Here’s one of the realities of early artistic training: nobody first picks up a pencil as a fully-formed and schooled Leonardo Da Vinci, Chuck Jones, or Jack Kirby. Honing great artistic ability and technique takes time, and tracing makes an excellent first step toward settling in a certain muscle memory and fine motor control. After its preview earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we’re convinced the transparent Play n’ Trace Boogie Board can certainly help.
Paired with packages of guided activities and its own companion tablet app, the $30 Boogie Board arrives just in time to be a holiday gift idea read to inspire hours of gleeful doodling and penmanship practice. The included stylus writes on the LCD screen just as effectively and responsively as a fingertip, but erases entirely with the push of a single button. Don’t worry, this LCD screen is durable enough to withstand a child’s likely over-enthusiastic poking with more durability than an ordinary unprotected LCD usually can muster.
If your aim really is to aspire and entertain a true budding artist, then you’re likely to love that the Boogie Board modeled after the look of an artist’s palette – making it both a charming imitation of the real grown-up deal and an easy toy to handle. Quite possibly best of all, a single pair of AAA batteries will keep the Boogie Board alive for everyday tracing for right around five years.
