My eldest son gets a real kick from a good puzzle book. The thrill of getting his grey cells firing on all cylinders is addictive and he just can't get enough of this genre of book. When 'Rubik's Quest: Mission Invent' by John Farndon arrived for him recently a giant grin exploded across his face. He grabbed the book, flopped on to the sofa and was fully absorbed by the Rubiks Quest book for quite some time.
This book is part of a series of attractive books published by QED to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rubik's cube. The cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik and was relaunched in 1980 when over 350 million were sold around the world. I remember this craze clearly and seeing my own boys desperately trying to solve the multi-coloured puzzle fills me with a sort of nostalgic frustration ( I never quite managed to complete the cube although irritatingly my husband did and still can). There is a special exhibition of the puzzle featuring prototypes made from wood and elastic bands and the most expensive cube ever made which is estimated to be worth £1.5 million. The exhibition will reach the UK soon but until it does the QED puzzle books are a fabulous way of getting children to engage their noodles.
In 'Rubiks Quest: Mission Invent' the reader must use their problem-solving skills in a twisting-turning world of toys and puzzles. The story leaps backwards and forwards as questions are answered making it interactive and fun. Theo really had to squish down his thinking cap to answer questions about machines, gears, gravity and complex engineering problems - he was thoroughly engrossed.
He has returned to the book on several occasions because he finds the content so interesting and has a much greater understanding of engineering than he had previously. It has given him some very good ideas for engineering experiments such as making a model suspension bridge - I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.
'Rubik's Quest: Mission Invent' is an inspiring, exciting and absorbing read for children. There are four books in this particular series titled ' Beat the Game', 'Cube Countdown' and 'Robots' Revenge' which are certainly worth looking out for. My son recommends this book because it was so much fun to read and I highly recommend it because of the enthusiasm it has given him to find out more about engineering.
Watch out for our QED Rubik's cube inspired maths puzzle book review coming soon.
Disclaimer: All the views and opinions in this review are my own. The product was provided to me free of charge but I was not obligated to give a positive review. I only review educationally beneficial products. My review is an honest one.
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