover the Story Reader itself."

ARG!!!! And the set I have is no longer manufactured, so I can't purchase another one, either! Absolutely horrific customer service!

I own so many audio tapes with books. And finally this. I can sit with my son and have the book read to US. Now this is fun. I can't do all these special affects and sounds. It's so easy. More of a fun toy too. NO pen, no finger touch. Just open and follow along. How simple. Every parent should have a story reader! Worth the price too! Books are much more affordable. Case has a magnetic close. So it won't open. Has an earphone jack and a jack for an ac adapter. Has volume control too. Easy! At night all he asks is for his story reader before he goes to bed. I am so happy I got this! I can't wait to get more books!

My daughter loves to be read to. If I am cleaning, she can sit in her chair and listen to stories herself. She loves the music and the "noise" that tells a child when to turn the page. This unit is battery operated and portable.

If your toddler is as independent as mine, you will really appreciate this toy. Looking at books is one of her favorite past times and she loves to do things by herself. This story reader lets her turn the pages at her own pace and get use to the idea of how the written words on the page sound. She is two but is already trying to read so this reader is going to come in very handy. It is great that Costco carries the reader itself, various three pack book sets as well as an accessory kit, (which includes a carrying case, a microphone and an adapter) for the low price of $15 each. Definitely makes it an affordable gift if you wanted to include a couple of book sets for holiday gift giving. The jury is still out on the carrying case for me since my daughter is so young but it would be probably be perfect for older children to keep all the cartridges and books in one place and to also be able to have the option of using the adapter when using the reader at home. The microphone in the accessory kit would also be great for older kids who want to read out loud with the narrator. Overall I would say this is a great gift for all the young readers out there.

My three year-old daughter can't put this toy down. She loves to change out the cartridges and books herself and listen to her favorite Disney stories over and over. It's worth every penny! We have all the books and we will buy the new ones as they come out. The batteries seem to hold up well, at least 15 hours of use so far on one set. Highly recommended toy!

This is better than read-a-long tapes, because if my son turns too many pages, it automatically knows to read the page that he turns to. With read-a-long tapes, I would have to fast forward or let him listen to the wrong pages. Very durable casing, and the cartridges are easy for him to change on his own. I love this product and he does too. Anyone know where to find a carrying case for multiple books and cartridges? The Toy itself only holds one cartridge and one book. Although some cartridges have 3 stories, it still only holds one book.