#2018top50

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Best-selling and highly-rated, these Everything You Need to Ace pre-teen tomes from the makers of Brain Quest are really smart study guides for middle school-aged kids. We’ve spent time with the first two of these five books: Math, Science, English Language Arts, American History, and World History. Organized, visually appealing (all written in colorful, scannable summary notes), affordable, and chock-full of information that aligns with what they learn in school... and it's all in one sturdy, portable notebook. An excellent reference/refresher for adults, too.

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Years ago, the kids started animated conversations about cave art from thousands of years ago, “the Prisoner’s Dilemma,” how the days of the week were named, and how to make a hole in your hand using a piece of paper. The subjects seemed out-of-nowhere until I discovered them each, one by one, in our issues of Aquila magazine.

Published in England for ages 8-13, Aquila (pronounced Ak-wi-lah) entertains and educates readers in 84 countries, and it's clear why: Their pages are bursting with details from history and science that feel a lot like insider information... smart stories, secrets, puzzles, codes, DIY projects, and tons of facts, all accompanied with bold and textured illustrations. And, like all things we love, it’s fun for adults to read, too. Highly recommended.

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This Anne of Green Gables graphic novel is one of my favorites—a masterclass in how to build meaningful relationships between characters using wordless illustrations. The pacing makes room for the reader to connect, too, balancing Anne’s youthful exuberance with moments of regret and hope. And happily, key details from the original story are not lost in these panels; they might even be enhanced.

If you love the classic novel or the 1980s-era movies (or even if you don’t), be sure to check out this remarkable version.

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⭐️ AWARD-WINNER ⭐️ A marble run. A mechanical computer. A logic puzzle kit. An award-winning analog toy. The Turing Tumble is all of these things and it’s all really fun.

Solve 60 challenging logic puzzles within Turing Tumble’s step-by-step sci-fi story, or free play to create marble runs and patterns. With 30 Ramps, 10 Bits, 8 Gear bits, 6 Crossovers, 4 Gears, 3 Interceptors and 20 red and blue marbles each, the possible combinations feel endless. And it's really satisfying to watch the marbles run their course and trigger new computing cycles.

My kids (ages 8 and 11 when this was first published) have spent hours and hours with the Turing Tumble since it arrived (and we adults have played a lot with it, too). What I love: Troubleshooting and persistence are built into the process. And when they design a successful algorithm, often after many tries, they're sceaming "It worked!" and bouncing around the house. They’re playing, but they’re also developing skills in logic, computational and critical thinking, spatial reasoning, programming mathematical functions, and so much more. All without a screen.

Turing Tumble is a really well-designed and incredibly smart experience for at home or in the classroom. Highly recommended.

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🔥POPULAR 🔥 Build Your Own Chain Reaction Machines by mechanical engineer and educator Paul Long teaches kids how to make Rube Goldberg-style machines out of cardboard and other stuff from around your house. It has lots of hands-on tips and tricks shown in easy-to-follow photos, and includes more than a dozen useful and/or zany project ideas: Door knocker! Plant waterer! Marble launcher! Balloon popper! Cookie dunker! Plus: Science, engineering, and troubleshooting notes, all essential for designing, testing, and problem-solving.

We love chain reaction videos on TKSST, so we’re really excited about this smart how-to book. Having worked with Long at DIY.org, my kids and I have played with his cardboard contraptions firsthand. They are FUN and I love seeing the surprise and total victory that kids feel when a machine they've built works. It's beyond awesome.

Kid-powered engineering that's entertaining and educational. Highly recommended.

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Math Fluxx! Our favorite ever-changing game with three levels of math gameplay to choose from. Yet another smart way to make numbers fun and familiar.

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🔥POPULAR 🔥 These Marbleocity wooden marble runs are such fun DIY kinetic sculpture kits. This 8″ one is called The Marbleocity Dragon Coaster and it takes around 3 to 5 hours to build—a perfect weekend project for exploring physics and engineering. Power it with the hand crank or add the PlayMonster Marbleocity Motor Kit and 2 AAs to watch the marbles rollercoaster around the structure on their own. We've had ours for over a year and the kids still play with it.

Bonus: The Dragon Coaster can connect with The Marbleocity Skate Park to make a larger marble run. If you connect them together, be sure to get a motor kit for each coaster.

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🔥POPULAR 🔥 Year after year, this little paper penguin continues to be one of our favorite gifts. It’s a Kamikara Penguin POP! Action Paper Craft kit by famed paper toy creator Haruki Nakamura. When we first got it, my then-7 and 10-year-olds assembled it with very little help, and when the penguin popped that very first time: DELIGHT. Smart paper engineering with a sturdy build and a satisfying pop. Bonus: It looks charming on our bookshelf. Get it while you can! They appear to be almost sold out.

Related best-sellers: Karakuri and Japanese Paper Toys Kit.

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