Books in Dover Children's Activity Books series

Entertain and challenge your brain with this bonanza of puzzles. Thirty mind-boggling mazes, created by a master maze designer, include labyrinths involving 3-D constructions, directional arrows, over-and-under structures, as well as key mazes, surface mazes, designated stops, and much more.The puzzles are designed around clever themes and are categorized by difficulty into five levels--from "No Brainers" that take about five to ten minutes to solve, to "Full Brain Overload," mazes that might take hours to find a solution. (A picture of a brain with varying amounts of gray matter appears next to each maze to indicate its level of difficulty.)There's also a "hints section" that provides clues for all but a few of the easiest puzzles. Use the hints section if you get stuck, but working the easier mazes will help you solve the more difficult ones. So grab a pencil and a-Maze yourself!

The more puzzles you solve, the more you want to play — that's the secret of sudoku, the Japanese sensation that's sweeping the globe.There are dozens of sudoku puzzle books available, but this whimsically illustrated edition is specially designed for kids. Its 48 brand-new puzzles are geared toward players from the ages of 8 to 13, but anyone can enjoy them. All you have to do is fill in the squares with the digits 1 through 9 in such a way that each digit appears in each column, row, and large square only once. That's all there is to it! No math skills are needed, just reasoning and logic — and an appetite for hours of nonstop puzzle fun! Solutions appear at the end.

"All projects have been pretested for school use and are suitable for youngsters." — Bulletin of National Association of Secondary School Principals.What better way to learn than by doing? This thoughtfully conceived woodworking primer by educator Jerome E. Leavitt makes learning basic carpentry skills enjoyable and rewarding for boys and girls ages 8 and up. With special sections on basic hand tools, squaring a block of wood, and wood finishing, this unique how-to book presents step-by-step instructions for making 15 popular wooden items — all scaled to the beginner's capabilities: Sailboat, Clock Shelf, Bird Feeder, Candlesticks, Hot Dish Coaster, Towel Holder, Steamboat, Cart, Toy Sled , Birdhouse for a Wren, Book Rack, Shoeshine Kit, Table Lamp, Flower Box, and Tie Rack. Carefully planned to appeal to young woodworkers, each project includes clear, simple directions, enhanced by clean, accurate diagrams and attractive line drawings. New carpenters will beam with pride and accomplishment at having constructed useful, tangible objects to keep or to give as presents to parents or friends.

From a biological point of view, the human body is an infinitely complex marvel of fine design, superbly adapted to its functions by eons of evolutionary development. Hundreds of specialized organs, bones, muscles, nerve fibers, blood vessels, and other anatomical features comprise an interdependent network of bodily systems that enables the human organism to survive. Now the component parts of this intricate flesh-and-bone machine can be absorbed and understood by means of an ingenious format: a coloring book that can help mature children and adult colorists learn anatomy.An affordable anatomy class, this easy learning study aid contains careful, scientifically accurate line renderings of the body's organs and major systems: skeletal, muscular, nervous, digestive, reproductive, and more. A total of 43 coloring pages (often with several illustrations on each) offers numerous views, cross-sections, diagrams and detailed closeups, labelled and numbered to correspond with suggestions for coloring. These suggestions are specially designed to emphasize the structural relationship in the body. By working through each system, the reader will gain not only an intimate knowledge of the location, appearance and role of the body parts, this learning tool will also be laying the groundwork for more sophisticated studies of anatomy.

Boys and girls can create a superhero with vampire teeth, a cowboy with crossed eyes, a robot with a goatee, a pop princess with an eyepatch, and so much more with this colorful book of sticker fun. More than 200 reusable stickers include eyes, noses, mouths, and other funny facial features that can be mixed and matched to create hundreds of different crazy characters.

What position did Babe Ruth play for the Red Sox? Who is credited with organizing baseball's rules? (Hint: it's not Abner Doubleday.) How much does an official baseball weigh? Where and when was Major League Baseball's first night game played? Discover the answers to these and dozens of other trivia questions related to America's favorite pastime with this playful book. Young baseball fans are sure to pick up some interesting stats while having nine innings of fun with these 39 winning activities. Crossword puzzles, mazes, find-the-differences, and other challenges offer fascinating facts related to the game and its players. No need to worry about striking out — complete solutions appear at the end.

