LeapFrog Introduces New Learning Friends™ Preschool Brand Featuring Fun Animal Friends That Help Children Build Excitement For Learning

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF), the leader in children's educational entertainment, has debuted the Learning Friends^™ brand, an all-new collection of friendly characters for children ages 2-5 years old. Featuring 11 fun animal school friends, the characters help children prepare for their first days of school through pretend play and fun dialogue. Learning Friends products include the Play & Discover School Set, Adventure Bus, the Hippo & Panda Figure Set and Board Book, and the Owl and Parrot Figure Set and Board Book, plus two free animated short adventures and four Learning Friends apps all available for download with each designed to help children learn to explore, play and build school readiness skills.

"Starting school is a major milestone and one that can be accompanied by some anxiety, particularly since a child is often entering a new environment and being introduced to new routines," said Dr. Jody Sherman LeVos, director of LeapFrog's Learning Team. "Children often need help feeling confident during this important transition, and that is where the LeapFrog Learning Friends can help them prepare through play. By seeing what Monkey, Turtle, Tiger and friends experience while at school, including activities like circle time, story time and free play, children can build a framework for what to expect when going to school the first time, providing them with a positive experience from the start."

Join the Learning Friends on Their Adventures
Each Learning Friend has their own unique personality, empowering children to be themselves and embrace change. Fox, Panda, Turtle, Owl and friends introduce young children to school routines and encourage them to explore through play through a collection of engaging and educational toys:  

• Play & Discover School Set: Join Tiger, Turtle and Monkey in class for five fun school activities and more than 70 unique stories, songs and phrases. This unique play set introduces important school routines such as story time and play time, helping children prepare for the excitement and newness that comes with starting preschool. (MSRP $29.99)
• Adventure Bus: Enjoy pretend-play fun with a picnic or a trip to the beach or the library with the imaginative play-based Learning Friends Adventure Bus. Koala, Fox, and Penguin share different songs and activities for each destination, introducing new vocabulary as well as the important preschool milestone of sign recognition with the flip out stop sign featured on the bus. Each of the three characters is compatible with the Play & Discover School Set creating new interactive experiences for a child to enjoy. (MSRP $19.99)
• Figure Sets and Board Books: Inspire and nurture a love of reading with Hippo & Panda Play Soccer and Owl & Parrot on an Adventure. Each character also works with the Play & Discover School Set bringing new songs and phrases to the interactive play set. (MSRP $7.99 each)
• Learning Friends videos: 'Koala's First Day' and 'Hippo's Show & Tell' teach personal and social skills as the Learning Friends journey through their introduction to preschool. These free webisodes with fun songs as well as printables and coloring pages are available online via LeapFrog's Learning Path.

In addition to the play sets and board books, a series of four Learning Friends 'Preschool Adventures' apps will be available for download this fall on LeapFrog's award-winning line of LeapPad learning tablets including the recently introduced LeapPad3 and LeapPad UltraXDi tablets. The new apps titled Turtle ABCs!, Tiger Counts!, Monkey Creates! and Ms. Giraffe Explores!, are designed to help three and four year old children explore, play and build school readiness skills.

Availability
LeapFrog's Learning Friends products are designed for children 2-5 years old, and are now available online and at major retail locations. The Learning Friends 'Preschool Adventures' apps will be available for purchase and download via the LeapFrog App Center (MSRP $10.00 for children 3 and 4 years old). Tiger Counts! and Monkey Creates! are available now, and Turtle's ABCs! and Ms. Giraffe Explores! will be available in September.

For more information, visit www.leapfrog.com.

About LeapFrog
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is the leader in educational entertainment for children. For nearly 20 years, LeapFrog has created award-winning learning solutions that combine educational expertise, innovative technology and a child's love for fun. With experiences that are personalized to each child's level, LeapFrog helps children achieve their potential through LeapFrog's proprietary learning tablets, learn to read and write systems, interactive learning toys and more, all designed or approved by LeapFrog's full-time in-house team of learning experts. LeapFrog's Learning Path, the ultimate guide for parents on early childhood, is designed specifically to help support and guide their child's learning with personalized ideas and feedback, fun activities and expert advice. LeapFrog is based in Emeryville, California, and was founded in 1995 by a father who revolutionized technology-based learning solutions to help his child learn how to read. Learn more at www.leapfrog.com.   

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