Leap of faith - What's New? Holiday Gifts Galore - new educational toys from LeapFrog Enterprises Inc
Author: USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education)

Leap Frog, Emeryville, Calif., which a few years back revolutionized educational toys with its LeapPad line of computerized notebooks, is at it again. This season's groundbreaking innovations include the "Quantum Leap Line," ushering in an entirely new way to study for grade- and middle-school students. These tools transform old drill-and-kill study methods into action-packed games and activities that make preparing for class more fun, fast, and effective.

Heading the list is the Quantum Pad Learning System & Library ($49.99). Grade--specific and multi-subject books teach core skills in math, science, reading, language arts, and history for third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Moreover, a mix of popular licensed titles and favorite stories come to life with interactive learning games, a book report writing template, glossary of new words, and comprehension questions. By year's end, the Quantum Pad library will have almost 20 titles ($14.99 apiece); each good for hours of interactive game play. Two of our favorites are The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System and Smart Guide to Third Grade.

For the kindergarten to third-grade set, there are the Twist & Shout Handhelds ($16.99 each), offering a portable and interactive alternative to practice fundamental addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables. The twist-and-slam interface gets youngsters excited about learning, as they twist the number dials to create equations and "hit it" (slamming the end of the tube) to select an answer--all to a catchy musical beat. Beat the Clock, Math Master, Quiz Time, and Lightning game modes keep the games fresh and allow kids to learn at their own pace.