Kids seeking challenging and fun puzzles will find them inside this colorful book as they look for differences between two seemingly identical and busy scenes. More than 50 spot-the-difference activities include cute picture puzzles that feature everything from pirates to pets, robots to rockets, and dinos to rhinos. Answers appear in the back of the book.

Connect-the-dots puzzles aren't just for kids anymore. These 45 complex and artistically appealing conundrums are fun to do and a pleasure to behold when completed. You'll find yourself guessing what the picture will be when you start and then be totally amazed when you’re finished.Designed for gamesters of all ages, the full-page brainteasers combine letters of the alphabet with numbers that go well over 100. They also invite puzzle fans to complete and color an entertaining array of pictures — from illustrations of animals, buildings, and vehicles to portrayals of humans, sea life and varieties of food.

"A fascinating, challenging book." ― A.L.A. BooklistLearn to use the most important codes and methods of secret communication in use since ancient times. Cipher and decipher codes used by spies. Explore the famous codes that changed the fate of nations and political leaders. And enjoy hours of fun experimenting with cryptography ― the science of secret writing. Beginning with simple letter substitutions and transposition ciphers, world-famous science writer Martin Gardner explains how to break complicated polyalphabetical ciphers and codes worked with grids, squares, triangles, and charts. You'll learn codes that are keyed to typewriters and telephone dials . . . even codes that use playing cards, knots, and swizzle sticks. Experiment with invisible writing ― inks that glow in black light and turn red under heat ― and explore the possibilities of sending messages through outer space to unknown worlds. Using this book, you can solve the historically famous Playfair Cipher used by Australia in World War II, the Pigpen Cipher used by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson's Wheel Cipher, the Beaufort system used by the British Royal Navy, codes devised by authors for heroes in literature ― Sherlock Holmes, Captain Kidd, and the Shadow. And you will enjoy experimenting with bizarre methods of message sending ― the Dot Code, Knot Code, Swizzle Code, and more. Young cryptanalysts, cipher fans, and puzzlists of all ages will find hours of intrigue and challenge in Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing. "A stimulating must for the intermediate cryptographer." ― The Kirkus Reviews

Do you see yourself as a sharp-eyed private investigator, capable of thoroughly examining evidence, checking all the facts, and coming to a sound conclusion? If the answer is “yes,” then this entertaining collection of solve-it-yourself mini-mysteries is just the book for you.You’ll find 41 challenging cases involving robbery, murder, jewel heists, arson, embezzlement, and other criminal activities. They’re all here in concise, carefully constructed scenarios featuring hapless victims of suspicious redheads, scheming socialites, and assorted crooks.As a would-be detective, you’re invited to crack The Case of The Attic Arsonist, The Case of The Bashful Bullet, The Case of The Bomb in the Bon-Bons, The Case of The Conked Clerk, The Case of The Dapper Dead-Beat, and 36 other intriguing puzzles. Junior-grade sleuths can check their crime-solving conclusions by reading the solutions at the end of each story.

Combine coloring fun with learning how to take care of your best friend! Children and parents alike will benefit from this excellent resource and its helpful suggestions for looking after the family dog. Thirty easy-to-color illustrations are accompanied by kid-friendly captions that offer tips on providing pets with a safe and healthy environment, including how to feed, groom, and train canine companions.

Puzzle fans who love finding hidden objects in pictures will be delighted with this book. Twenty-four visual bafflers challenge keen-eyed observers to locate cowboy hats blown away on a windy day; identify summery items such as an ice cream cone, straw hat, and sunglasses lost in a snowbound landscape; find a teddy bear, book, robot, and other toys left by Santa; and pinpoint other objects positioned in out-of-the-ordinary places.Captions beneath each illustration contain clues indicating the number and kinds of articles hidden in the drawings — all cleverly designed and rendered to test the skills of older children as well as adults. Solutions are provided at the end of the book.