Can You Crack the Code?: A Fascinating History of Ciphers and Cryptography - Hardcover

Schwartz, Ella

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1681195143 ISBN 13: 9781681195148

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019

Synopsis

"Codes can carry big secrets! Throughout history, lots of good guys and lots of bad guys have used codes to keep their messages under wraps. This fun and flippable nonfiction features stories of hidden treasures, war-time maneuverings, and contemporary hacking as well as explaining the mechanics behind the codes in accessible and kid friendly forms. Sidebars call out activities that invite the reader to try their own hand at cracking and crafting their own secret messages. This is the launch of an exciting new series that invites readers into a STEM topic through compelling historical anecdotes, scientific backup, and DIY projects."--

About this title

About the Author:

Ella writes fiction and nonfiction books for young readers. She is always asking questions and trying to learn new things. The books she writes are for kids who are just as curious as she is.

In addition to writing books, Ella is a cybersecurity warrior interfacing with the U.S. federal government on strategic technology initiatives. She has a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering from Columbia University.

When she's not working, writing, or training to run a marathon, she volunteers on outreach initiatives to promote women in science and improve science literacy.

Ella lives on Long Island, New York with her husband and three sons. Her favorite color is pink, but there is rarely anything pink in her house.

Visit Ella on her website, ellasbooks.com. Follow her on Twitter @ellaschwartz and Facebook facebook.com/EllaSchwartzAuthor/---
Lily Williams grew up in Northern California, where she graduated with high distinction from California College of the Arts with a BFA in animation. Her books for children include If Sharks Disappeared and If Polar Bears Disappeared.

Williams seeks to inspire change in the world, engage audiences, and educate all ages in her practice of visual development, illustration, and animation. Her work can be seen in film, print, and classrooms around the world, and has been used to get legislation passed in the United States Senate.

Review:

"A broad and lucid survey of cryptographic strategies. These range fromsteganography and substitution ciphers to second factor authenticationand other recent trends in cybersecurity. She also provides plenty ofvariously coded examples for readers to decipher as practice, capped by a final challenge to go back and find the clues to a secret message thathave been distributed throughout. Her detailed description of how theGerman Enigma machine worked (and was hacked by the Bletchley Park group in World War II) is indeed "fascinating," as are the close analyses ofstill-unsolved messages such as the modern Kryptos inscription outside CIA headquarters." - Kirkus Reviews

"This perennially popular topic leads kids into tales of war and espionage, and to better ways of passing messages in class. Here Schwartz discusses the frequently traveled paths of the Caesar code,Masonic symbols, and the Enigma machine, with lots of opportunity to try one's hand at en- and decryption, and she also explains how encryption is vital to internet security and touches all forms of online and cellular communication. Necessary math concepts used to strengthen passwords are smoothly addressed (and some teachers might be interested in Schwartz's discussion of the practical use of prime numbers), along with such delectable tidbits as an illegal prime number that can unlock DVD encryption. Cartoon illustrations keep things cheery, as does Schwartz's overall optimism concerning cybersecurity and the white hat hacking. For middle-graders interested in the interplay of encryption and their personal security." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1681195143
• ISBN 13: 9781681195148
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Williams Lily