I must say that LeapFrog has a great reputation when it comes to educational devices targeted at your grandchildren. That, however, doesn’t stop me from wondering about which products are useful and which ones are superfluous. I’m interested in what you might have to think.

A new device from LeapFrog called LeapReader features a pen-like tool that reads audio books and teaches basic writing skills. It also recites letters and words as the child is writing them.

It also offers games and other incentive-based learning tools. The rechargeable device has a battery life of five hours and can hold up to 40 downloaded titles via LeapFrog’s library. LeapReader will have 100 digital content audio titles in the near future. These range in price from $5 to $10. The LeapReader will retail for $50 and be available in July. The LeapReader works with “interactive learning paper” and Learn to Write workbooks, comprised of 35-42 interactive pages at $20.

Education now costs a small fortune for pre-schoolers. Is it worth it? Is this the best way for your grandchildren to learn to read and write? Ring in below, please!