Vtech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book

Reviews of Vtech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book

1.) My 4 and 6 year olds love it.
Reviewed by: ejmillan Southern California
Rating:
I went back and forth between purchasing this or the Tag system. What sold me on this one was the books offered. My kids love Wow Wow Wubzy, Olivia, Max and Ruby, Wonder Pets and so on. I did not see some of these characters offered in the Tag system (at least not back in November when I was Christmas shopping).

I also liked that we didn't have to get the computer involved with downloading stuff. The cartridge system works great in our home and my kids are very good about putting away the cartridges after reading each book.

The books are durable and the pen appears to be so as well. My very destructive 4 year old hasn't broken it yet!

2.) Bugsby vs Leapster's Tag system
Reviewed by: W. Lee
Rating:
I bought this for my 4 year old daughter since she has started trying to read. I also have a daughter who's almost 2.

They both love it so far. It's still early as they've only had it for a day so far. I will update this as we use this more, but initially, I was trying to decide between this and the Tag system. There were good reviews for both systems as well as some complaints about quality issues.

After reading reviews on both, it appears both products do the same thing. Bugsby was onsale and about a third of the price. Bugsby's books were also cheaper, and I didn't see any reason that convinced me that I should get the Tag.

Tag vs Bugsby - summary of differences

Tag hold 10 books which are downloaded.
Bugsby uses cartriges.

There are Pros/Cons to both approaches. Catridges can be lost (there is a plaeholder in each book) Downloads require installing software, downloading, and syncing with the pen)

Tag has more books to choose from

Bugsby costs less.








3.) Bugsby Reading
Reviewed by: C. Wynham
Rating:
I went back and forth between whether I should purchase the Tag or Bugsby reading system. I selected the Bugsby based on the reviews by parents and grandparents. Primarily because my son is so "particular" that I felt if the Tag pen didn't line up exactly, it might be a gift that turns into frustration for my son. I read that someone originally bought Tag over Bugsby and ended up returning it for the Bugsby and that was better for them. My son is very bright, but also a bit of a perfectionist and often a color outside a line can be a melt down because "it's not suppose to be". I was concerned about the number of books available for Bugsby, but then afterall, who can afford to buy every book available any way? There are enough books for Bugsby and popular character selections (Max & Ruby, Bugsby, Wonder Pets, Wow Wow Wubzy) so even though there aren't as many books as the Tag, the selection of Bugsby is still great.

My son who turned 4 can absolutely keep himself occupied. The options are easy for him to do "by himself" and he is so glad I don't have to help him. I love the fact that the system tests his comprehensive skills after reading the entire story and has interactive features that encourage him to want to listen and read along. My child seems to feel very good about himself when he gets all the answers right. The Bugsby book that came with it and the Max & Ruby Frog Princess are both big hits! The books have really come down in price too.

Finally, he enjoys "reading" to his 85 year old Nana who is also impressed at how well and easy it is to use.

4.) Very Cool
Reviewed by: mommy miami, fl
Rating:
I got this for my 6year old daughter that is in kindergarten, she does not know how to read yet and i was looking to buy her the tag system, but was hesitant beacuse of the price. This was a steal when i bought it and it is a great system, I even have fun with it. The extra books are a bit expensive, almost what the system cost me, but at least there are plenty of hings kids can do in 1 book.

5.) bugsby is amazing
Reviewed by: K. faus PA USA
Rating:
Bugsby is an amazing toy. my son cannot put it down. the pages are not thin, so they are not easily torn. My son is three and is destructive, but this book has held up. Its definately worth buying!

6.) Great educational toy for pre-readers and early readers!
Reviewed by: JC USA
Rating:
This product has worked perfectly for us. The pen works well with the original book and an additional book we have purchased. It is easy to use and the books are hardcover and durable.

7.) Great product!
Reviewed by: FL Mom Florida, USA
Rating:
My 2.5 year old loves this product! We showed him how to use it a few times, and he loves to ride in the car and "read" his book. He has learned about lots of different animals, including the proper names for the dinosaurs. Plus, he loves the voices of the characters.
I don't know exactly how much it's helping his phonemic awareness, but it's highly entertaining and he loves it. And it helps him love reading, so that's a great thing!!

8.) A new twist on learning
Reviewed by: disc jockey Logan, WV United States
Rating:
My three year old loves this. Anytime you can make learning interactive it's a good thing. I would recommend this to everyone. The books feature familiar characters your kids will love.

9.) SOOOOOOOOOOOOOMuch Fun
Reviewed by: Linda Nattress Sac City, Iowa, US
Rating:
I bought this for my grandson who is 4 for christmas and his mother says he just loves it and that it is very educational.Just the other day they called me and ask where they could buy more books for the Bugsby they wanted them for Valentine gifts and I told them Amazon.com

10.) Bugsby reading system
Reviewed by: Maya from Long Beach, MS USA
Rating:
This was a Christmsas gift for my 4 year ols girl. Great concept. Educational value A+++ My daughter has some interest in it, but she is usually very easily bored with toys. If I sit with her she will play with this. I think quality of paper could have been higher, stronger and more durable. Would recommend this toy.

