This is kindergarten prep the way Highlights has always done it: hide the learning inside something a kid actually wants to do. Across 256 pages, letters, numbers, sight words, phonics, patterns and sorting are folded into Hidden Pictures puzzles, mazes, matching games, That's Silly scenes and scavenger hunts.

It was developed with teachers and aligned with curriculum standards, and the Big Fun series has sold over 1.7 million copies, but the number that matters at your kitchen table is simpler: a page or two a day, done happily, without bribery. Activities mix skills and puzzle types so no two sessions feel the same, and a congratulations certificate at the back rewards the finish.

For a child heading into kindergarten, or partway through and needing confidence, this is the workbook that does not feel like homework.