Highlights Top Secret Adventures

What's in the box: A typical package holds a country-themed mission booklet full of puzzles and codes, plus extras such as a map, stickers or other items that help solve the mission.

Top Secret Adventures is Highlights' geography subscription for older kids. It has long been aimed at children roughly 8 to 12. Each month the child gets a new mission set in a different country. The mission is solved through puzzles, codes and activities that teach the place's landmarks, culture and geography as they go. The spy-agent framing gives kids a reason to read closely and think, and it works well for children who like logic puzzles more than crafts. Highlights has made children's magazines for decades, so the writing and puzzle design are usually careful and age-appropriate. The material is mostly paper, though, and fast solvers may finish a mission in a sitting or two. Kids who want hands-on building or cooking projects may find it a little flat. When we checked, the site's featured subscriptions were book clubs, grade-level learning boxes and the High Five activity box for younger children, and Top Secret Adventures was not among them. Before ordering, confirm that it is still offered and check the current terms. The site says its subscriptions ship free, but it does not post plan details for this product alongside its featured boxes.