The Leap Frog Leap Pad is an interactive learning toy that was a very popular gift during the 2000 Holiday Season. My four year old son received one, along with a variety of the book and cassette combinations that are sold separately, but are necessary to use the Leap Pad. These retail for about $15 each.

The cartridge is about 1 1/2 by 2 1/4 inches, so that could be a choking hazard to infants and toddlers. It has a clip on the back so that it can be attached to the book when it is not in use. The book is spiral-bound and measures about 6 by 9 inches.

To use the Leap Pad, you must insert the cartridge into the machine, and place the book flat in an indentation. There is a "pen" attached at the bottom, and you touch it to words and pictures in the book to hear it speak. As you run the pen across the words on a page, the story is read to you.

The Leap Frog Leap 2 Reading - "Scooby-Doo And The Haunted Castle" is recommended for grades 1 to 3 and for ages 6 to 8. It is a "First Chapter Book" and therefore has very few pictures throughout.

This particular story is a bit advanced for my four year old, but since he has a love for learning and Scooby-Doo is one of his favorite characters, he will sit through one or two chapters at a time. He does play with the ones for his own age level much more.

"Scooby-Doo And The Haunted Castle" is 63 pages long and is broken down into 8 chapters. By touching the pen to the picture at the beginning of each chapter, you will hear a chapter summary.

The story in "Scooby-Doo And The Haunted Castle" is much like many other Scooby-Doo stories. The Mystery Machine gets a flat tire in the rain and the gang is stranded. The only place they can find is a scary castle, and they ask to use the telephone to call a repair service, but the telephone lines are down.

Their hosts are Clifton Montgomery and his butler Chives and they decide to stay for dinner. There are already others seated at the table: Mayor Redding who wants Montgomery to donate his castle to the town, Sonny DiPesto a real estate agent who wants the land so he can build an amusement park, and Sally MacIntyre from Scotland's Royal Museum who wants the castle brought to Scotland.

As they begin the meal, the lights went out and a ghostly figure appeared. The ghost was Mr. Montgomery's great-great grandfather and he threatened Mr. Montgomery, who had disappeared while the lights went off. As everyone began to compose themselves, they heard knocking from inside a trunk. Upon opening it, they found Chives who said he tripped and fell into it.

The Mayor, Sonny and Sally left the castle to get some help, and the Mystery, Inc. gang stayed behind to investigate. After finding secret passages and other clues, they set a trap to catch the ghost. Before they caught the ghost, they found Clifton Montgomery who had been bound and gagged.

They then found out who the ghost was ~ Chives, the Butler! He claimed that he had been trying to scare away all of the people who were trying to get the castle away from Montgomery since this was his one and only home and felt that he would be homeless once it was gone. While looking for clues, Velma had found out about a family treasure and that was what Chives was really after. And do you know what? He would "have gotten away with it if it weren't for those kids and their pesky dog." (p.57)

On page 59 is a "Haunted Castle Challenge", where your child can be quizzed on different things from the book. There are 18 pictures, one of which is the answer to the question asked.

A glossary can be found on pages 60 through 63, which lists about 120 words that are used in the story. Touch the pen to a word to hear its definition in the context used in the book. These words are also in bold type in the story and by touching them with the pen there, you will also hear the definition.

At the bottom of the last page of each chapter is a question mark and five pictures. By pointing the pen to the "?" a question will be asked and the answer will be one of the pictures.

Each right hand page has a volume control on the lower right corner, designated with two triangles, one with a "+" and one with a "-".

"Scooby-Doo And The Haunted Castle" is compatible with all Leap Pad Learning Systems except "My First LeapPad." Since there is a page at the beginning that tells us who each member of the Mystery, Inc. gang is, a child would not necessarily have to be familiar with Scooby-Doo to enjoy this book and cassette.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 14.99
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years