Discover how Toniebox transforms kids' storytime in our comprehensive toniebox review. Uncover fun features, beloved characters, and if it's worth it.
Disclosure - we received the Toniebox and 2 characters free of charge for the purpose of this Tonie Box review. All opinions are honest and our own.
What is Toniebox?
Digital speakers are big news right now. I think most households have an Alexa or Google Home - we have a few in different rooms and the littler children want to get in on the action! The Toniebox bridges the gap in the market for younger children. It is a portable speaker that you can use to play music and stories on using the different Tonies characters that you simply place on the top.
The box itself looks like a high quality item. It is sturdy and padded and it looks like it will take some knocks from younger children. It is able to be used wirelessly, and you can just pop it back on it's charging station to charge until you next want to move it. The battery life is up to 7 hours which is more than enough for most car journeys. It also has a headphone jack so your little one can play their Tonies without everyone else having to listen to them too!
How to use your Toniebox
It's really easy to use - simply put the Tonies character on the top when the light is green and the story will start playing. Take the character off to pause the story and it will start again in the same place as long as you haven't put on a different character in between. If you tap the sides of the box it will skip forwards or backwards a chapter and you can fast forward or rewind by tilting the box from side to side.
To turn the volume up press the big ear and press the little ear to turn it down. To download new content, take the Tonie off and press one of the ears for three seconds until you hear a beep then put the Tonie back on.
Creative Tonie
Your box comes with a creative Tonie (and you can buy others separately). you can use this Tonie to play downloaded audiobooks or music or even record yourself reading a story and download it to the Tonie. Each creative can hold up to 90 minutes of audio content. This is a really cute feature, especially if you are going to be away at bedtime as your child will feel comforted by hearing your voice. It's also really easy to do via the app that you can download onto your phone.
You can buy other Tonie characters separately. We were given a Snowman one and a Little Mermaid one. Again they are high quality and they look really cute. They are very collectable though and I can imagine my little boy (5) having a row of them set up in his bedroom. They make it very easy for young children to quickly choose a 'book' to play as they just need to pick up the character and pop it on top of the box.
Toniebox review
I actually really like the Toniebox and although it's price tag is on the high side (£79.95) I think it is a high quality item that will get used. The separate story Tonies retail for £14.99 which again is pricey for what is essentially an audiobook but they do make nice little gifts. You can save a bit of money with a starter set though, which includes the Tonie box and 3 Tonies for £114.99.
I do wish that they would come with a copy of the actual book though that the child could follow along with the audiobook, I think this would really help with reading and it would justify the price point a little more.
Overall my little boy loves this but it's not my plan to have it to replace reading books with him, at the moment he plays the stories after we have read to him first, just as he is settling off to sleep so it is great for that. An audio player like this is also a great alternative to screen time, and works so well for playing a bedtime story or music playing.
I'll definitely be adding to his collection of Tonies though so that he can enjoy some different stories. He has his eye on the Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig Tonies figures.
You can buy a Toniebox, Toniebox starter set and Tonies from Amazon (affiliate link), online on their website or in John Lewis.
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