A Middlesex County couple has released a board game for children that aims to improve vocabulary and critical-thinking skills.
The creation of “Compound It All!” is a first for husband-and-wife duo Danny and Kim Adlerman of Metuchen, who are independent creators of books and music for children.
For the couple, it all began with a dream.
“It was a night where I could not get a good night’s sleep,” Kim said, recalling that the dream consisted of compound words and a game. “It was annoying, and when I tried to go back to sleep, I dreamed about it again.”
When she got up the next morning, Kim said, she realized a game using compound words could work.
“I couldn’t wait for Danny to get up so I could tell him about it,” she said.
The game is loosely based on the couple’s 2006 children’s book, “How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck?” The book is filled with artwork that illustrates compound words and rhymes.
An artist’s rendition of a woodchuck is featured on the cover of the board game.
Kim, who is a children’s author and illustrator by trade, said she started writing down compound words every chance she got.
“I went through an entire dictionary for compound words and cross-referenced words to see what words could be put together,” she said.
Kim said she made prototypes of the game during the planning stages and the game was ultimately picked up by Lee & Low Books, a publishing company in New York City.
In the game, each player is dealt a certain number of cards and tries to build compound words by using words in their hand, using the draw-and-discard piles, and “stealing” words from opponents by making new compound words.
A round ends when a player runs out of cards, and the player with the most points wins.
According to its developers, the game expands an individual’s vocabulary, criticalthinking skills and math skills.
The Adlermans said the game, like chess or Scrabble, is for all ages.
For more information, visit the website www.leeandlow.com/books/2876 or the “Danny and Kim” page on Facebook.