Meet Bugsby our new playmate!

Connor loves books, this is no secret. He actually won't go to bed unless I give him at least two books to put in the bed with him. It's actually kind of funny as he attempts to read them by looking at the pictures and some of the things he says is downright funny. I swear this kid would have me read to him 24 hours a day if only I had that sort of time.

Well now he has a friend that will read to him any time he wishes. Not to mention a whole new perspective on books. The Bugsby Reading System by Vtech is truely Connor's dream come true. Bugsby is a bookworm shaped "pen" in which you use with the Bugsby books to allow your child to read their own books without any help. Actually the recommended age range is 3 to 7 and I was slightly worried it would be a bit over Connor's head. Like always the little man had no problems working Bugsby. We loaded the first cartriage, each book comes with its own cartridge, into Bugsby back and Connor turned him on all by himself and went to work. I only had to give him a few second demo on how to point at items on the page and he was off.

The books that go with Bugsby are really quite astonishing. Bugsby works much like a pointer you just touch him to anything on the page and you get a reaction. Characters talk when you click on them, items make noise, and of course you can run the pen across the words and Bugsby reads the book. You can also use the play icon on any page to have him read independently. Its really a great system for not only entertainment but teaching your child to read. Connor can spend hours playing with Bugsby and we've already gone out and invested in several extra books by popular request. Lets not even talk about how much of a lifesaver Bugsby is on a long car ride. Connor will easily play with Bugsby for the whole three hour trip to his Paw Paw's without any complaint.

Really the only complaint I have about the whole system is the fact that if your child is a little overly zealous with the tip of Bugsby on the pages the books start to look a little ragged after only a few weeks. Partially our issue is Connor is under the recommended age range and his coordination isn't quite as good as a four or five year old. So we've had a few accidents with the books. Nothing mommy couldn't fix with a little tape but it always makes me cringe when a page gets torn or gouged. I'm a bookworm myself and its just a personal pet peeve. If your dealing with an older child this should not at all be an issue. Otherwise the system is very simple to use, Connor has already mastered getting his own cartridges in and out of Bugsby by himself and can turn him on and off. Really the only help he needs is occasionally turning the volume up and down.

If your looking for a fabulous gift for the little bookworm in your life we highly recommend Bugsby. He would also be a fabulous companion for holiday traveling as I know we will be taking him with us when we drive home for Thanksgiving this year!

You can learn more about Bugsby and purchase your own system at the Vtech website!