Critical Thinking Detective Book 1 -- my REVIEW

You know when something is "educational" but if your kids just think it's for fun they enjoy it (maybe more) fully?  This book that I received to review fits into that category!  If your kids like puzzles, chances are they will view this book in the "fun" category as well!  So what's the book, right?  :)  The title is Critical Thinking Detective Book 1 by The Critical Thinking Co.™ and it's great fun!

Here's the book we got -- it looks a little, well, used --because
we have used it well! It has come with us
 in the car and in multiple kids' bags and backpacks! :) 

This company (The Critical Thinking Co.™) has many interesting products that you can find on their website.  The one in particular that we got to review is a "whodunnit" type book full of mystery puzzles (and their solutions!  Yay!!) called Critical Thinking Detective Book 1.  

All 3 of my kids agreed that the illustrations
enhanced the mystery!

When I originally signed up to review this book, it looked interesting to me--using mysteries with clues to exercise critical thinking skills to solve the mystery and find out who the culprit it--and I was sure that my 16 year old son would be interested in it.  Well, when I got the book, my 13 year old daughter also asked (and asked and asked!) if she could use it as well, and my 17 year old daughter also got in on the act, "sneaking" opportunities to read it and try to figure out the mysteries herself!  So, while the cover of the book and the illustrations might make it look like it's written for younger students, I will testify that my older ones (8th, 10th, and 12 graders!) enjoyed it immensely as well!  The age the book is suggested for is actually 4th through 12th grade and up, and I would agree with that.  

So, what is the book like?  It begins with an introduction that gives students some suggestions for successfully solving these mysteries.  The "How to Solve These Cases" section gives valuable points that are helpful not only for this book but for much of life as well!  Suggestions such as, "Pay close attention to what is fact and what is opinion," "Proving a subject's innocence is often necessary to finding the thief," and "Beware of vague statements," help get the reader started successfully.

The following pages are twelve 2-page "cases" such as "The Dog Food Thief," "The Football Thief" and others.  The left hand page holds the story, the pictures and information about the suspects, and other pertinent witness information.  The right hand side is a section where the student can work out the clues to determine the thief.  (Yes, though it looks so fun, you are reminded it is a school workbook when it says at the top of the page, "Use complete sentences and sentence numbers to describe the best evidence for your conclusions." This was helpful, though, as my kids wrote out more information and then had that available in front of them to draw their conclusions!)

 AND -- the book doesn't leave you hanging!  At the end of the book the solutions are given -- not just the answers, but actually the solutions -- explaining the evidence and why the one was determined to be the thief.  

In true sibling fashion, my children often worked on the same mystery 2 at a time to see which one of them got the correct answer first (or if they both got the same answer).  These explanations/answers were great to show where they were right or wrong and we often heard an, "Oh YEAH!  I forgot about that part!" or some such statement when they were read the correct solution.  A few times they worked together to figure out who was the thief, but more often than not they tried to "win" against their brother or sister :) 

SO -- what did I think of this book, Critical Thinking Detective Book 1?  I loved it.  My kids loved it.  It is something that helps hone their attention and (as in the title!!) their critical reading and thinking skills, and would make a great addition to your student's curriculum.  Plus, as I've mentioned too many times already, it's FUN!  Like fun enough that my kids wouldn't have minded if they got it for a Christmas gift or something :) Seriously!  So, I definitely recommend this book and am glad that we had the chance to discover it through this review!

**an additional note, for families with multiple children--this company grants the purchaser the rights to make copies to use within one home or one classroom--so for multiple children, you can copy pages to allow them to each use it themselves.  I thought that this was a great feature!

Right now there is a special deal through this company, if you wish to take advantage of it!   Free Critical Thinking Puzzles!
A $75 Value! Delivered weekly to your inbox. Choose PreK – Grade 8. Sign Up Now!
https://www.criticalthinking.com/toscrew
 
Special Offer from CriticalThinking.com!
Free Shipping + 15% Off Any Size Order! Use Coupon Code: TOSCREW18. Expires 12/31/2018.

The Critical Thinking Co.™ has many different products and you may read reviews of several of them by clicking on the links below!