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LeapFrog interactive storybooks are packed with learning that goes beyond practice reading. Sofia the First features six engaging learning activities designed to encourage kids to think more deeply about the story and assess their level of understanding. In the learning game Shake & Drag, children complete short sections of the story by filling in the blanks with words that they shake out of the sentences. This activity aims to teach kids to identify the word and its logical location in the story. Another comprehension activity asks children to sequence a set of three images based on where they occur in the story, supporting early summarizing skills. Additional activities include comprehension questions that prompt children to recall key story events, draw conclusions, make inferences and consider how characters are developed throughout the story. At the end of the book, children are asked to identify a range of basic high-frequency sight words such as “the” and “of,” along with words that have predictable spelling patterns, such as can and in to reinforce beginning word recognition skills.

As with all LeapFrog interactive storybooks, Sofia the First: Sofia’s New Friends offers the same story written at three levels. The text level automatically adjusts based on a child’s performance on a range of listening comprehension and early word identification activities, which children encounter throughout the story. For children who have not yet begun to read on their own, hearing text read aloud helps build comprehension and vocabulary. Early readers can read along with or without audio, and if they would like to try to read a word on their own, they can tap it to see letters highlight as the word is sounded out. This helps foster an understanding of letter-sound relationships—the building blocks of phonics.

LeapFrog interactive storybooks have integrated mini-games that are not only entertaining, but help move the story forward. As kids play, they actively experience what they are reading, bringing stories to life in a whole new way. In Sofia the First, children can extend the fun with three mini-games and a special look at the castle. They get to decorate a kite and use the motion sensor to “fly” it, play a tiny tune with Teeny Troll and select outfits for Princess Sofia from Sofia’s closet. They can even go behind-the-scenes to learn about royal life, explore knights’ armor and watch the castle acrobats perform!

All LeapFrog educational games and interactive storybooks are created or approved by an in-house team of learning experts for the most effective, age-appropriate learning experience. Sofia the First features engaging learning activities designed by educators to build phonics, vocabulary skills, word recognition, and listening and reading comprehension skills. Vocabulary knowledge is closely linked to reading comprehension, and Sofia the First also includes a visual dictionary to help build early vocabulary skills. Children can tap highlighted words for a kid-friendly definition and see a simple animation that shows a word’s meaning or how it’s used in the story. As in all titles, the visual dictionary for Sofia the First includes words such as cheer, warn and brave, which are commonly used in English oral language across a wide range of contexts. It also includes words such as majesty, observatory and royal, which are essential for understanding the story.