Word Detective:
130 Games and Puzzles to Improve Spelling,
by Ann Richmond Fisher,
Illustrations
by Joel and Ashley Selby
Rockridge Press
12/10/2019
Juvenile Nonfiction/Vocabulary & Spelling
190 pages
Goodreads 

Buy the book

After reviewing a book for preschoolers and first graders, here is Word Detective:
130 Games and Puzzles to Improve Spelling for second graders, ages 7 to 8.

To help enhance the young students’ vocabulary, the author has put together a list of 200 spelling words, through 130 engaging games and puzzles.
They are organized in the following chapters: Family, Friends, School, Animals, Park, Colors and Numbers, Feelings, Home, everyday words, fun words, and putting it all together.
As a fun extra thing, the book starts with a mystery. As the students find letters with a magnifying glass throughout the book, they can solve this mystery! Hence the title, Word Detective.

Activities range from simply writing by hand words already listed, as to better learn them; to finding words on a merry-go-round, or sliding letters to make new words. Some puzzles consist in answering questions by choosing words from a list, in deciphering words through codes, or in unscrambling letters. There are also simple crosswords puzzles, multiple choice questions, tic tac toe games, and word searches.

Several activities end with a sentence the student have to invent with words included on the page.

The illustrations are very simple and colorful.

I really enjoy the variety of activities, they seem to be very helpful, and they go from simple words to more difficult ones in the last chapters.

VERDICT:  Great fun to help second graders master new vocabulary!

In full compliance with FTC Guidelines, I received this book free of charge from the publisher through The Callisto Publisher’s Club. I was in no way compensated for this post as a reviewer, and the thoughts are my own.