Why Did I Buy This Book? Read online

  answers on page 339

  1. Name the three islands.

  2. Which country had mountains?

  3. Can you name the four coastal countries?

  4. Which country has rivers as north and south boders?

  5. Is Napz or Flakovia the westernmost country?

  6. Which two countries had trees?

  7. If you started in Upper Migraine and went west, which country would you come to first?

  8. Which island is off the coast of Bumknee?

  9. If you were in southern Napz and took a roadtrip south, where would you end up?

  10. The clouds are over which country?

  Chapter Four:

  WORD SURGERY

  When you get to be a certain age, words go flying out of your brain faster than a chicken from a coop. Here’s some help.

  Nip a letter here, tuck one in there. Give your vocabulary and word recognition a little lift! You’ll think ten years younger!

  Word Transformers

  With each step, change only one letter to transform one word into another. The first one is done for you. (The number of lines matches the number of steps.)

  answers on pages 340-342

  1. TIE to LEG TIE

  PIE

  PIG

  PEG

  LEG

  2. HEAD to FOOT HEAD

  FOOT

  3. GIFT to LOVE GIFT

  LOVE

  4. WET to DRY WET

  DRY

  5. OLD to NEW OLD

  NEW

  6. BOOM to HEAR BOOM

  HEAR

  7. HARD to EASY HARD

  EASY

  8. NORTH to SOUTH NORTH

  SOUTH

  9. ARM to LEG ARM

  LEG

  10. SLEEP to DREAM SLEEP

  DREAM

  11. TOP to GUN TOP

  GUN

  12. HOT to LIP HOT

  LIP

  13. HIP to JOG HIP

  JOG

  14. ARE to OUT ARE

  OUT

  15. CAT to DOG CAT

  DOG

  16. HOT to NUN HOT

  NUN

  17. STARE to TEARS STARE

  TEARS

  18. FIRE to FOUL FIRE

  FOUL

  19. PAWN to KING PAWN

  KING

  20. BLURT to SHARE BLURT

  SHARE

  21. SEED to GROW SEED

  GROW

  22. GREEN to GRASS GREEN

  GRASS

  23. TREE to FALL TREE

  FALL

  24. COOK to FOOD COOK

  FOOD

  25. WARM to COLD WARM

  COLD

  Shrinky-Thinks

  In each of the following sentences, there are two clues. Find the word represented by the first clue and then subtract one letter to get the word corresponding to the second clue.

  answers on page 343

  Example:

  Take the espresso drink Bob lingered over and get his failure to arrive to work on time.

  (answer: LATTE/LATE)

  1. Take the forty-third President and give him one way to get out of town.

  2. Take this golfer and get a higher level.

  3. Ken pronounced this evening meal first-rate.

  4. You could have knocked Alice over with one of these when this relative arrived unannounced.

  5. Take what firmly tied the astronaut to the capsule and get what he ventured into in space.

  6. Take what happened to Judy when she accidentally stepped on a bee and get how she hit her high C.

  7. Take this monarch and make him a part of your family tree.

  8. Take Sondra’s physical attractiveness and get how she alienated friends by gossiping about their minor shortcomings.

  9. Take this European capital city and get a pile of regulation golf scores on several holes.

  10. Take what the country priest did on his bike and get how the church bell prompted him to do so.

  11. Take your muscular tasting organ and get a freshwater fish that may or may not appeal to it.

  12. Take the source of intellectual power and get this dietary fiber that keeps your body healthy.

  13. Take the audience’s quivering delight and get the purity of the soprano’s vibrato that brought them to a standing ovation.

  14. A cheese dealer’s credo: Take this strong odor and get the secret of market success.

  15. Take this common bakery product and get a welcome intellect-stimulating pastime.

  16. Take this American holiday and get how it signifies the nation’s advance.

  17. Take the gift Ed gave to the lady next door and get her husband’s negative reaction.

  18. Take this jet operator and get how the terrorist used him as part of this scheme.

  19. Take Jason’s involvement in a highway accident and see what it cost his insurance company.

  20. Take the charm Sarah wore suspended from a chain around her neck and get what she became while teaching a course in Native American culture.

  21. Take this popular dried fruit and get a character of an ancient alphabet.

  22. Take this figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared and get this facial sign of appreciative pleasure.

