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Dandy Lion Critical Thinking

Publisher: Dandy Lion Publications/ now part of Prufrock Press, Inc. Author: Various Review last updated: 2009

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Dandy Lion has an entire section of books on logic and thinking skills in their catalog that I like. Books are reproducible and answer keys are in the back. All but Lollipop Logic and the Logic Safari series are illustrated by Dean Crawford. His drawings have a "silly" touch to them that most children will enjoy.

Lollipop Logic ($11.95) was written to introduce pre-readers to logic activities such as sequencing, relationships, analogies, deductive reasoning, patterns, making inferences, and analysis. Since it is suggested for grades K-2, some children will be able to read and do these activities on their own, but most will need parents to read and explain the directions.

Primarily Logic ($11.95), written for grades 2-4, has a great mix of activities including topics such as analogies, relationships, deductive reasoning, problem solving, and organizing information. Cute illustrations, lots of variety, and engaging activities introduce students to some pretty sophisticated logic in a way they will enjoy.

"Blast Off with Logic" is a series of three books ($11.95 each) that build upon one another at increasing levels of difficulty. Logic Countdown, written for grades 3-4, introduces relationships, analogies, sequencing, "all" and "no" statements, syllogisms, if-then statements, deduction, and making inferences. Logic Liftoff for grades 4-6 reviews and expands all of these topics, continues into deeper logical reasoning, and introduces logical notation. Orbiting with Logic for grades 5-7 builds on the previous two books, expands logical notation, and adds logic diagrams and logical fallacies. While it is possible to use any one of the books alone, they really work best as a sort of continuous course. Grade designations are not hard and fast. If an older child hasn't gone through the first two books, use some of the lessons from those to begin with. Most of us parents will find many of the lessons new and challenging, so we should tackle them right along with our children to improve our own thinking skills.

Another series focuses on analogies--those problems that read like, "maple is to elm as rose is to ______." Analogies for Beginners ($8.95), suggested for grades 1-3, includes pictorial analogies as well as word analogies. Answers in this and the other two books are all multiple choice. Thinking Through Analogies for grades 3-6 ($9.95) has some illustrations on the pages, but the analogies at this level are all words and no pictures. Advancing through Analogies ($8.95) for grades 5-8. This one even throws in a few math analogies.

Logic Safari ($8.95 each) is yet another series of three books for three levels. These books feature grid matrix logic puzzles at increasing levels of difficulty. These are the puzzles that pose problems like, "There are four children, Joe, Bob, Sue, and Ann. They each have a different pet--a cat, a dog, a bird, and a hamster." Then through a series of statements and working with the grid, children deduce which child owns which pet. Book 1 is for grades 2-3. Book 2 is for grades 3-4. Book 3 is for grades 5-6.

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