FUN WITH FITNESS. Roberts, Alison Jane. Burlington (Ont.), Hayes Publishing, 1987. 32pp, paper, $2.95, ISBN 0-88625-157-5. (Fun With series). NUMBER MYSTERIES. Hayes, Cyril and Dympna Hayes. Burlington (Ont.), Hayes Publishing, 1987. 32pp, paper, $3.95, ISBN 0-88625-145-1. (Mind Benders series). FUN WITH THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE. Hayes, Dympna and Melanie Lehmann. Illustrated by Tina Seemann. Burlington (Ont.), Hayes Publishing, 1987. 32pp, paper, $2.95, ISBN 0-88625-15S-9. (Fun With series). Grades 1 to 4 Reviewed by Pearl Herscovitch Volume 16 Number 3 1988 May These three books share the same format: full-colour, cartoon-like illustrations, and a flimsy paperback design. They are all designed for the supermarket audience and are likely to appeal to some parents because they appear to provide activities that will occupy and educate children. The majority of ideas in Fun With Things Around the House are better left to the imagination. Creating pasta necklaces, using saucepan lids as cymbals, and making a tent from sheets are ideas that the least inventive child could dream up. The illustrations, while bright and humorous, do little to guide the reader through the more involved activities. Number Mysteries is almost completely composed of story problems that are very reminiscent of elementary mathematics textbooks. Again, the illustrations, while appealing, do little to clarify the problems. Fun with Fitness is the most successful of the three. Simple, easy-to-follow directions are provided for exercises covering endurance, strength and stretching, as well as the components of a work-out. In this case the illustrations depict children performing each exercise, usually in several steps. A sample work-out at the end of the book includes references to the exercises and their page numbers. The book's simplicity, however, is its drawback, for it requires that parents supervise their children, enroll them in fitness classes, or provide more detailed information on matters that are glossed over in the text. Pearl Herscovitch, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.