Nothing beats having your child curl up in your lap to read a favorite book. But for those times when you can't be the reader, a new gadget called the Tag Junior can help.

From LeapFrog, the maker of last year's award-winning Tag Reading System, Tag Junior brings assisted reading to kids ages 2 through 4. It's a small plastic device that looks somewhat like a little chick with eyes, and it fits comfortably in little hands. Kids place the Tag Junior on top of words on a special Tag Junior board book, and the device reads them aloud. The Tag Junior also responds to illustrations on the page by making sounds, adding further dialogue or creating music. It works with Windows PCs and Macs and has a list price of $34.99; www.leapfrog.com/tagjunior.

— Gannett News Service

NEW BLOG ALERT

KHNL'S AKO DISCUSSES MOMMYHOOD

New moms and moms with young kids will probably find someone like-minded in Diane Ako.

On Thursday, Ako kicks off Small Talk, a new Honolulu Advertiser blog in which the TV journalist and married mom will be writing three times a week about life with her daughter Olivia, 2.

Ako, co-anchor of the KHNL News 8 morning news, is married and has a dog and cat. She happily went part time in 2007 after giving birth to her daughter. Find Ako's blog beginning Thursday by visiting http://smalltalk.honadvblogs.com.

— Esme Infante, http://Hawaii.MomsLikeMe.com