Story Reader - Red

I purchased the Story Reader for our handicapped son who cannot read. He loves books. Actually this was a replacement reader because he wore his original one out. The Reader we just received does not work. We tried 8 new batteries and a different new cartridge. No sound at all. I was impressed with the speed it was shipped and also the speed in which our refund was applied both by Amazon and Bonanch.I feel that i have received excellent customer service from both companies.Thank You

I guess it is okay for people to sell you a 90's toy. That dose NOT work and dose NOT match the description. My kids where so excited to get this because they love books. It did not work and I had to pay almost the same amount to ship it back as it coasted me to order the product in the first place. Major Let Down.

The Story Reader from Publications International is a good idea for young kids who like to listen to stories and/or read. First, they can develop their spoken language skills listenign to the professional narrators. Second, as they grow older, they can begin to read and follow the stories.Unfortunately, the hardware sucks. Made in China, it's very low quality. We've gone through three of these; the first two suddenly stopped working after just a few weeks, and the third one seems to be breaking down anytime now, after just a couple of months of light use. The sound is also teeny from the single mono speaker, and the microphone kit mostly doesn't work. The books themselves can easily fall out of the spiral slots. In short, the quality of this product just plain sucks.BTW, this product and associated books are still available at most Toys R Us stores, for cheap, too.

Great product that both my 2 and 1/2 year old and 5 yr old daughters love to use. However, it's not working. It only works with certain cartridges. I was going to purchase another story reader to replace it because my daughters use it all the time. I tried cleaning out the area where the books are inserted. It is similar to having old tape cassettes that get dusty. You would run a tape cleaner to clean it out. I think this has a similar mechanism that, over time, would need a good cleaning, because something is not connecting. Anyhow, I have a hard time spending another $50 on a replacement. I would rather seek another story reading system as an option first. Mine is only 3 years old. But the actual lifespan of the story reader is probably not equal to 6 months usage time. Great product just not made that well.

My two kids have really enjoyed the Story Reader as they were developing their language. Somewhere from 2-3 years old they each got into the books and hearing the stories and repeating lines back. I found it a great reinforcement to help kids continue learning the key parts of language, especially basic grammar and some vocabulary. My son listens to stories over and over now.But like many other customers I found the flaws in the system, especially when some books work and others don't. I have now FOUND A SOLUTION!The Story Reader knows what page you're on, because there are little magnets near the binding on each page. Fooling around with it, I found that the magnet moves (engages) a piece inside the device, along the right side of the binding. When only the last (bottom) magnet is engaged, you are on the last page. When all the magnets have engaged their pieces, you are on the first page. If any magnet in between the top and bottom isn't working, then the reader will not read the page.THE FIXIn my case, I found that the metal binder was interfering with the magnets, preventing them from engaging the sensors in the device. So I gently opened the binder and removed it. Then I put the back cover together with the other pages, and put the binder back on. The result is that the long flat loops of the binder are on the outside of the book, and not in between the back cover and the last page, as manufactured. Now I can position the long flat loops on the left side of center, where they don't interfere with the magnets. My Toy Story book that was totally non-functional now works like a charm.

It works and the grandkids love sitting on my lap, having stories read to them, and then hearing the sound to be able to turn the pages themselves. Sometimes we point to the words as they are being read--hope this makes good readers of all of the darling kids.

I bought this for a handicapped friend who is retarded. She had been loaned one but that owner wants it back so we bought this one for her. The box that it came in had only the Story Reader----It does NOT work; No receipt, no info on how to return it were included! We need to return it immediately. Janet N. Marshall

Great interactive child's toy. It creates an opportunity for the child to go from a passive listener to an active participant.