like stacking toys that support fine motor skills and early math concepts or puzzles that can double as imaginative play items. Because wooden toys can be pricey, I tried to keep most options ...

or books that are themselves puzzles. But then there's Codex Silenda---a gorgeous, wooden book of brainteasers that is itself a multi-part mystery. As page-turners go, Codex Silenda is a special case.

Edakoodam, a wooden puzzle toy was much popular among children and used to be part of every household in Kerala. But with the advent of computer games and 3D combination puzzle-like Rubik’s cube ...