A Beginner's Guide to Coding - Hardcover

Scott, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1681195402 ISBN 13: 9781681195407

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2017

Synopsis

Ever wondered how to make a computer follow instructions? If so, then it is time to get coding!

A Beginner's Guide to Coding is an easy-to-follow guide to the basics of coding, using the free programming languages of Scratch and Python. These step-by-step projects will have young coders talking to their own chatbots or making their own computer games in no time. Accessible, engaging, and fun, this book is bursting with eye-catching illustrations and fantastic projects to introduce aspiring young programmers to the world of coding.

About this title

About the Author

Marc Scott is a former Computer Science and Systems & Control teacher, working in the Secondary School sector. He now works as Head of Curriculum Development for the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Mick Marston is a designer, commercial illustrator, lecturer, and printmaker. A graduate of Leeds Metropolitan, his clients include Atlantic Records, The Guardian, and Penguin.

mickmarston.du.st
@futilevignette

Reviews

Gr 2–6—Step-by-step instructions guide young techies through simple Scratch and Python coding tutorials in this relevant guide. Readers will learn how to get started in Scratch, an easy to use web-based coding platform which is also available as an app (Scratch Jr.) for tablets. Scratch's building-block style of coding is pretty straightforward and readers can quickly pick up the basics, creating two fun games along the way. The book then moves on to Python, a text-based coding system with a very specific syntax. Readers will learn to move a turtle around the screen and program an AI game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Python will likely feel less intuitive, but the author reminds coders that mistakes are unavoidable and okay. Python is so complex, it's hard to adequately describe in less than 20 pages, a complaint which will ring true for many beginners' coding workbooks. The spiral-bound hardcover edition will inevitably breakdown in the hands of eager young coders, which could limit its lifespan in a library setting. That being said, with coding integrated into most schools and lots of public libraries, there is certainly an interest in materials like this. VERDICT Best for classroom use due to its construction, but still a useful resource for the Scratch tutorials alone.—Abby Bussen, Muskego Public Library, WI

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1681195402
• ISBN 13: 9781681195407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Marston Mick
• Number of pages: 64