eeBoo Before & After, A Visual Deduction Activity
(eeBoo $16)
It’s said, a picture is worth a thousand words, so how many thousands of words can blossom from the 48 lively action tiles in this storytelling game. There are twenty- four sets of two cardboard tiles, each set has a before and after image; for example, pig has a bright red balloon in a before picture and a string with a remnant of a balloon in the after picture. Matching color backgrounds on each set give an added cue, which is helpful given the number of tiles. Kids can play this solo or cooperatively with adults or older children by mixing up all the cards and putting pairs together in before and after arrangements like a puzzle. Or use them to tell silly stories as the pairs are matched up. These picture tiles involve reading visual cues, logical thinking, predicting outcomes, using language to tell the literal before and after event or playful story telling. Either way, important reading skills are built in, beginning with looking at details in pictures to describe an event or embellish it. There are no written words, but the images are symbols of sorts that inspire words and comprehension, a skill needed in early reading. Since all the tiles fit together try making long story trains and then see who can retell the story. The game further reinforces early reading by sequencing events from left to right, like the printed page. Playful art images are by well-known illustrator, Saxton Freymann. Also see eeBoo’s Sequences, a similar cardboard tile game with three images to match up in order and tell a story with a beginning middle and end.
Ages: Preschoolers, Early School
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award 2016
