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New and refreshed, this latest Alphabet Pal from LeapFrog includes all the great features from its popular predecessor plus several new ones to add to the fun. A bright cheery purple, Alphabet Pal has 26 little legs each with a coloured shoe and a different letter from the alphabet. There are four unique learning modes to help teach your toddler. Switch Alphabet Pal to learning mode one and press one of the shoes to hear the cheery caterpillar say the (upper case) name of the letter written on that shoe. Learning mode two operates in the same way but this time says the (lower case) phonic sound of that letter. Happily, times have changed from when all electronic toys had American pronunciations, and Alphabet Pal pronounces his phonic sounds the English way. Learning mode three teaches the colour of the shoe just pressed--red, blue, green or yellow. And finally learning mode four encourages musical awareness. Each shoe pressed plays a different tune--all tunes beginning with the letter written on that shoe. So press "L" to hear the tune from "London's burning". And here's the hidden challenge
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for all parents--how many of the 26 different tunes do you recognise? Relaxing on Alphabet Pal's back is a very spaced-out little insect who if pressed will hum the melody to the Alphabet song. And just to show that Alphabet Pal lives up to the companionship of his name, he's got a little cord around his neck so your toddler can take him for a walk. Not surprisingly this is when he's happiest and one tug of his cord also sets him into song. As well as all the more obvious developmental aids such as encouraging language and auditory skills, Alphabet Pal has lots of hidden teaching skills too: pressing down on his shoes encourages fine motor skills, while taking him for his afternoon walk helps develop toddlers' gross motor skills. As always LeapFrog are parent friendly too and have thoughtfully added a volume control switch on Alphabet Pal's back. There's also an automatic close-down function to preserve the batteries if the toy is left unattended. Requires 3 AA batteries (demonstration batteries only included). Suitable for ages 12--30 months. --Victoria Mackenzie
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