Please storyteller tell me a story

• There is no shortage of new Christmas gift ideas for the little ones.

• Digital storytellers are on the rise this year and allow children from a few months to 12 years old to let their imaginations run wild.

• Sold from 59 euros to 99 euros, the models presented each have their own specificities and meet different needs.

“Please tell me a story…” Certainly, nothing will ever replace the happiness of reading aloud from an adult to a child.

But now, small devices can also provide it for you through stories, tales and music that make the child almost autonomous.

Fun and multiple, digital storytellers flock to the shelves for the holidays.

It seemed important to us, faced with a wide range of offers, to guide you in your choices.

The editorial staff of

was able to test four of these storytellers and, through their pages, identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The most playful: Faba

Original in its design, the storyteller Faba (10 x 10 x 8 cm) serves as a support for various figurines. So many sound characters, which will trigger the reading of stories or songs once placed on the box (lasting 30 to 60 minutes). There are quite a few of them.

Like this little penguin to which Christmas carols are associated, or this bear weighted with lullabies to listen to before falling asleep. There are also

,

, etc. Note that a figurine among those offered allows you to read recorded stories from a smartphone, but the transfer of the recorded file (via a storage space, then from your computer to the storyteller) is a bit restrictive. For its part, the autonomy of Faba, which operates on a rechargeable battery, is approximately 8 hours.

Our opinion:

If a figurine is provided in the box, each additional character is sold 12.90 euros.

This certainly allows the child to develop a collection (and Papi, Grandma, Uncle or Tata's Santa Claus to spoil the bibounet!), But Faba, which is thus scalable, can end up being quite expensive.

Besides, the sound quality of the device is not loud and could be improved.

From 59.90 euros (with a character).

From 18 months.

The most educational: Yoto Player

Customizable from an application, the Yoyo Player acts as a night light and clock (with its screen with large bright pixels), as an alarm clock, radio, but also as an audio player.

This last feature takes the concept of audio cassettes, or even 45 trs that we used to place in a disc sleeve.

This time, it is NFC cards (sold from 5.99 euros to 24.99 euros per pack) in credit card format that we use. With each card to be inserted in the slot of the reader, the child accesses specific content. Wifi and Bluetooth, the Yoto Player works on battery with an autonomy of ten hours. It recharges on its base by induction.

Our opinion:

Complete and very well designed, the Yoto Player offers great versatility and flexibility of use.

We are seduced by the richness of the content offered, the designers of Yoto having thought big.

Tales and nursery rhymes, children's classics, Disney and Pixar adventures, stories in English… are all cards to collect and listen to.

There is even a map on the soldiers of the First World War, another on religions… Both fun and educational, Yoto is our favorite storyteller.

Warning: we may not agree that this device is Wifi.

99 euros.

24.99 euros the resistant transport bag.

From 2 to 12 years old.

The most imaginative: My Story Factory, by Lunii

"Who will be the hero of your story?"

Where is your story going to take place?

Who will your hero meet?

And finally, choose an object… ”Once these questions have been asked to the child (who answers them using the large button to turn on the front of the device), this reader creates a story of his own.

Forty-eight combinations are possible for as many stories that allow, in the company of Gaston or Suzanne, to conquer a castle, to save a wolf, or to… meet a mermaid hidden at the bottom of a swimming pool!

Very easy to use, battery operated (6 to 8 hours of battery life), the device, which is made in France, has become a benchmark since its creation in 2016.

Our opinion:

Well told and illustrated, with a real concern for quality, the fabricated stories allow to develop the imagination.

To go further and develop the little magic box, the Luniistore allows you to download new stories (around 10 euros) among dozens and dozens offered.

A transfer will be made with a USB cable from a Mac or a PC, thus preventing the device from emitting waves.

59.90 euros.

From 3 years.

The most resistant: Ocarina, from Gianluca

Taking the shape of a large rattle, the small Ocarina MP3 player emits no waves.

Its sound volume is limited and the device is durable (repairable at its Italian manufacturer).

Ocarina integrates nine playlists and forty-five audio tracks.

There are recordings by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Engel; fables, portraits of geniuses told like those of Titian or the singer Oum Kalthoum, stories about anger, joy, and fear; but also natural sounds (like those of a river, birds). It is also possible to record your own stories and sounds, either directly with the microphone of the musical rattle, or from your smartphone, then transfer them to Ocarina through a computer. Ocarina is recharged on the mains and has an autonomy of 15 hours of listening.

Our opinion:

We like the ergonomics of this small object (in blue, red, yellow or green, to choose from), pleasant in the hand with its plastic coating which resists shocks.

But not all of the audio tracks offered are in French.

Hexagonal repertoires are mixed, but also Italian, English and German.

In short, cleaning is required by connecting Ocarina to your computer (the device will be recognized as a storage disk)!

The possibility of making sound recordings directly with the microphone of the device is a plus.

The

integrated

allows you to program from 5 to 60 minutes to limit the listening time.

90 euros.

From 0 to 8 years old.

The most heritage: Merlin by La Chouette Radio

Developed jointly by the Bayard group and Radio France, the Merlin storyteller is a small object (13 x 13 cm) easy to transport using its large handle.

It has a small round LCD screen, reading and navigation keys, as well as a “Favorites” button in the shape of a heart.

The little ones will need the help of their parents to make it work, while the 5 years old and over will be autonomous.

Embedding 4:40 hours of content, the device has an internal memory of 4 GB that can integrate up to 50 hours of stories and music.

It can be personalized with an application that provides access to a catalog of 200 titles.

Recharging via USB, Merlin offers a battery life of up to 10 hours.

Our opinion: 

Made in France with the technical support of audio specialist Elipson, this storyteller remains the one that offers the most qualitative content with perfectly illustrated stories from the Bayard or Milan youth catalogs.

We thus find jumbled together: Little Brown Bear, The Little Weight Princess, but also Peter and the Wolf, Babar, Jack and the Beanstalk ... We appreciate the possibility of parental control, mom and dad being able from their application to authorize Merlin only read his stories during certain time slots.

79.90 euros.

From 3 to 10 years old.

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High-Tech

Four e-readers sold from 79 euros to 279 euros to open a new chapter at the foot of the tree

• 20 minutes video

• Books

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