11.) Great Buy!
Reviewed by: P. Cartie
Rating:
My daughter absolutely loves these books! She will sit and read for over an hour sometimes if I let her. The pages could be a little more durable, but it is a book. It's a great educational tool.

12.) Toddler loves this toy!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Illuzzi Minneapolis, MN
Rating:
I am writing this review as my child is playing with the Bugsby book. We bought it for her birthday after she couldn't keep her hands offer her cousin's. She is two, and at first she didn't quite get it, but very much enjoyed pressing things and having sounds come out. Now, she seems to sort of get some of the games, but she'll sit there and play with it for 15-20 minutes at a time, which is longer than she'll play with anything else. It also seems to be helping her with associating letters and sounds, which is an important preschool skill. So, a good purchase that will grow with her. I'm already contemplating some more books. I only gave it three stars in terms of durability because while bugsby himself seems durable, as with all paper books, the pages are quite easy to rip. HOwever, placing tape over the rips doesn't make the book stop working, which is good to know.
This is a fun toy that seems to have some good educational value.

13.) Great product!
Reviewed by: TR CA
Rating:
My 3 year-old loves this reading system. It's very educational and entertaining...A must-have for preschoolers.

14.) Excellent & Very Educational
Reviewed by: Tita Santa Clara, CA USA
Rating:
I never thought this toy will be an excellent thing for a 3 year-old kid. I gave this to my grandaughter and its amazing how she learned a lot from this book. Its not just reading a story for the kids but it teaches them like syllables and much much more. I'll buy this again whenever I need a gift for a 3-4 years old kids. Amazing!

15.) Great Educational toy
Reviewed by: Grandma from far far away Coolville
Rating:
I purchased this item for my Grandson who is 4 years old. It is a GREAT educational toy and the price was really good on Amazon. I had been looking for the best pricing from numerous sources and Amazon was the best.

My Grandson loves the toy and so does my Daughter because it keeps him entertained and quiet and he is a very active 4 yr. old.

This item is a keeper!

16.) Makes reading fun!
Reviewed by: L.L. Urban Achiever
Rating:
Bought this for my 4 yr old's birthday and am not disappointed. I went back and forth between this and the Tag reading system but decided on this one because I did not want to have to download data from the internet and more importantly the Bugsby had books using the characters from his favorite Nick Jr. shows which I knew would at least peak his interest in playing with it. And boy was I right! He plays with this everyday, multiple times a day. The only downside is I have to remove and insert the book cartridges because it can be tricky for little hands. Also, if your toddler is apt to lose small parts this could be a negative but I keep the books high on the shelf so he has to ask for them and I monitor where the cartridges go. Now all that is needed is more books for the system.

17.) Easier for us to use than the Tag
Reviewed by: L. Watt
Rating:
We first purchased the Tag for our (then) 5 year old son, but could not get the audio to download. After numerous emails to LeapFrog and many tries on several different (family & friends) computers, we just could not get it to work. Very disappointing as I felt that it was truly a quality product. The only book he can use with it is the one it came with.

Enter the Bugsby. Each book has it's own cartridge which has a place for storage inside the back cover. For that reason I gave it an extra star for "ease of use" (at least for us!). As long as you don't loose these you're good to go and can change out the cartridge for a new story as many times as you want(the Tag could only store 5 stories at a time, if you wanted to add more you add to remove another). The pen device works in the same manner as a Tag. It has a place for headphones to be plugged in, buttons to adjust the volume up and down and a "read the whole story" button.

As far as the book that comes with it goes, it's a simple story about how Bugsby, who has lost his glasses, searches within different stories (accompanied by his friends Josh and Hanna)to find them. Along the way it labels different animals, and includes "game" buttons on each page (with "stop", "repeat", "yes" and "no" buttons to be used with it). Games include things such as "Find the animal next to the squirrel", "What animal begins with this sound 'p'?", "Do these words have the same vowel sound, 'cup'/'mat'?" and have different levels. Touching in different areas of the book produce little silly sounds, characters saying a few phrases, and short songs. The back of the book includes a two page spread of the alphabet with games to go along with it and a "Story Writer" spread which allows the child to come up with several versions of a short story, changing the character, action and setting. The book has the option to read each individual page or the whole book. I would say the reading level is K-2 depending on the child.

Overall my son (and I) like this product. I don't think it offers quite as many games or levels of play as the Tag, and the way the narrator voice of the book says certain words sounds strange to me (the T's are overemphasized on certain words - other character voices are fine though). But considering the lower price and the fact that you don't have to worry about downloading anything, the Bugsby worked much better for us.

18.) great reading tool
Reviewed by: m-pire Stafford,TX
Rating:
My kids love this 4yr old and 5yrs old. It has helped reinforce what the 5yr old is learning in school. My 4yr old is just starting to really get into using this. Now he loves it!

