Our Story
Gakken is a well-known educational publisher in Japan. Founded in 1946 by Hideto Furuoka, the mission of Gakken has always been to produce fun-first, educational materials for children.
Play Smart was created in 2017 as the English translation of Gakken's Early Childhood Workbooks (*), which has a 40-year history in Japan. It leverages three key features developed in Japan to support children's learning in North America:
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Activities that are age-appropriate for your child.
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Fun activities that keep kids wanting to learn.
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An approach that teaches kids how to think for themselves.
By providing a step-by-step progression of activities for each development stage, children can learn continuously and independently without stress. The use of illustrations depicting familiar environments helps children easily understand the content and develop the habit of studying on their own, without needing help from their parents.
Play Smart has received an enthusiastic response from local readers, with many expressing their delight and saying, "My child is completely absorbed in it," "The variety of activities like stickers, coloring, and tracing keeps them from getting bored,"
(*) First published in 1982, it has been a favorite of children in Japan for over 40 years as a "workbook that nurtures the desire to learn while having fun." The number of titles published has reached approximately 80, with a cumulative circulation exceeding 55 million copies in Japan. Overseas, in addition to the English version, it is available in various languages such as Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Thai. In Japan, it is currently sold under the series name "Gakken's Preschool Workbooks."