Both of my boys have always loved refrigerator magnet toys, and my toddler has been really getting into music lately, so when I saw Leap Frog's new Fridge DJ Magnetic Learning Radio I knew the toy would be a hit in our house.

Product Description:

The Fridge DJ is a cute little radio-shaped toy for toddlers. Embedded somewhere in its hard plastic body are strong magnets that hold the radio securely to your refrigerator or any other metallic surface. The toy plays 11 fun songs and features an LED screen that displays animations that go along with the music. A DJ's voice helps guide your child through the songs and learning, with a child's voice that sometimes adds comments or encouragement.

A large red dial on the toy's left side controls the song mode. The 3 modes are Alphabet Songs, Number Songs, and "Oldies". On the right side are the speaker and the on/off/volume controls (the settings are off, soft, and louder). The LED is in the middle, and a large red button beneath it controls which song will play on any given mode. As your child presses the button the announcer will say the song's name as the song's number is displayed on the LED screen. If your child presses the button again it will go to the next song in the list (and loop back around to the beginning when the last song is reached).

The letter songs are:
1) The Uppercase Alphabet Song
2) The Lowercase Alphabet Song
3) Annie Ooh

The number songs are:
1) 20 Little Leap Frogs
2) Birdie Bye Bye
3) The Days of the Week

The classic songs are:
1) Old Mac Donald
2) Take Me Out to the Ballgame
3) Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
4) The Itsy Bitsy Spider
5) Pop Goes the Weasel

The LED screen is simple - 6 dots wide by 7 dots tall. During the letter and number songs it will display the letter or number as it is mentioned in the song, and during the "classic" songs it displays little graphics that match the lyrics of the song.

The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 12 months and up. Three "AA" batteries are required.

The Fridge DJ will turn itself off after a minute-or-so of non-use (the announcer says "Fridge DJ signing off").

Our Thoughts & Experiences:

Our 19-month-old was in love with this toy as soon as I placed it on our refrigerator. He had really started getting into music and dancing, and when "Old Mac Donald" started playing he got the biggest grin and started dancing. It is a wonderful way to keep him occupied when I'm trying to throw something together for dinner because he will stand there and turn the dial and find different songs to dance to (plus it is a great way for us to catch him dancing on videotape).

The music is well done, with interesting compositions and nice singing voices (voices only sing on the Letters and Numbers songs - the "classics" are music-only). These aren't short little versions of the songs either. "Old Mac Donald" has 3 verses, with the little LED screen displaying a different dancing animal for each verse (a horse, dog, and duck - along with a farmer too - although it is sometimes hard to tell with the little stick-figure depiction of each). The display does always show the letters E-I-E-I-O as that part of the song is playing.

My toddler loves the "classic" songs, but my 5 year old enjoys the radio too and trends toward the number and letter songs. My eldest's favorite song is "Annie Ooh", a cute little song that is like a simple version of the "Name Game" song (the one that goes "banana-fana fo fana..."). This version just goes through alternate versions of the name "Annie Ooh" (like Mannie Moo, Zannie Zoo, and Ganny Goo).

I'm not attempting to pressure my now 20-month old into learning his letters and numbers too early, but I love toys that teach in a fun way. The alphabet songs teach upper and lowercase letters as well as what happens when you change certain letters in a word. The number songs teach counting up and counting down, and they even include a song about the days of the week. Not only is the Fridge DJ chock full of learning potential, but I also appreciate the songs that are just "fun". I'm grateful that they weren't so focused on learning that they couldn't find room for songs that simply encourage fun through singing and dancing.

The magnets inside the Fridge DJ are quite strong and do a good job of securing the little radio to our refrigerator. I appreciate the fact that they are embedded inside the toy and are not visible at all (so no one will be tempted to peel them off or eat them or anything).

The toy is very lightweight and portable. My 5 year old will take it off the refrigerator and play the songs in other rooms, but that makes my toddler mad (he thinks that it should only go in the kitchen on the refrigerator, and he'll steal it from his big brother to go put it back where it belongs).

My only complaint would be that the Fridge DJ is a bit pricey ($19.99). I almost didn't buy it because it seemed so expensive for such a simple little radio toy, but now that I've heard the songs, seen the accompanying LED displays, and understand the learning potential I don't feel quite so bad about the price. It's still a bit pricey, but in this case I feel that I've paid for a quality product.

One minor concern might be the lowercase letter display. I was quite impressed that it teaches both upper and lowercase letters, however there isn't a "base line" on the display. For example, the bottom of the lowercase "h" starts at the very bottom of the screen, as does the tail of the lowercase "g". While I was impressed at the look of each lowercase letter rendered on the little LED screen, it might have been nice to show how some letters extend below the base line.

Quickie Summary
Pros:
+) Plays 11 fun songs
+) Magnetic
+) LED screen plays simple animations that match the music
+) Educational!
+) Teaches numbers (1 - 20) and counting up and down
+) Teaches letters (both uppercase and lowercase)
+) Teaches days of the week
+) Lightweight and very portable
+) Enough variety that it doesn't get on parents' nerves
Cons:
-) Pricey

Final Thoughts:

It is great to see my toddler getting so wrapped up in this toy - bopping along to the beat and pressing the button until the song he wants to hear comes up. The way Leap Frog was able to inject so much learning as well as so much fun into this simple little toy is quite ingenious. Highly recommended!



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 19.99