19.) Nice that you don't have to download content
Reviewed by: C. McDaniel Georgia
Rating:
I bought this for my almost 3 year old hoping it would get her to talk more and be able to identify things better. Its too soon to tell. I was so glad to find out that you didn't have to download the content of the books. (I also bought her a tag and tag junior and am extemely disappinted in the amount of content it holds.) The Bugsby is extremely easy to use.The books have a little holder that holds the cartriges so that is nice as well. I hope they continue to make more books for this reader as I am quite pleased with it right now. I would highly recommend this as a great alternative to the tag.

20.) Bugsby book
Reviewed by: Ang USA
Rating:
I purchased this item for my 6 year old nephew who is learning to read. Once he understood what it was and how to operate it, then it was a BIG hit. The amazing thing is that my 3 year old nephew got a hold of the item and just went right to town on it. Very helpful in learning to read.

21.) Fun, educational toy!
Reviewed by: Mommyof2 Where the AF takes us!
Rating:
I bought this for my 4 year old daughter for Christmas. She absolutely loves it, and loves the different books we can get with it. I love that it is kind of 'the gift that keeps giving' because when she is tired of one book/games, I can buy a new one and it is as good as a brand new toy! The only problem with the Bugsby is that the book cartridges are difficult to keep track of, especially when I have a 2 year old after them constantly. But as long as I diligently put the cartridges back in the book, then it's fine. I just hate to think if one gets lost, the book isn't any good. It would be nice if the software were built in... Otherwise a fun, educational toy, and a fabulous gift!

22.) Disappointed! Beware!
Reviewed by: Mrsneally
Rating:
At first we really liked this toy and picked up several different books to go with it. Any amount of water spilled on them and the pages completely stick together and tear when you try to separate them making the book worthless. The cartridges are hard to keep track of and my son loved to change them in and out when he played with it. My latest trip to a store I looked for another book since most of his were unusable and they didn't even have the system any longer so I picked up the Tag reader instead and their books are board books which are much more durable and there are no cartridges involved as the books are downloaded onto the reader. I don't recommend this.

23.) Disappointed!
Reviewed by: Teacher Mom
Rating:
We have been through 2 Bugsby Systems in one week. As an educator, I had very high hopes for this product and was impressed with all of the activities offered. However, we cannot seem to get a pen that functions correctly. I turned the volume down on our first pen, but the volume up button did not work to turn it back up. VTech was no help in this situation. After attempting all of the strategies to fix the problem, they told me I could send the product back in and receive a replacement "similar" toy--not a Bugsby. Apparently they did not have any available, which makes me suspicious of the quality of the toy. Thankfully, Amazon was very responsive to our problem and had a new Bugsby delivered within 48 hours.

Our second Bugsby has mysteriously quit working. The sensor will not recognize the hot spots on the pages in the book. I'm very disappointed in the seemingly poor quality of this product. My son (nearly 3 yrs) loved this toy. Although many activities were too advanced for him, there was plenty for him to do and a great range for various abilities. I'm not sure if we'll give a 3rd one a try or move on to the TAG system. I hope there are improvements because this has the potential to be a great product.

24.) Ugh! Don't Waste Your Time, Buy a Tag.
Reviewed by: Milo
Rating:
This product is terrible. The audio quality is poor, the stories are weak and the educational lessons are not sound. We went to a friend's house where my son played with their Tag and he was hooked. I finally broke down and got him a Tag and now he plays with it every morning before the rest of us are awake. The Bugsy is an expensive chew toy for his 1 year old brother.

25.) Aweful! Cartridges get lost.....
Reviewed by: Daddy B Me California
Rating:
My son got this and has to put a cartridge in the pen to play with the right book. The cartridges get LOST and you are out of luck. This pen does not work all the time and it is pretty weak. I also found out that this product is a KNOCK OFF of the Tag Pen by Leapfrog. We picked Tag up recently to replace this one. What a difference!

Features of Vtech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book

Vtech Electronics Bugsby Reading System - Pen & Starter Book Join Bugsby the Book Worm on a magical reading adventure! Your children will love reading along and interacting with their favorite characters as they build early reading skills. Kids will fall in love with reading as they have fun listening to stories read aloud by their new reading pal, Bugsby. Children build reading skills through play as Bugbsy takes them through reading comprehension, phonics, sentence structure, word recognition and more. Kid friendly in design, the Bugsby Reading System includes software cartridge with every story book title - no additional downloads required! Recommended Ages: 3 - 7 years

1.) Interactive reading system featuring pen touch technology;
2.) Curriculum focuses on reading and language arts;
3.) Story reading + interactive activities;
4.) Pen is shaped like a cute bookworm character;
5.) Ages 3 - 7;

Package Height x Length x Width: 12.2 in. x 12.2 in. x 12 in.
Package Weight: 1.25 lbs.

Accessories for Vtech Bugsby Reading System Pen and Starter Book