Lollipop Logic: Grades K-2, Book 1

We didn't try this book 1 initially; we had bought the newer version which at the time was Book 2 Lollipop Logic, Book 2 (Grades K-2) . After we finished book 2, I really wished that the author had created more of these books. I would have preferred one 50-page book for each age group (e.g. K, 1st, 2nd, etc.). The enjoyment and the learning that this book created with a fun environment prompted me to order book 1 right away. While some mention that book 1 is pretty easy, there are a couple more difficult areas in the book for deduction and critical analysis that I suspect most preK's and K's would certainly not get without parents help. I also disagree with the reviews that say this is better suited for preschoolers. I think it is age appropriate for most K and 1st graders, and some 2nd graders. The only area that might be pushing 2nd grade with a challenge is the critical analysis. Sadly, critical analysis was only 3 pages (one problem/page). I would have loved to see 50 pages of these, they were very fun puzzles to try to solve. These critical analysis exercises are at the very end of the book. Please NOTE: I did find an error in the answer section for lesson 51 (detailed later). Yes, this book 1 was still fun and it kept my son's attention. Yes, we got through it in only a few sittings. However, it was very similar in structure to book 2, and we preferred Book 2. The first 8 pages are ordering SEQUENCES (i.e. cubes being stacked, heart puzzle being assembled, fruit being picked from a tree, birds hatching in a nest, pumpkin being carved, snowman being built, glasses being filled, cookies being eaten). Children are to number the order of the sequence from 1st to 6th. The next 8 pages are RELATIONSHIPS. The first 4 pages are finding the best similar relationships where you are given twenty exercises (5 per page) - each with one picture object, then you pick from 3 other adjacent pictures which one has the closest relationship to the picture given. Example, one picture object is a maibox : pick either scissor, letter, or valentines. Next, there are 3 more pages of relationships with a box containing multiple objects that all have a relationship. Below the box there are 10 different objects that you must circle the objects that might belong with the objects in the box, and X the objects that do not share a relationship. The next 8 pages are ANALOGIES. She gives you 4 - 5 exercises per page. In the first few pages there are 5 exercises per page, each with 2 objects that have a relationship, then you get a different object that has a similar relationship to one of three objects shown. You must pick one of the 3 objects that best suites the object with a similar relationship as the first 2 objects shown. Example, a harp and a trumpet are in the relationship box. To it's right is a soccer ball which is like what for the next 3 choices to it's right: (a - football, b - mittens, or c - sheep). Answer: a - football which is the same type of object Another example is a piggy bank and a penny are in the box to the left. On the right is a pillow which is like: (a - jack-in-the-box, b - feather, c - magnifying glass). Answer: b - feather is inside a pillow. Other pages have 4 exercises and the relationship is shown in a slightly different way, but the concepts are similar to the initial pages described above. Overall, the author does an outstanding job of changing the kinds of relationships of the various objects (i.e. type of object, size of object, pattern of object, use of object, etc.) that are used throughout all the pages. The next 8 pages are for DEDUCTION where I suspect the author is expecting most 1st and 2nd graders to read the detailed paragraph describing the scene, and characters. Next, with 3 sentence clues given about the 4 objects and the 4 characters, the child must deduce what the relationship of each of the characters is to each of the 4 objects shown matching them based upon the clues. The next 8 pages are PATTERN DECODING. Each page has 8 pattern sets. You must align one of 5 objects given on the far right to the 5 pattern sets on the page that it belongs as the next object in the particular pattern set. The next 9 pages are INFERENCE with varied exercises. The first few excercises will be a complete drawing with a small portion missing. The child must match the missing portion with the proper picture. A couple are puzzle pieces scattered on the page. You must determine what the drawing is. A few more pages are just matching the pictures that go together. Finally, a few pages provide several partial pictures of objects and you must identify what they are. Lastly, only 3 pages of CRITICAL ANALYSIS. Simply not enough :) One problem, one problem's answers were not correct for Lesson 51. The author provides 3 pictures of what constitutes an Ogg, then there are 3 pictures for what is not an Ogg. Then you pick from 6 pictures what are Oggs. The answer states 1, 2 and 6 are Oggs. I believe the correct answer is only 2 and 6 are Oggs. Why? If you make comparisons for Oggs and not Oggs, you see that Oggs all have tails, nose and ears where Oggs do not. Therefore, picture 1 is missing a nose, so it cannot be an Ogg. The other 2 examples were accurate - Lesson 50 and Lesson 52. In lesson 50 there are Triops. When making comparisons of Triops and non-Triops, it can be seen that Triops have one or more of the same shape inside itself with solid or hollow fill. In Lesson 52 there are Tiffs. When making comparisons between Tiffs and non-Tiffs, it can be seen that Tiffs must have 3 eyes and no body between head and legs. These 2 problems were very clear and correctly reported in the answer section. Update: 9/3/2012 - There is a book 3 which I am ordering today Lollipop Logic, Book 3 (Grades K-2) . We started going through this book 1 with our youngest who just entered Kindergarten this year, and he likes it very much. While neither of my children scored perfectly when doing this book independently as Kindergartners, it did help teach them how to look at the details, and analyze based on criteria which may include type groupings, shapes, positions (inside, outside, up, down), direction (left, right, up, down), sizes, pattern (fill or detail), and more. I don't think most children in the earlier age group (i.e. K, and 1st) which these books target will analyze with so much distinction of details initially to get all the problems correct. I respectfully disagree with some of the other reviews that say this is better suited for preschoolers. Possibly gifted preschoolers, or those whose parents are assisting, but independent work for a preschooler - no way, not for the normal child in America! Both my kids are very advanced for their age, but probably not gifted. For example, the youngest (age 5) is a solid grade level ahead in both, math, and English (reading, writing and spelling) - he started reading English at age 3.75. At 5 he can do 2 digit addition and subtraction. He also knows Spanish and Thai. The oldest child (age 6) is 4 grade levels ahead in both reading and math, and he knows Spanish, Chinese, and Thai. He could read at age 2.2 years. Before he was 3 years of age he could read 60 page Dr. Suess books in 10 minutes or less. As a Kindergartner, he could read 85 words/minute with 99.9% accuracy according to the initial tests given by the school. Both children play 2 musical different instruments (Piano/Drums, and Piano/Guitar). So, you get a real sense that both my kids are very high achievers and quick learners, but this book had it's challenges for them where they missed several questions as Kindergartners. While many 2nd graders might find this book too easy, I am sure that most younger children (ages 4,5, or 6) will have some real challenges which will help teach them to consider a large range of potential relationships to consider, or not, based on the criteria of the questions, and the examples given. Yes, some exercises initially are easy, but I think that helps set the hook for the child to keep working onward to do more problems since there is no fear initially. If the author put the critical analysis section first, many children would have a brain shutdown - turned off due to the difficulty of the material, and that would be unfortunate. Hence, the author put them last. These are great books for exposing children to a higher level of detailed analysis, and I am grateful to the author for her creativity to help young minds discern more! Hopefully, you will find these books as stimulating and helpful as we did. For the price, I think you will find it worthwhile experience in your child's learning.

