‘The Fallacy Detective’ by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn is just wonderful. I’m partial to having my brain teased anyway, so this book is perfect for those times when the reader needs to feel the strain of a good think. Our children have enjoyed it as well, having fun asking one another questions and getting a laugh when they’re wrong!The book in itself is so well-done, even beyond the exercises. Design-wise it’s very appealing, and the addition of cartoons (rare in my experience of teaching critical thinking), makes this soft cover book very user friendly. The fonts and layout are also well handled making this book excellent all around. In addition, the Bluedorns have set up a website specifically to go hand in hand with this book (www.thefallacydetective.com) and their other critical thinking materials.
If you’re concerned about your children knowing how to reason well, and want a resource that covers the topic thoroughly, I highly recommend this book. With many home schooling materials involving the subject of critical reasoning appearing to be trite or hard to understand, the opposite is true with ‘The Fallacy Detective’. And while it’s directed at individuals from 12 years on up to adults, I’m finding that I might need this resource even more than our children.
