How to Explain Coding to a Grown-Up
By Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Teresa Martínez
By Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Teresa Martínez
By Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Teresa Martínez
By Ruth Spiro
Illustrated by Teresa Martínez
Part of How to Explain Science to a Grown-Up
Part of How to Explain Science to a Grown-Up
Category: Children's Nonfiction | Children's Picture Books
Category: Children's Nonfiction
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$17.99
Oct 10, 2023 | ISBN 9781623543181 | 4-8 years
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Oct 10, 2023 | ISBN 9781632899743 | 4-8 years
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Praise
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary)
—Kirkus Reviews
Awards
Illinois Reads SELECTION 2024
NPR Best Science Books for Kids SELECTION 2023
Mathical Book Prize HONOR 2024
21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
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