Andal Jagannathan
Andal Jagannathan
BRAIN GAMES FOR BRIGHT SPARKS QUIZ GAMES FOR BRIGHT SPARKS by Gareth Moore Hachette, 2019, 160 pp., 250
November 2019, volume 43, No 11

Decode secret messages, do some monster math, test your sequencing skills with numbers, finish fences, link shapes and do a lot of other fun stuff with Dr Gareth Moore’s Brain Games for Bright Sparks. The puzzles in the book are designed for ages 7-9. Adults can peek in too!

The bottom right corner of each page has a slot for marking time taken to solve the puzzle on the page. Children can be challenged to time-bound puzzle solving to add an element of thrill to the activity. In addition to several word and number puzzles there are quite a few math puzzles and tricky logic puzzles too. The book has more than 80 puzzles.

Page 79 has an interesting activity called ‘Picture Merge’. Children will find it very engrossing. The jigsaw grid on page 68 is yet another fun puzzle which will keep children’s heads buried in the book till they get it right.

The author advises users to use pencils so that it is easy to change answers, if needed. The back of the book does contain all the answers, but it would be good fun to try and solve all the puzzles and then cross-check answers. Back-of-the-book answers should be the absolutely last option. Try explaining that to impatient children!

If you want to grow a daffodil, would you plant a seed, bulb, twig or bark? Err…um…? Thinking? OK, try this one. How many keys are there on a standard full piano keyboard?

There are plenty of interesting questions such as these in Quiz Games for Bright Sparks. It is a veritable storehouse of interesting quizzes for the inquisitive, always-in-the-need-for-something-to-do 7-9 age group. A good variety of topics ranging from animals, minerals, vegetables to geography will keep those ever-curious minds busy. There are some sections that test arithmetic skills too.

Score boxes given at the bottom of each page are meant for honest users. Once children are done with the quizzes they can cross-check answers from the back of the book and note down their score in the score box.

Not an easy task, eh? I am not referring to the cross-checking activity, but the ability to not check the back of the book the minute the child is stumped. Now that would be a discipline worth developing. A little bit of restraint for the right reasons cannot hurt after all, can it? In fact, the author urges children to stop and think when they reach a quiz they do not know the answer to. He encourages children to recall what they know about the subject, and thereby try to arrive at the right answer. He encourages children to ask others if needed. This would give adults a chance to put down their phones and talk to children! Once children finish all the quizzes in the book, they are sure to become trivia champs.

And well, don’t think the book is just for children. Regardless of your age, do try the quizzes. Did you know that the quagga, a type of zebra, native to South Africa, has a plain brown back half? Its front half is different. Do you know what its front half is like? Any idea how long a sea turtle is expected to live?

Find answers to all this and more in Dr Gareth Moore’s Quiz Games for Bright Sparks.

Andal Jagannathan is a teacher by training and a learner in practice, a content consultant by profession and a waste warrior by passion.

Review Details

Book Name: BRAIN GAMES FOR BRIGHT SPARKS QUIZ GAMES FOR BRIGHT SPARKS
Reviewer name: Andal Jagannathan
Author name: Gareth Moore
Book Year: 2019
Publisher Name: Hachette
Book Price: 250
Book Pages: 160