Poingo: Children’s Interactive Storybook – review and GIVEAWAY

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND COMMENTS ARE CLOSED

In my quest for learning toys for my son I look for things that not only keep his interest but provide layers of activities so that he will return to them again and again. He’s a smart kid and therefore many toys for his age group are actually below his intelligence level. He’s still a little boy though, and the right toy, if presented properly can overcome his intelligence and appeal to the fun and interesting and still allow him to learn something.

When I had an opportunity to try Poingo, an interactive children’s storybook, I didn’t even think twice before accepting the offer, and the great part is that they sent Lori one too so you get both of our perspectives. Her son Michael and my son Jacob are pretty much complete opposites. Where Michael might be running around playing having a good time, Jake is likely to be found telling Micheal that he is doing it wrong.

What it is:
Poingo is an interactive storybook for ages 3-7. It is a pen shaped scanner that makes storybooks come to life!

Product description:

Representing the next generation in interactive books – made simple–Poingo™ makes books “come alive” for children. Poingo enables kids ages 3 to 7 to unlock hidden treasures on every page, triggering exciting elements of discovery, exploration and surprise. Using penshaped Poingo to touch pictures or text, children bring their favorite characters to life with words, sounds and music. Poingo is “fun right out of the box,” with no complicated instructions, so kids simply turn it on, point and go. An infrared scanner “reads” microscopic symbols throughout the book, which triggers Poingo to provide the audio through an onboard speaker.

The Accidental Mommies view of Poingo:
Lori and I were both sent a Poingo starter set which included the “Poingo” and 2 hardcover Disney books, Cars and Finding Nemo. The set sells for $34.99 at ToysRUs.com and may also be available at other retailers like Target or Wal-Mart.

Kim’s take:
I love that the pen is not attached to anything. It is versatile and allows for more interaction because it does not limit range of motion and it doesn’t discriminate against being left or right hand. It also makes it easier for the parent or a friend to join in and pass the pen back and forth. The pen is pretty straightforward, just turn it on and go and there are also 2 volume levels to choose from.

On each page there are a couple of different options. They can click the words to have the story read to them with sound effects, touch the highlighted words (“big” words) to hear the definitions, touch characters and objects to hear music and sound effects, or play games and answer riddles.

I had fun playing with it and it is certainly something that will keep Jake’s interest. He reads already, and I’m not saying this is a substitute for reading with your child but having the words read aloud to them while they read with the extra sound effects to keep them fascinated with it, really will help them go beyond just learning the words and help them get a head start on sentence structure and punctuation as well as they read along. The little games are fun and there are multiple answers so they can come back to it again and again. Then there are the sound effects. You can’t go wrong with sound effects!

Overall I think as far as electronic toys go, this one should be on the top of your list. It promotes reading, adds some fun and learning and has some great titles with plans to add more. There are currently 4 additional books available besides Cars and Nemo; Cinderella, The Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, and Winnie the Pooh, and the pen has the capacity to hold up to 50 (Poingo comes with a USB cable to download the new software as new titles become available)! The only other things I’d like them to add is a storage bag to hold the books and the pen so it doesn’t get lost.

Lori’s take:
We received the Poingo starter set, which includes the Poingo reader pen and two books. Disney/Pixar’s Cars and Finding Nemo are favorite movies here at our house, so I was very excited to see that these are the first two books in the starter set.

Michael is an electronics kind of guy. If it makes noise from pushing buttons, it’s a favorite. Eventually, he plays with the toy long enough that he can parrot back the noise precisely. Some of his quotes can be quite amusing to the rest of us. For awhile, he walked around saying “Russia. This part of Russia is in Asia.” Not what most four year olds say, but he sounded just like the toy. He has also been listening to a lot of books on CD lately. So, I think Poingo will be perfect for him.

I took some time to play around with Poingo, and found it to be fun. Each page includes the story narrative, as well as games, riddles, music, and funny sounds. Placing Poingo over a story icon provides sound effects. I have the feeling I’m going to learn the sound effects quite quickly! Of the two books, I preferred Finding Nemo. The Cars book was great, but I found more things that I liked to play with in the Nemo book. One page provides different musical tones based on where you press Poingo onto a sea anemone.

Poingo will be able to subtly change as your child grows. A younger child can simply have the story read and play with the book. Later, a beginning reader will start to match spoken words with the written. When Poingo is placed over a red colored word, the definition of the word is given. This is really cool because the defined words are above the targeted reading level, and introducing these words will increase a young reader’s vocabulary.

There are two things that I especially like about Poingo. First, I like that the reader is a pen. Michael is only just now beginning to be interested in coloring and writing. Using the Poingo will encourage that hand-eye coordination that’s so important at this stage as well as his hand position in holding a pencil. Secondly, I LOVE the volume of the Poingo. It’s not loud!! Almost every one of our electronic toys has tape over the speakers, because they are too loud. I have never understood why kids’ toys need to be so obnoxiously loud. Especially those that are held in a child’s lap. But, Poingo is perfect. But, if you are in a loud environment it has two volume settings, as well as a headphone jack. How cool is that?

Overall, I’m very impressed with Poingo and can’t wait to see the future titles.

The bottom line for both of us, is 2 thumbs up for Poingo. It will educate and entertain, is priced right and has characters kids love. It has some added features that make moms happy, like the volume levels and the learning aspect, and Poingo will also keep kids on all levels interested and excited to play with it.

Win a Poingo Starter Set:
Poingo has offered one lucky What’s That Smell? reader a Poingo of their very own (although you really should give it to your kids)!

Enter to win:
To enter, visit the Poingo website and check out the entire collection of Poingo books. Then come back here and leave a comment with which book is your favorite (or your kids favorite).

Earn extra entries:
*Subscribe or be a subscriber – 1 EXTRA
*Blog about this giveaway with links back here and to Poingo – 5 EXTRA
*Post our What’s That Smell? button on your site (very bottom of page) – 5 EXTRA

Please leave separate comments for each additional entry, ie: if you blog about it, leave 5 separate comments.

Giveaway ends on Tuesday Nov. 25nd at noon Central time and is open to the USA.

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