If you’re a Scrabble freak trying to introduce the game to your kids without much luck, let us introduce you to Bananagrams. When this game showed-up, it piqued the interest of even our most anti-Scrabble kid. That’s because this game is free-flowing: you have letter tiles, but they aren't scored, and you make and build words on your very own grid while others are doing the same.
Appletters is similar, but for younger kids (ages 5+), sort of like “beginners Bananagrams”. Pairs in Pears is for the much younger set: in this game, the tiles are much bigger and each is printed with a different pattern to make four sets of alphabets (one black, one white, one dotted, one lined). Although the game is recommended for very little kids, our 8-year-old tester boy spent two hours sorting and resorting the tiles, then making words and crosses, really integrating his word play with his fingers. These toys not only are fun, they do double duty as an excellent introduction (or refresher) to literacy and spelling — something we really like.
We’re required to tell you that all Cool or Crummy items are sent to us by companies and PR agents; we do not purchase these items independently, they just show up on our doorstep. All items are tested by our Product Review Team, otherwise known as the Tester Mamas, who have children in the age ranges recommend by the items in question. As you can see, we’re brutally honest in our reviews so it should go without saying that we do not accept payment for product placement (but we have to say it anyway because this is, after all, a required legal notice). If you have any questions, feel free to email us at Editor@ParentWiseAustin.com.
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