Review: Tonies children’s audio system for making audiobooks part of playtime

The other week we were led through a stroyland bringing children’s classics like The Gruffalo and The Snowman to life through storytelling and beautifully decorated rooms. It was the UK launch of children’s audio system Tonies, which gives children independence to operate an audio system to listen to stories and songs.

Tonnes–which arrives in the UK following success in other European markets–is an easy-to-use audio system consisting of a cube-shaped speaker–Toniebox–and figurines–Tonies– that represent different stories or music.

To listen to stories on a Toniebox, children only have to press one ear on the speaker and choose a Tonie to place on top of the cube. The two ears on the speaker can also be used to control volume, and these are the only controls on the Toniebox, which makes the design simple and clever, but it is not possible to skip forward or go back. To stop the story or music, children can remove the Tonie, and when put back on to the speaker, the Tonie continues the story where it left off, and next time it starts from the top again. The speaker turns itself off automatically some time after the Tonie has been removed, which I think is another element that makes it very child-friendly.

We received products to review at the launch, and I’ve added to our collection since then by buying more Tonies, as I can see the children enjoying the concept.

The Tonie that comes with the Toniebox–a Creative-Tonie–makes it possible for parents to pre-record content by using a free app, so I’ve read some of our favourite picture books aloud in the late evening and synced the figurine with the app to allow the children to listen to my storytelling at any time of their choice.

Sometimes I now see three-year-old Big Boy stopping playing and turning on a book on the Toniebox, which is why I’ve also bought him additional Tonies with children’s books. The collection of Tonies in English include popular classics like The Gruffalo and The Snowman, and these Tonies are shaped as the characters from the books, making them particularly fun and easy to use for little ones.

At the launch event, the last room on the trail was accessed via a pretend chimney, which the children climbed through, and the path led straight into a child’s bedroom where colourful Tonieboxes were on display, showing how this clever gadget made for a brilliant addition to any child’s room. I think tonies really stands out for design, as the robust cubes look cool, the audio-system is easy to use for children from aged 3 and over, and audiobooks can help inspire a love of books.

Tonieboxes (RRP £79.95), Tonies (RRP £14.99) and Creative-Tonies (RRP £11.99) are available from Amazon, selected retailers and bookshops and via the tonies website.

Tags: Audiobooks, Children's books, Review, Toniebox, tonies