This wonderful book has been printed (in different forms) at least one more time by Childcraft. In 2010, it was trimmed, re-named, and updated. For my money, this is the version to own. The year doesn’t matter – the name does. Look for Childcraft: The Puzzle Book. For details on the differences between this version and the 2010 Brain Games volume, read this article.

(The green and purple are the 2010, the white are 1982.)

I liked this explanation as to why puzzles have intellectual value. “One of the world’s greatest astronomers once said that he does not think mathematics should be taught in school. He thinks children could learn it more easily by doing puzzles.” (Preface to The Puzzle Book) This is, in some ways, exactly what Childcraft tries to do – teach nontraditionally.

At approximately 300 pages, this volume is absolutely packed with interesting puzzles, brain benders, word games, and number challenges. The pages contain several different styles of illustration and is generally very appealing to young people.

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