If only all children had someone as friendly and daring as red-haired Ryan the Lion to guide them through all the new learning necessary for successful kindergarten days in the classroom. Cheerful, slightly daffy Ryan can be found on nearly every question card in these two Brain Quest decks--whether he's eyeing some delicious red licorice as he demonstrates numerical concepts ("Which will buy more candy: the penny or the nickel?") or cautiously approaching a bird's nest as he skydives into treetops (in a correct-the-narrative-sequence episode). While kids are bonding with Ryan (and enjoying the cool construction of these slick, bound decks), parents will thrill at the range of fundamental academic skills and common-sense information that their children will pick up from these fun-to-guess cards. It's all here: questions about the alphabet, spelling, vocabulary, counting, spatial concepts, the physical sciences, as well as demonstrations of right from left, safety rules, and names of computer equipment. There also seems to be the perfect balance of "easy" and "hard" questions in this huge sampling. Kids feel both capable and challenged with Brain Quest, and thus stay with these decks for a long time. (Ages 5 to 6) --Jean Lenihan