The Elmo live toy, one of the hottest selling toys of the holiday shopping season, is not just another pretty muppet face from Sesame Street. Although he is certainly fun to play with, the new Elmo live toy can do a lot more more than your average stuffed animal. As a matter of fact, he might even be able to help your child learn a thing or two. how does he do this? I'm glad you asked!

Well, one of the characteristics of the Elmo live toy is the ability to interact with your child when he or she plays with it. This is not a new quality in toys but it's one that's becoming more and more common as the toy industry searches for ways to make their products more innovative and fresh.

And as parents become more sophisticated in their search for quality toys, the features of those toys become even more important. Parents not only want something that's fun for their child, but educational too, and to this end the ELmo live toy delivers on both fronts!

And who wouldn't like the new Elmo live toy? The people at Fisher Price have done a nice job of recreating in a toy the same look and sound as Elmo when he appears on TV! And this toy goes above and beyond your typical stuffed animal! Touch Elmo's foot and he will sit down and tell you a story! Touch his belly and he will laugh hysterically! Touch him on the nose and he will pretend your playing the 'I've got your nose game' and ask for his nose back!

One of the nice features about the 2008 Elmo live toy is that Elmo's movements are more realistic and life-like, almost like that of a toddler. Elmo can move his legs and arms and use gestures when he tells stories.It even appears as if Elmo is really talking because his mouth moves when he 'speaks'.

What separates this Elmo live toy from other Elmo's of holidays past is the effect of Elmo's ability to seemingly 'interact' with your child. For example, Elmo will ask for a hug and then say 'thank you' as if he's received one. He'll also become really ticklish and act as if your child is tickling him when he's touched on his belly. This makes the interaction between Elmo and your child a very personal one, as if Elmo is responding to your child and your child only.

And this interaction is a great opportunity to talk to your child about Elmo and some of the things that Elmo says. For example, when Elmo says 'thank you' you could ask your child about other situations where your child would say thank you to somebody. Or when Elmo tells a story, you might ask your child what they think will happen next. And although these exchanges may seem really simple, they actually form the cornerstone of helping your child to learn how to predict outcomes and relate cause and effect-skills very important to developing critical thinking.

Now don't get me wrong- just listening to Elmo for eight hours a day will do nothing to help your child develop his or her vocabulary. It's the interaction with you and the questions that you ask about 'what Elmo says' that will help your child to form ideas and answers on their own.

So if you've been watching Sesame Street on TV for years ( and even if you haven't) the 2008 Elmo live toy stands to be a big winner with your child! And don't be surprised if while playing with the new Elmo toy your child learns some new things as well!