Never mind that serious-sounding title - these activities look like fun! This book is filled with reproducible activities, divided into four parts. The first part features word games, such as picture word puzzles, homophone use, finding smaller words in a larger one, identifying onomatopoeia words, turning one word into another, and synonyms. Part Two consists of “stories” to solve, such as small mysteries, where you need to put together the major clues in the story to answer the question, while Part Three challenges creative and critical thinking skills with more thoughtful activities such as identifying pros and cons of things, making lists, making up words to match the given definitions, finding uses for objects under certain conditions, and creating unique inventions. The last part of the book is devoted to “brain busters,” wherein students will solve other literary brain teasers, involving filling in charts, decoding messages, debating an “anti-aging pill,” deciphering overworded proverbs, creating hinky pinkies, solving riddles, and more. More than just a great puzzle book for the older guys, it uses and develops skills such as language application, reasoning, analysis, creative thinking, writing, evaluation, making judgments and more. Just don’t tell them that. Answers are included.-Jess