Come on an Adventure (Puzzle World Combined Volume - Susannah Leigh)

Member Name: Emmamac1

Product:	Puzzle World Combined Volume - Susannah Leigh
Date:	18/07/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educationally fun and challenging

Disadvantages: It can take a long time to read

Puzzle World is a fantastic book written for children aged between 4 and 8 ( but all my children enjoy reading and participating in it, and my eldest is 11). Puzzle World is actually three books combined into one. These are Puzzle Island, Puzzle Farm and Puzzle Town.

There are numerous other books in the Puzzle series, at least eighteen other titles, published by Usbourne. Puzzle World costs £7.99, slightly more than the single titles, but it is well worth the money.

Generally the Puzzle books start with the pages 'About this Story'. These two pages explain what the story is about and the main characters featuring in the story, usually some children solve the puzzle with you and are the heros. It also informs you of your challenge plus things you need to find on every double page. On the journey through the book you have objects to point out which will help your character on his/hers journey. At this point my boys have to take it in turns to find the objects, otherwise it gets into a battle. But thankfully there are plenty of other things to find, so arguments are put at bay!

The basic layout of each story, follows a similar format. The young heros sets out on his/hers adventure, whether it is to find treasure, organize a party set up fair, as examples. The stories develop and have a puzzle to solve on each double page. You could be matching, spotting the difference, finding a way through the maze or other exciting things to help the adventure.

If the puzzles are just too hard to find, low and behold there are answers, which are graphically illustrated, at the back of each book. To be honest, I have had to peek on some occasions, as I just could not find the object, or solve the puzzle.

All the books are written by Susannah Leigh and Illustrated by Brenda Haw. The characters all have a similar feel about them. The pages are very busy, which is intentional, so it makes finding clues a little harder. The pages are full of colour, and there are lots of silly pictures, which make my children chuckle.

The three stories inside Puzzle World are: Puzzle Island, Puzzle Town and Puzzle Farm.

Puzzle Island is about a young pirate, Sam, and Swashbuckle his parrot. He is only a junior pirate and needs to become a real pirate. To do this he has to set sail to Puzzle Island to find a skull and crossbone badge, which is hidden in a chest full of treasure. Horatio is a sneaky pirate who is trying to beat Sam to the treasure. An exciting adventure, with fun challenging puzzles!

Puzzle Town features Tim and Katy. They are going to a fancy dress party but do not know where it is being held. The clues add up to where the party is. This story is full of weird and wonderful characters, which keeps the children actively involved throughout.

Puzzle Farm involves Beth and Harry. They have been left in charge of Puzzle Farm and need to organise the farm fair. This story would be more suitable to the younger age (4) as there are lots of matching skills to do.

I have the whole collection of Puzzle books. My children really enjoy them. Not only are they being stimulated through reading, but also by solving the puzzles, there are many skills involved. They are fun and educational. They do take a long time to complete, around 30 minutes, so make sure you are somewhere comfy to enjoy the adventure!

Summary: It's a real adventure for any little person!