THINKER-TINKER OCTOBO STARTER PACK
$119.99. USES 4 AA BATTERIES.
This smart plush octopus-bot teaches kids as
they play. It’s sweetly cuddly on its own, but it
comes to life by integrating with a tablet and
plays interactive games, reads stories, and helps
your child develop motor skills and learn ABCs,
spelling, and more. In addition to Octobo itself,
the Starter Pack includes the Underwater
Storybook, six interactive tokens, a play guide,
and three apps; there’s also an Advanced Pack
for older kids, and an Everything Pack with
—you guessed it—everything. Ages 4 months to
7 years;.
LEAPFROG ON THE GO STORY PAL
$19.88. AGES 3 TO 8; USES 3 AA BATTERIES.
This bunny is a great companion for younger kids.
It comes loaded with over 70 entertaining stories,
poems, and songs. Parents can also record
themselves reading a story or singing a song for
their child. The Story Pal comes with a carrying
strap and has a headphone jack (headphones
aren’t included) and volume control, so it’s truly
usable “on the go.” And LeapFrog toys are well
made and rugged.FLYCATCHER SMARTY JOJO
$8.33. AGES 3 TO 5; USES 3 AAA BATTERIES.
A nice hybrid of physical toy and digital tech,
the Smarty JOJO helps to teach young kids
colors, shapes, right-and-left, up-and-down,
and more. (It’s aimed at preschoolers, and we
don’t often come across well-designed smart
toys for that age group.) The cute plane gives
kids missions, such as “Find something red!”
Kids zoom it around and land on a red object.