  23. Take this small tree branch and get this fine head of hair.

  24. Take an old heroic tale and get what can happen to a listener if it goes on for too long.

  25. Take this small rodent and get a Disney inspiration.

  Lop the Top

  Drop the first letter off to make a new word. Here’s an example to get you started.

  answers on page 344

  Take the first letter off this part of a car and get the bottom of your shoe.

  (wheel/heel)

  1. Take the first letter off this illegal action and get a bridesmaid’s gown color.

  2. Take the first letter off this thing people do to sheep and listen up.

  3. Take the first letter off this trumpet action and get a bass sound.

  4. Take the first letter off this sound a gown makes and get something folks do when they see shooting stars.

  5. Take the first letter off the fairer sex and get a warning sign.

  6. Take the first letter off this winter essential and get what we’re all looking for.

  7. Take the first letter off this reproductive part of an angiosperm and don’t get higher.

  8. Take the first letter off this sandwich staple and do this to a book.

  9. Take the first letter off this protein food and tuck right in.

  10. Take the first letter off this metric mass unit and get the symbol of Aries.

  11. Take the first letter off this fatty dairy product and hollow something out.

  12. Take the first letter off this impulse and get “that guy.”

  13. Take the first letter off this smudge and get Noah’s big project.

  14. Take the first letter off this home to horses and get some real height.

  15. Take the first letter off this scoop and get a real hole in the wall.

  16. Take the first letter off this means of astonishment and get a labyrinth.

  17. Take the first letter off your footwear and get digging in the garden.

  18. Take the first letter off this grain and get a high temperature.

  19. Take the first letter off this place to run in circles and get a place to hang your hat.

  20. Take the first letter off this final resting place and get a wild dance party.

  21. Take the first letter off this flower and start weaving on this.

  22. Take the first letter off slow-witted and get a country bumpkin.

  23. Take the first letter off this long bath and get the mighty acorn’s dream.

  24. Take the first letter off this ceiling holder and get everything.

  25. Take the first letter off this thing to rise above and get a drop of golden sun.

  Memory Box #4

  Quick! What’s your favor
ite book? And who were the main characters in Wuthering Heights? Why did I buy this book? Missing some memory pages? Who isn’t? Brush up your book-smarts with this visual memory puzzle.

  Take a close look at the images on this page. Give yourself a minute. Then, turn the page and see how many questions you can answer.

  answers on page 345

  1. How many books are there?

  2. What’s the title of the thickest book?

  3. Who wrote Let It Pour?

  4. What did Leah Tard write?

  5. Who wrote I Was Floored!?

  6. What did Artie Fishal write?

  7. Who wrote Inflammation?

  8. Name the author of Dull Pain.

  9. Who penned Sick!?

  10. What did Nora Lenderbee write?

  Chapter Five:

  THAT’S A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT IT

  Puns can make you groan. They can also spark the old noodle. This section is crammed with them—both visual and verbal. Scrambled anagrams and literal images make for some fun cortex carousing as they force you to think out of the box to solve the puzzles.

  Anagrams

  An anagram is a word or phrase that can be rearranged to make another word or phrase. In each of the following exercises, use all the letters to figure out the famous person each phrase is hiding. See the example below.

  answers on pages 345-347

  RAW ROPE BIN

  (BRAINPOWERR)