I bought a lot of these kind of Logic/gifted testing books and I really liked these, as did my five year old twins. They don't have color but my kids still found them engaging. I was really impressed with the variety of questions and the fun my guys had in solving the questions. I have paid double the price for similar books, some with color and some without but I still liked these best. Price is important to me because I had to buy two of each book, one for each child, and I really believe the value was worth it. There are 62 pages of work and a decent amount of each type of problem. Parents will need to be present for these sort of books. We did not use these books for any testing prep but simply as a break from math and writing workbooks so I cannot attest to the quality of testing material.

This is a really fun workbook for kids. I purchased it as a prep-aid for our daughter's gifted test, but we ended up using it just for fun and not even in relation to gifted testing (although you could, because many of the questions are typical of gifted testing questions). My daughter would come home from Kindergarten and say, "Mommy, let's do those fun gifted tests!" This was long after she had already taken and passed the gifted test through the school system. She just thoroughly enjoyed working through the problems for fun. She was 5 years old at the time we used the book, and it was appropriate for her age overall. Some problems were easier and some were more challenging, but kids are individuals with varying strengths, so that makes perfect sense. Overall, we enjoyed the book, and my daughter very much appreciated the silly and funny questions.

I bought this for my daughter mostly to see how she did with it. She was 4 (couple months shy of 5), and it was mostly easy for her, until the very end when there were a couple I had to talk her through a little. I agree with other reviewers that it is preschool-level. She really enjoyed it - although she is admittedly pretty easy to please as far as activities. :) I would buy it again because it served my purpose of assessing her ability, and logic ability isn't something I feel I can easily evaluate on my own.

Good variety of puzzles. Good quality - reproducible if you like to. Good progression in difficulty. A 2nd grader could probably do it almost independently. A K-kid would need someone to read some of the more verbose problems to solve the puzzles - esp the deductive reasoning ones. The guess the pattern type exercises are pretty easy. My K-kid really enjoyed them and buzzed through both books in about 2 weeks. Would recommend if you like the idea of teaching your children to learn how to think.

My kids love this book. They actually want to do schoolwork and won’t fight me on the book. It is engaging and while some is easy it still makes you think about the question. Recommended

I have been using this with my five-year-old pre-K son. He attends preschool but enjoys doing worksheets at home with guidance from parents, and we have used several brands of workbooks, including Kumon, Scholastic, and School Zone. The activities and subject matter are good in this book, and they do make my son think and stretch his reasoning abilities. However, the illustrations have absolutely no color, just plain black & white cover to cover. If I am going to have my young child doing supplementary academic worksheets, I like for them to at least seem fun and appealing to look at, and these are pretty boring in that regard. I don't want homework to seem boring already for him! We much prefer the Thinking Skills books (and other titles) published by School Zone for similar content and skill development, but in a colorful and more interesting presentation style for young children when you want them to feel like learning is fun. Lollipop Logic may be better for an older grade-schooler who is more accustomed to academic work.

I am using this workbook for a 6 year old and a 5 year old. Both love it and ask to do the work. What I enjoy about the workbook is that it comes with a variety of levels of work and most of the work is fun and does not make you think your sitting down to do 'homework'. Having solutions at the end of the book helps too. All in all, a great book, I would love to buy the net level.

book is fine....but the only problem is it all in black and white(except the cover page).it lack picture and paper quality.I never expected black and white children's book.it would be really appreciated if books had lot of colour pictures.the reason why I still gave 3 STARS is the content.good collection of puzzle for critical thinking and logic..

Good starting practice for my child.

This book is very quick and easy for my G1 child to understand, complete, have fun with AND have the confidence just to go off and do this by herself! Love it and will buy book 2 when we finish this one.

One of my favorite educational books for my 5 years .The only thing is some exercises where you have to cut come on both side of the page, so you have to decide which one you will use, and which one you will loose. No colored pictures- black and white printing

Great logic puzzles but not many of them. Better off printing off free logic puzzles from online instead.