101 Quick-Thinking Games and Riddles for Children (SmartFun Activity Books)

Allison Bartl
Hunter House (2008)
ISBN 9780897934978
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (5/08)

“101 Quick-Thinking Games and Riddles for Children” is a collection of games and riddles designed to “encourage concentration, reasoning, patience, an understanding of numbers, the use of logic, and working with letters and words.  They enhance memory skills.  They help to develop social abilities and teamwork.” (p.1)  The activities in the book are designed for teachers of children age six through ten.

From a quick glance in the corner of each activity’s page you can tell whether or not this activity will work for you by the icons pictured there.  There are icons telling the size of the group needed, whether or not props or space are required, if there is physical contact involved or if it is an outdoor activity.  The icons are very beneficial in that you do not have to take the time to read through each description in order to find out if the game is something that would be applicable to your situation.

The first part of the book has 101 games and then the second part of the book has 65 riddles.  The games start out fairly simple with one called “Quick Lineup” in which children are split into two groups.  Each child writes down a number on a piece of paper and then everyone in each group lines up in numerical order.  The first group that completes the task is the winner. 

The games become increasingly more challenging and end with an activity called “Mystery Letter” in which one child goes outside the room and the remaining children decide on a “secret letter.”  When the child comes back into the room he asks the other children up to ten questions which the children answer using the letter somewhere in the word.  The guessing child attempts to find the connections and guess the letter. 

The author, Allison Bartl, is the author of many books for children, some of which are of similar format to this one.  She is an experienced elementary-school teacher so she definitely has the background necessary to create fun, educational activities for this age group.  Though most of the activities are geared toward children in a classroom setting the majority of the activities can be modified so that parents can utilize these ideas at home with their children.  “101 Quick-Thinking Games and Riddles for Children” contains a lot of creative, fresh ideas and I think that any teacher, parent, or group leader would find numerous activities inside that they would be able to use!