Helene Hovanec is the author of the new book Dynamic Duos: Word Fun Riddles & Crisscross Puzzles, Volume 1. She has written more than 60 puzzle books, and is a former elementary school teacher.
Q: What inspired you to write Word Fun Riddles & Crisscross Puzzles?
A: My original puzzles have been featured in King Features Weekly Service, provider of materials to newspapers throughout North America, since 2007 with great success.
I wanted to compile them into books to reach new audiences, while introducing Puzzle Pooch, our puzzle guru dachshund. Luckily, publisher Kathleen Welton agreed with me, and we created the Dynamic Duos series.
Q: How do you come up with the ideas for your puzzles?
A: My lifelong love of reading and solving puzzles gets my creative juices flowing. I’ll see a word and find a way to manipulate it into a puzzle while I’m thinking like a kid. I’m the author of 60+ kids’ puzzle books.
I’m also active in the grown-up puzzle world through my involvement with the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the National Puzzlers’ League and the World Puzzle Championship. I’m always looking for ways to modify adult puzzles so children can have successful solving experiences.
Q: You mentioned your lifelong love of puzzles. Do you have a favorite kind?
A: I’ve been solving puzzles since I was 6 years old and try to never have a puzzle-free day. My favorite mental workout is the cryptic crossword, a mind-bending poser of brilliant wordplay.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: I want kids to feel successful and smart because they tackled a problem, followed through and discovered the only possible answer. I want them to feel about my puzzles the way they feel about potato chips – they can’t eat just one and they want more!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Dynamic Duos Word Fun Riddles & Crisscross Puzzles is the first of a series of six books. Each book will have two different types of puzzles, most of which will be based on corny/ridiculous/outrageous riddles, jokes, and puns. I want kids to groan and giggle. PLUS, I want to make Puzzle Pooch the spokesdog for creative puzzles.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: My books can achieve two dichotomous objectives:
They can be an integral tool in wiping out illiteracy for children who are reading below grade level and/or who have fallen behind because of the pandemic. As these kids solve puzzles successfully, they will have the impetus to keep on learning.
For children who are reading at, or above grade level, my puzzles will give them the preliminary skills they need to become 21st-century coders as they learn how to:
Pay attention to detail
Think logically
Recognize patterns
Follow through on a task from beginning to end
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. This Q&A was conducted in partnership with aka Associates. Readers who join us on this virtual tour can enter to win one of 10 copies of Word Fun Riddles & Crisscross Puzzles, each bundled with a fun pencil and sharpener to get the puzzling started right away! Plus, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a special Puzzle Pouch prize pack including four of Helene Hovanec's books, pencils, sharpeners, a book bag, a jigsaw puzzle, and a themed mug.
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