Crazy Eights: And Other Card Games

Joanna Cole is the author of over 50 books for children, including the best-selling Magic School Bus series. She lives in Connecticut.

Stephanie Calmenson is the author of over 50 books for children. She lives in New York.

Alan Tiegreen has illustrated more than a dozen books for young readers. He lives in Georgia.

Grade 3-5-A good introduction to cards and card playing. Most kids who are old enough to read this book will already have a basic working knowledge of the standard deck; still, it is nice to see it so well described and illustrated. The authors include 20 simple games from "Go Fish!" and "Snap" to beginning rummy and poker. The only notable exclusion is "Hearts," which is a perennial favorite and has easy rules. The text is clear, with big print and lots of white space. Black, white, and red line drawings are often funny and complement the text well. This title is longer than John Belton and Joella Cramblit's Let's Play Cards (Steck-Vaughn, 1975; o.p.), but it has more child appeal.
JoAnn Rees, Sunnyvale Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.