The new Bluey Tonies are arriving at Book Hero, and I think they’re going to be some of the most-loved Tonies yet!
Bluey is such a sweet show and I think rare in that not only do kids love it but parents really enjoy it too! It’s funny, emotional, very accurate to parenting, and full of the family and toddler moments that feel all too real. When we heard Bluey was joining the Tonies range, the parents at Book Hero knew it was going to be huge... and I knew my 3 year old Walter will be very keen to add it to his collection!
Bluey is a favourite in our house (even our 1 year old dances to the intro music) and I can't wait to see Walter's excitement when they arrive! We were lucky enough to travel to Melbourne early this year to visit the Australian Toy Fair. I managed to get a photo with Bluey and Bingo and Walter was quick to get his Bluey soft toys and send a matching picture back!
Safe to say we are Bluey fans in this house! The range includes the Bluey, Bingo & Muffin 3 Pack, Bluey Toniebox 2 Starter Sets, the Bluey Tonieplay Game, carry bag and interchangeable sleeve. Check out the awesome Bluey Toniebox and Bluey tonie range!
What is a Toniebox?
A Toniebox is a soft, child-friendly audio player for stories, songs and games. Instead of using a screen or scrolling through an app, kids place a Tonie character on top of the box and the audio just starts playing!
Walter has the Toniebox 2, and he absolutely loves it. It lives in his playroom (which in our case is the garage) and he listens to it while he plays or while we're all hanging out in there. He’ll have stories or songs going in the background while he’s building, driving cars around, moving toys from one place to another (i.e. dumping them all over the floor), or doing whatever very important activity he’s decided on for the day with us.
He also carries it through to the kitchen while we’re cooking, so he can keep listening while we make dinner. It’s become part of our family life!
Walter picked up the controls really quickly. He knows how to skip ahead, go back, change the volume, and get to the story or song he wants. Often he’ll skip forward to a favourite bit, listen to it, then start the whole thing again and again... and again... and again... and again!
How we use the Toniebox
Walter understood almost instantly how to make the Toniebox work, the controls are very intuitive. Pinch the ears for volume up or down, and whack the sides to skip forward and back (you can also tilt to fast forward). It really feels properly made for children. It’s soft, sturdy and portable. I love the squishiness of it, it's kind of hard to explain but you have to hold one! Walter can move it from room to room, and I don’t feel like I’m nervously watching him carry some fragile bit of tech around the house.
For us, the Toniebox is best during playtime. Toniebox doesn't replace reading, but works alongside it. For example with the Gruffalo tonie Walter will read his book, turning the pages while listening to the audio version! Walter still loves to read before bed, and we still read together every night. That’s still our bedtime routine, and the best part of the day. We don’t keep the Toniebox in his room. I know lots of families do, and there are some lovely sleep-based Tonies for bedtime! For us it's the perfect companion to his daytime activities!
The best part is the characters
The tonie characters aren’t just accessories, they're fantastic little figures all by themselves. They’re hand-painted and really nice quality. It has been genuinely fun collecting them and adding new characters that Walter recognises from his books and shows.
It's almost magical how you just place the character on top of the Toniebox and it lights up and starts playing. The light slowly moves around the character and it feels like the figure has come alive! Once you have a Toniebox, collecting the characters becomes part of the fun.
Each new Tonie feels exciting because it always adds something different. A new story or set of songs. Each new tonie is a cute toy on the shelf and also adds something new to the experience.
If your child already has a Toniebox, a Tonie is an easy present from parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles or friends. You can choose one based on what they’re into at the time, whether that’s a favourite book, animals, cars, TV characters, music, bedtime stories or just something fun!
Some of Walter's favourites
Walter likes the Tonies that connect with characters he already knows. You can collect the tonies around your child’s existing interests.
For us, the book characters have been great. The Gruffalo, Paddington Bear, Thomas the Tank Engine and Winnie the Pooh all work because they connect back to stories we already love reading.
The TV and movie characters are understandably fun as well, for Walter that's Paw Patrol, Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. These are a great mix of adventure, music and stories.
Final Thoughts
If you're on the fence about getting a Toniebox for your child, I would encourage making the investment! Walter loves it. He uses it all the time. He listens while he plays, carries it around the house, chooses his characters, skips to his favourite parts, and goes back to the same stories and songs again and again.
As a parent, I love that it’s screen-free, simple, and genuinely enjoyable for him (it also keeps him occupied!) Being a lover of books and wanting to instil that in my children, I love that it connects so naturally with characters, stories and imagination from the books we read.
The Toniebox has given Walter another way to enjoy stories. It has made his favourite characters part of playtime, kitchen time, and all those little in-between moments that make up our life.
And now Bluey is joining the Tonies range, which makes it even more exciting! If your child loves Bluey, or if you’re looking for a screen-free way to bring stories, songs and favourite characters into everyday play, Tonies are very easy to love.