  ATHLETES

  1. IM MADAM HULA

  2. REHAB TUB

  3. GOT SO WIRED

  4. MAJOR NICHE LAD

  5. JOINS MOPS

  POLITICAL FIGURES

  1. CHILLY LOIN RANT

  2. HE BUGS GORE

  3. CHECKED YIN

  4. MY METRIC JAR

  5. CAPE IS NYLON

  ACTORS

  1. COOL EGO ENERGY

  2. ME GIN SLOB

  3. OLD WEST ACTION

  4. MY HUED PRIDE

  5. ANGRY ME

  SINGERS

  1. I BAWD VIDEO

  2. PELVISES RELY

  3. AND MOAN

  4. CALM NOSE HIJACK

  5. CRAM KEG JIG

  AUTHORS

  1. WINE ENRAGES MYTH

  2. WARM AT INK

  3. SHH MINOR JAG

  4. OR MANLIER MAN

  5. FLOW TOME

  COMEDIANS

  1. MADDER NAVEL TIT

  2. MAIN BOIL SWIRL

  3. HEP BOOB

  4. NAIVEST TERM

  5. BLURRY MAIL

  HISTORICAL FIGURES

  1. O REBEL TREE

  2. RANCOR HID NIX

  3. LA NEON OP

  4. OH CHERUBIC SLUM PORTS

  5. LOOSE VOTE LEARNER

  COMPOSER-SONGWRITERS

  1. A RUMPLY ACCENT

  2. ACORN AND OPAL

  3. HER SWING *

  4. BLAND BOY

  5. PERT COOLER

  *Last name only

  ARTISTS

  1. BASIC ALSO POP

  2. KNOWN CREAM ROLL

  3. OLD VINO RADIANCE

  4. THY DREW ANEW

  5. EASEL COLOUR TUTU *

  *Last name only

  FOREIGN LEADERS

  1. A COLD STRIFE

  2. THE EQUINE BLAZE

  3. HANDED US AMISS

  4. ILL OF HATRED

  5. SOBERLY I SNIT

  Rebuses

  Many 18th-century Americans amused themselves by writing rebus letters—where pictures represented words. Decode these modern-day rebus puzzlers and feel the clever spirit of colonies crackling in your contemporary cranium.

  answers on page 347

  1. REBUS #1

  2. REBUS #2

  3. REBUS #3

  4. REBUS #4

  5. REBUS #5

  6. REBUS #6

  7. REBUS #7

  8. REBUS #8

  9. REBUS #9

  10. REBUS #10

  11. REBUS #11

  12. REBUS #12

  13. REBUS #13

  14. REBUS #14

  15. REBUS #15

  16. REBUS #16

  17. REBUS #17

  18. REBUS #18

  19. REBUS #19

  20. REBUS #20

  Word Pictures

  If a picture is worth a thousand words, how about a few words that do double duty as visual puzzles? The first one is done for you.

  answers on page 348

  1. STAND I

  I understand

  2. VA DERS

  3. GIVE, GIVE, GIVE, GIVE

  GET, GET, GET, GET

  4. FAREDCE

  5. TRAIL RAILT

  IALTR

  AILRT

  6. 2. BLAME 3. BLAME

  7. LLA

  8. DOCTOR DOCTOR

  9. NAFISH NAFISH

  10. ANOTHER ONE THING

  11. HISTORY HISTORY HISTORY

  12. MILL1ON

  13. BUT THOUGHT THOUGHT

  14. D

  R

  A

  H

  15. HEAD HEELS

  16. JOBINJOB

  17.

  18. TRY STAND 2

  19. THE PAAWALKRK

  20. . __________

  21. ARREST YOU’RE

  22. RIGHT ME

  23. TAKE TAKE

  24. TIME TIME

  25. BIRD

  Picture This

  These drawings are whimsical drawings of literal things. It’s a real right-brain/left-brain exercise. Can you figure out what words or phrases they represent?

  answers on page 349

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  Memory Box #5

  Spaced out? In a vacuum? Feeling loony? You’re not alone. And you don’t have to float out there on your own. Launch into this visual memory puzzle and bring your memory back down to earth!

  Take a close look at the images on this page. Give yourself a minute. Then, turn the page and see how many questions you can answer.

  answers on page 349

  1. How many stars were there?

  2. Were there more striped planets or spotted planets?

  3. How many planets had rings?

  4. Was the rocket headed for a striped planet?

  5. How many astronauts were there?

  6. Were there more astronauts facing left or right?

  7. How many jets did the rocket have?

  8. Was the biggest planet striped or spotted?

  9. Was the smallest planet striped?

  10. How many spots did the lower left planet have?

  Chapter Six:

  WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

  It’s not just what you know but how you make connections among the things you know. In this section the challenge is to discover the connections first and then either match them up, as in Mix Up Match, or find out what doesn’t belong, as in Find the Misfit.

  MIX UP MATCH

  Can you figure out why these two columns are connected and how they match up?

  answers on pages 350-363

  1. Grey’s Anatomy

  Queens

  WKRP

  Cincinnati

  Cheers

  Milwaukee

  Friends

  New York

  All in the Family

  Boston

  Laverne & Shirley

  Seattle

  2. porcine

  Felix

  equine

  Mr. Ed

  canine

  Pluto

  feline

  Porky

  3. King

  Bigalow

  Queen