Tiger Electronics Franklin The Turtle's ABC Phonics was purchased for my 3 1/2 year old when he was 2 years old. He enjoys this learning toy just as much now as he did when he first received it.

The main reason for purchasing him this toy was because it had Franklin on it. He was a big Franklin fan at the time, and he still is a little bit. I also liked the fact that this toy had other options than just learning about letters or sounds. You can also hear music and look at pictures on the 1 inch digital screen.

This toy is a little odd shaped. It features Franklin and Bear (both from the television show Franklin), Franklin's house and a tree. The trunk of the tree is also acts as the handle for the kids to carry this around. It is only about 1 inch thick and measures about 6 inches long. Not a big toy at all, considering what features it has. And the toy is very light, easy for young kids to carry around.

Features

There is a chalkboard that displays all of the letters of the alphabet. Underneath this chalkboard there are 5 buttons. You can decide what you would like to do with these 5 buttons.

Capital A button

You can choose to learn about capital and lower case letters with this button. Not only does Franklin tell you what letter you just pressed, but the letter also displays on the 1 inch screen.

AHH button

You can learn about each letters sound when you press this button. Again, Franklin will tell you the letter and show you the letter that you pressed.

Pictured apple button

This feature will tell you what things begin with the letter that you pressed. If you pressed the letter K, Franklin will tell you that King begins with the letter K and the small screen will show you Franklin wearing a crown.

The music note button

This should be obvious. After you press this button, you can press any of the alphabet letters on the chalkboard to hear music. You can hear tunes such as 3 blind mice, this old man, or the farmer in the dell. Different letters will play different songs, but there are not 26 different songs. Some songs do play to 2 or 3 different letters.

The question mark button

This button will show you a letter in the screen and Franklin will tell you what letter it is and what starts with that letter. For instance, when pushed, Franklin may say Violin begins with the letter V, can you find the letter V? If you guess wrong, Franklin will say Oops try again and he will repeat the letter. If you get it wrong 3 times, Franklin will just move on to another letter.

There is also a ladybug who acts as an on - off button. If your child does forget to shut it off, Franklin will keep asking that you press a letter for about a minute. After a minute of no activity, Franklin will say Bye-Bye and shut off.

When you first turn on the toy, Franklin will be displayed in the digital screen and he will say "Hello, my name is Franklin, learning in school is fun because of you."

My son still enjoys playing and learning with Franklin. Even my 7 year old likes to play with it on occasions. But I don't recommend this for a 7 year old. My son says Franklin is for babies, and therefore will only play with it when nobody is looking. But I do highly recommend this for pre-schoolers, especially those that are Franklin fans.

Tiger Electronics Franklin The Turtle's ABC Phonics requires 3 "AA" batteries.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years