For multiplication, nothing rocks like Multiplication Rock. I can still sing all the songs.
Word problems are really just a translation to Math Language - sort of a code. I like to teach it this way. There are lists of words associated with each that give away the clues. Each is almost almost associated with division.
Draw a picture of what is going on and cross out the "trash" in the problem. Since your child is younger than the book recommends, you can change the nouns to be what he is interested in instead of what it says. I often do this anyway and insert my students' names into the problems.
