Picture Analogies for Kids (Grades K–3)
Picture analogies for kids: puppy is to dog as kitten is to cat.
Understanding picture analogies
A picture analogy asks the same question as a shape analogy, but now the bridge is made of meaning. A lion goes with a cat because a lion is a kind of cat, so an ant goes with an insect because an ant is a kind of insect. The child finds how the first pair connects — same family, same job, same home, same stage of growing up — and picks the picture that keeps that connection for the second pair.
Key Idea
Bridge Builder's picture trails work in relationships young children already know from the world around them. Trail 4, the one linked here, pairs grown-up animals with their babies (a dog and a puppy), animals with their homes (a bee and a beehive), and animals with what they give us (a cow and milk). Trail 5 adds what goes on what (a sock on a foot), what works with what (a key and a lock), and what grows into what (a tadpole into a frog). Because the pictures carry the meaning, a child can reason about the relationship before they can read the words for it.
Picture-relationship puzzles are a standard verbal-reasoning task on gifted screeners, where they let a test sample a child's thinking with pictures instead of sentences. The CogAT Verbal battery uses picture analogies at its youngest levels. Other screeners test verbal reasoning with pictures in their own formats, so treat this as practice for the thinking, not a copy of any one test. As always in Logica, the test is only context — the point is the habit of asking how two things connect. A missed item gets a calm explanation of the relationship, not a red mark.
Seeing it in action
Worked example
Puppy goes with dog. Kitten starts the second pair — what finishes it?
Name the relationship in the first pair: a puppy is a baby dog, so the bridge is "baby animal to its grown-up name."
Carry it across: a kitten is a baby cat, so the answer is cat.
Try a few
Puppy is to dog as kitten is to ___
each is the baby to its grown-up animal.
Lion is to cat as ant is to ___
each belongs to that larger family.
Bee is to beehive as dog is to ___
each animal goes with a home made for it.
Caterpillar is to butterfly as tadpole is to ___
each grows into the next stage of its life.
Glove is to hand as sock is to ___
each covers the body part it is made for.
Ready to try it in Logica?
Practice picture analogies in Logica, the free reasoning game in the Practice Lab: Bridge Builder, trail 4, Picture pairs. Six puzzles, no timer, no login, calm explanations.
Common questions
What are some simple picture analogies examples for young kids?
The friendliest ones use relationships a child already knows: puppy is to dog as kitten is to cat, or bee is to beehive as dog is to doghouse. Start by naming how the first pair connects, then find the picture that keeps that connection.
Are these a good fit for kindergarten?
Yes. Picture analogies for kindergarten work well because the pictures carry the meaning, so a child can reason before they read. Read the pair aloud as a sentence and let them fill in the last word.
Do you have picture analogies worksheets to print?
Bridge Builder is an interactive game, not a printable, so every item explains itself on screen after a miss. If you would like printable analogy worksheets on paper too, our free sample set pairs well with Logica.
Are there analogy games for elementary students who have moved past shapes?
Yes. Bridge Builder's picture trails are analogy games for elementary students who are ready for meaning-based relationships — babies, homes, what things give us and what they grow into, rather than shape changes. It stays untimed, with a calm explanation for anything missed.
Want a printable set too?
Get the free Reasonwell sample pack — printable reasoning and test-prep material.
Download All three Grade 2 workbook samples ↓22 pages · 1.9 MB · No email requiredText versions (screen-reader friendly): NGAT Grade 2 sample, CogAT Level 8 sample and OLSAT Level C sample