Review 80 : More Kindergarten Sudoku

More Kindergarten Sudoku
By Peter I Kattan and Nicola I Kattan
Copyright © 2008
$ 7.50 Paperback
$ 2.50 Download
48 pages
ISBN: 9780615187181

Crosswords, acrostics, logic problems, word search, all of these were a big part of my youth. I could spend hours with a puzzle book figuring out the answers and filling them in. Sudoku had not yet come into vogue, or I’m sure I would have spent many a pleasurable hour working on those as well. With More Kindergarten Sudoku: 4×4 Classic Sudoku Puzzles for Kids I got my first taste of Sudoku and was able to enjoy for the first time what has become all the rage in puzzle books. For the other Sudoku novices in the audience who have been wondering what this is but afraid to try and learn the rules, fear no more. The classic Sudoku 4×4 has only three rules.

1. Each row must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.
2. Each column must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.
3. Each block must have the four numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 occurring just once.

While most of us know what columns and rows are, the Kattans provide clear pictures to help illustrate this for children. If you are wondering what constitutes a block, the block is pictured below.

Also included at the front of the book are two examples of puzzles laid out step by step.

The only thing that I would have liked to see with the step by step solution was a little bit of an explanation that could be provided as the target audience of this book is quite young. Something like, the first step to solving a puzzle is to search for the open cells, where the number has to be a particular one. For example, in the outside colum of step one, the only number that can go into the open cell is the number 1. In the bottom row, the only number that can go in the open cell is the number 4. Having taught preschool and Kindergarten for several years, I found a few words of explanation can help to ward off a great deal of frustration.

The only other aspect of this book that I would change is the organization of the puzzles themselves. There are a combination of Easy, Medium, and Difficult puzzles on each page. For something targeting a young audience, I would have preferred to see them organized by sections, so that while working the puzzles, the child (or adult) can master the easy and slowly make their way to the more difficult.

Each page contains four puzzles, and the back of the book contains a list of the answers – but don’t cheat! More Kindergarten Sudoku contains 96 Classic 4×4 Sudoku puzzles to entertain and provide hours of delight.