My First Brain Quest: 400 Questions to Build Your Toddler's Word Skill, Third Edition (Brain Quest) (Cards)

~ Chris Welles Feder (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's never too early to build a child's vocabulary, and the updated My First Brain Quest--designed specifically for 2- and 3-year-olds--is a fun way to get started. The tall, skinny plastic box contains three decks (the cards are attached so they fan out on a hinge) with a total of 400 questions, and a spongy, nontoxic Max toy monkey. The idea is to have the toddler bond with the monkey, so the child associates the cards with playtime! Deck One offers a full day with Max from the time he wakes up until bedtime. For example, a full-page cartoon of Max in his colorful toy-ridden bedroom asks, "Who just woke up? What is Max wearing? What do you see in his room?" The cards break down into smaller illustrations with object and activity identification ("What is Max doing? He's putting on his slippers" or "What is this called? A clock.") We follow Max through breakfast, school, music lessons, and more. Deck Two introduces children to seasonal activities, including trick-or-treating and playing on a snowy day. Deck Three explores the world, following Max from the mall to a picnic in the country to a farm. The Brain Quest series is a wonderful vehicle for parents to play and learn with their wee ones, and paves the way for a lifetime fascination with words. (Ages 2 to 3) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...Brain Quest is not only educational, it's also fun." -- Family Life

"Amazing...This quiz game is not only lots of fun, but educational besides." -- Money

"Surf, sun, school...yikes! If you're looking to clear the summer cobwebs from your child's head, check out Brain Quest." -- Child

"There's a game out there that doesn't need batteries-in fact, it runs on brainpower. It's called Brain Quest, and it proves that being smart can also be fun." -- Chicago Tribune --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Cards: 148 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 3rd edition (April 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761137734
• ISBN-13: 978-0761137733
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 2.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brain Quests are great fun!, June 18, 2001

By	Gowie "gowie" (CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My First Brain Quest (Misc. Supplies)

My older daughter loves Brain Quest, and I ordered this for my 2-1/2 year old son. They are great fun, and we often "play" with the decks instead of reading at night. Max the Monkey is fun, and my son enjoys looking at the pictures. I have been surprised at words he both does and does not know.

Some of the "answers" provided by Brain Quest are not words in a toddler vocabularly--for example, a picture showing what appears to be a box of crayons asks, "What are these called?" and the correct Brain Quest answer is "colored pencils." In another series of pictures, Max's slippers look more like shoes. However, these are minor things that are easily worked around--the parent can choose their own "right" answer. There way the questions are written easily lead you to make up your own questions.

The two things that could be improved upon: the is a 4" tall Max the Monkey included with the decks. It is supposed to be a child's playtoy, but it's made of FOAM. Needless to say, it was torn by the second day. Also, the plastic rivet that holds the cards together needs to be changed. It has the deck so tightly bound that I can't let my son turn the cards on his own--the cards would be terribly bent or torn. (The last Brain Quest I purchased had this same problem.)

Despite my negative sounding review, I am a big Brain Quest fan, and do like this Toddler's series. I would encourage any parent of a toddler to give this a try. Everyone learns from it, but in a fun, learning-through-play manner. The pictures are engaging, and a deck can easily be carried in a purse or backpack for outside the house.

The 2-3 year old guideline is appropriate. Very verbal, older 3 year olds will likely find this easy (which is great for their self-confidence), but may enjoy the challenge of the next level.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brainy Toddlers, December 8, 1999

By	[e-mail] (mancos, co United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My First Brain Quest (Misc. Supplies)

How do you make a smart preschooler? You ask them questions about everything, help them develop keener powers of observation, and guide them to be pattern recognizers. My First Brain Quest will help build toddler vocabulary, will lead little ones to keener observations and will keep up interaction between adult and child. Caregivers and foster care parents will love the structure provided by the sturdy cards hinged with a plastic rivet that keep the cards together and handy for constant use. Folks who provide CDA training and foster parent training, as well as parent-child interaction instruction will appreciate the slow pace and good feeling engendered by the BrainQuest preschool cards. They're a great way to train parenting skills of interaction (rather than imperatives) because they are founded on questions. The box also holds Max the Plastic MOnkey for the kids to hold onto while answering the questions, although he will probably get gnawed on as well as held in the hand. In preschool children, the name of the game is vocabulary. Being able to name your world is to have power over it. Brainquest does just that in a compact way. Great for pediatricians' offices, hospital waiting rooms, and other places you find parents and bored kids spending unstructured time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flash cards reinvented, May 1, 2008

By	fyres - See all my reviews

The premise of the game is, it asks questions regarding the pictures on the cards and the child tries to answer them according to the illustrations. (The answers are provided as a cheat guide for parents.) One of the great things about it is that it encourages parent/child interaction. All of the cards are printed front and back and typically a card has 3 scenes in it for the kid to name the scene, the action the character Max the Monkey is doing, and objects in the scene. So things like they'll show Max the Monkey putting socks on and it asks, "what is Max doing?" You can also have the child name the colors.

I do agree with another reviewer in that the rivet that binds it is too tight. It'd easily get torn or destroyed by your average 2 year old trying to figure it out. I would love to see a thicker, board book type version of this so it's sturdier for toddlers. I would pay extra for that to have it last longer.

I wouldn't wait till 2 yrs old to get this for a child though. I only learned about it when my child was 2.5 yrs old and most of it is already too easy for her. I would think a 1.5 yr old would be a good age to start with this one.

I do absolutely LOVE the fact that it is bound together and there's no more 52 card pick up with flash cards! I cannot even begin to express how thrilled I am about that alone! It's a perfect portable size to keep in the car, or bag to take anywhere. I wish I discovered this a long time ago, it would've been perfect for those lengthy waits in the doctor's waiting rooms. I also really love that it's curriculum based so it actually pertains to what my child learns in preschool so she can relate to it.