Story Stars are soft cuddly creatures that can read your child stories of their exciting adventures, sing calming relaxing melodies, playback your own personalised recorded messages and project a colourful night sky onto the ceiling. There are five creatures to collect: Toby Tales (Monstersaur), Teddi Tales (Bear), Luby Lullaby (Mermaid), Kori Story (Monkey) and Freddie Fable (Explorer).
All the content is controlled through the Story Stars free app available on Android and Apple devices. It is currently compatible with iPad Mini 2/3, iPad 3/4/Air 1/Air 2, iPhone 4s/5/5s/6/6s, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro/4/Note 3/Note 10.1/ S6/S5/S4, Google Nexus 5/6, oneplusone, LG G3, LG V480 and HTC One (M9). The creatures require two AA batteries which are not included.
The app allows you to build tailored playlists composed of personalised messages, stories and melodies. When you first start the app, it will ask you to sign in with your email address and details and to agree with their terms and conditions. The app also allows you to record personalised messages. There are a list of 11 free stories and 10 melodies for you to select to upload into the toys. But do remember to adjust the volume in the app before you upload the playlist across. The first time I did it, I had the volume on full and it was really loud. I had to redo the playlist again with the adjusted volume. The playlists are uploaded to the Story Star via Bluetooth which will take a while. I uploaded nine melodies over and it took around 15-20 minutes. Once uploaded, your smart device can be switched off and put away due to an in-built memory within the Story Star.
In my video, I demonstrate how to use the app and show you the nightlight: https://youtu.be/hn3S6HRz7d4
Now children can listen to your playlist as many times as they want or see the colourful night light by simply pressing the button on the Story Stars stomach and watch as they come to life. After 20 minutes the night light automatically turns off.
My children adore these Story Stars, especially the nightlight. They like that the lights project on the ceiling. It did distract them from sleeping but it is a lovely feature for children who are afraid of sleeping alone. The creatures are soft to hug and it’s nice to be able to record a personalised message to tell them to go to bed!
For more information about Story Stars, please visit, http://toysalive.com/storystars/. It is available to buy from Smyths, good toy shops and Amazon.
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review however all thoughts and opinions remain our own.