Product Reviews

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Quality:

4 out of 5

Product appearance:

5 out of 5

Age appropriateness:

5 out of 5

Play value:

4 out of 5

Momsense

(read all my reviews)

Location:Minneapolis, MN

Age:6-8

Relationship:Parent

Received Free Product:Yes

Received Sample

Cool Diary for Girls!--Great Birthday gift idea!

Date:August 25, 2015

Pros: High quality, Durable, unique and fun!

Cons: could have a place to store a pencil, could have a larger secret storage compartment, some difficulty with recognizing voice to unlock

My almost 7 year old daughter thought this password journal was "the best!" It knows her voice and only allows her to open the book with the right password, and includes a super-cool hidden storage compartment inside behind the book, as well as a special invisible ink marker with a spot to store it that allows girls to write a secret message inside, and a 2 way light, one that allows you to read normal writing, and a second light that reveals the secret messages written with the invisible ink! This would be the coolest birthday gift for any girl who loves secrets and loves to write or draw! You can easily change the password whenever you want too! And if someone tries to break in to read those treasured words, watch out! An alarm with a personalized message will sound. My daughter created an alarm message that said, "You're under arrest!!!" It is so cool, because even if she isn't around, you hear her saying it! Even if someone "hears" the passcode, it recognizes only the password in my daughter's voice so it won't open with someone else saying the password.

The things that I noticed could be improved on this item are: 1# there is not really a good location to store a regular pen or pencil inside, unless it is really small and fits in the storage compartment #a space for a standard pen/pencil could #and should# have been added inside the journal case#, 2) the diary or journal notepad itself is very small compared to the unit and will fill up quickly, and I am not sure if there are replacement note pads available to purchase, 3) the voice activated unlock is very sensitive, and sometimes the unit does not recognize my daughter's voice with correct password and will say "that's not the password" even though it was--on further attempts it will finally recognize it so this issue is intermittent and background noise in the room can cause this issue, 4) my daughter's journal did not want to lock initially #even after activating the password and alarm words#, so we almost thought it was broken, but then suddenly it started locking so it did work, 5) the journal case is much larger to store than the tiny notepad and the secret storage space beneath it is rather small and would be nice if the inside were a bit bigger so it could hold a little more. For example, new crayons do not quite fit inside it #used crayons are shorter and do fit# but it would be nice to be able to store a few art supplies inside it if your child is artistic and likes to color pictures in her journal. It is big enough to hold pretty stones, a tiny doll, necklaces, trinkets, or other small treasures, but as a reference for size, it cannot quite fit a deck of cards. Also, on the front, it seems like on the cover there could be a larger gem looking button to push to gain access. The buttons you push to gain access are just the small ones in the corner. Perhaps it would be neat to be able to choose from a variety of colors for the front, or add your own gems to decorate it, or have a spot to slide a child's photo. But overall, the cover looks really pretty and is eye-catching for girls.

Other than these concerns, my daughter has been absolutely delighted with this super cool diary and has been the envy of her older brother and sister. She is so excited to have something cool that they cannot access! She LOVES the light and the secret invisible ink, and the little compartment under the notepad. As a mom, I am hoping that there will be standard notepads that can fit in this for replacement, and replacement markers with invisible ink, other than that, we are all having fun with this journal, trying to make it think we are "her" and it always knows that we are not her! And then it sounds the alarm so we cannot open it! She feels VERY special because only she can! Smart reset button allows for opening when the password is forgotten and there are 3 volume settings. Great gift idea for friends' birthdays, especially the 7-12 year old range I would say. Perfect gift for a granddaughter or niece, etc. Super fun gift for that special girl! They really do feel special with this "just for you" journal! Takes 3 AA batteries.

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Pros Durable(1) High quality(1) unique and fun!(1)		Cons could have a larger secret storage compartment(1) could have a place to store a pencil(1) some difficulty with recognizing voice to unlock(1)
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