MAGNETIC TILE CREATIONS FOR KIDS

Wong presents a building guide for the popular children’s toy.

The magnetic tiles referenced here are flat, brightly-colored shapes with small magnets placed between layers of translucent plastic—these help the tiles stick together to make fantastic and gravity-defying creations. The author here lays out 10 builds using this favorite early childhood toy. The guide sorts these builds into easy, normal, and hard categories (changing the category designation from “normal” to something with less ableist connotations would be a welcome replacement). A majority of the builds fall into the middle category and only one is included in the hard section, so this guide may be best suited for younger or more novice magnetic tile users. The step-by-step instructions include photos and text written out with superimposed arrows pointing at specific pieces to ensure maximum understanding in several learning styles (the arrows increase accessibility for colorblind builders, ensuring that they’re using the right pieces). There are also colored blocks that show the shape and color of the magnetic tile that will be used, and a numerical representation of how many will be needed for each step. After the builds, Wong includes a reference section breaking down the magnetic tile shapes and offers suggestions for how to substitute some shapes for others if the builder doesn’t have the correct components. The text and images are organized in a clean, efficient layout that can be used by children and grown-ups alike. It would be wonderful to have more than one difficult build included—perhaps a second volume aimed at expert magnetic tile builders is planned. The entire book is dedicated to creating different ramps for vehicle play, to be used with small toy cars, trucks, and whatever else a budding architect can stick wheels on.

A well-designed guide with a keen understanding of how children learn.