Leap Frog Alphabet Pal Caterpillar

I recently started noticing the Leap Frog Alphabet Pal Caterpillar again as it made its way back to our evening bath time and pajama time routine. It’s difficult to ignore its loud jingles and multiple sound music and alphabet modes, and it’s being appreciated by our 20 month old daughter while she reintroduced it to our three year old son.

I bought the Alphabet Pal for our son a couple of years back for Christmas as he was about to turn seven months. He liked it then and played with it as he aged, but there came a time in the middle of his first year where it just disappeared.

The Alphabet Pal Caterpillar from LeapFrog is an alphabet learning educational toy recommended for ages 1 to 3 years, but with an amazon.com choking hazard warning for children under 3! It has 26 feet appropriated for the letters of the alphabet and includes four modes which teach the letters, letter sounds, colors for identifying a particular color in its feet, and a music mode, and an additional mode by pressing the firefly on the caterpillar’s back. Operated by 3 AA batteries, they have not been replaced since its initial purchase almost three years ago. Newer versions are out, some of which you can connect to the internet like with many of LeapFrogs newer toys.

The Alphabet Pal has reemerged from the toy box in our bedroom by our 20 month old girl, whom had been playing with it for about a month now. When she hears it singing the alphabet, she dances around in a foot-tapping semi circle and sings the ABC with it! It is among the select few toys that we keep out in the master bedroom as we have to continuously clean up. But since she likes it, pays attention to it and plays with it, we keep it available for her . It’s a one-piece toy so it’s easy to clean up.

One thing the poor girl has had to deal with is her brother’s bullying. All of a sudden he’s interested in it again. Abandoned somewhere in the middle of his first year, the three and a half year old has a sudden reemerging interest in the toy, pressing the alphabet pal caterpillar’s feet almost exclusively in music mode. This might be either because he loves music, or because his sister loves the ABC’s!

Amazon.com Widgets

There is one thing I didn’t miss about this toy being away. It’s loud and only children can like this music. Of the two sound settings it has, the first is loud and the second is very loud. And since it is on the top of the toy, or the back of the caterpillar, it is easy access to the children who always select the louder option. It has automatic turn off when not played with, but not before it loudly claims, “Thanks for playing with LeapFrog, bye bye.” And the kids take another interest in it!!! And let’s not forget trying to get a sleeping child into bed then accidentally stepping on the one of 26 feet, awakening its loud, happy and incredibly adult-annoying jingle!

And I think the orange caterpillar color may have been discontinued, which is a shame because it is a very nice color on the caterpillar.

Colors vary and ordering it online means expecting anyone of several options including green, orange or purple. We got the orange, and I consider us lucky, though any color would have been fine. It’s a big toy at almost 14 inches long and almost six inches wide, so it looks like an impressive and fun gift. And while the jingles may be loud, it sure makes our daughter happy!