Appealingly, this positive, highly accessible coding guide needs no computers.
A puzzle-based introduction to computer-programming concepts.
This computer coding book immediately sets itself apart by not using computers at all. Instead, readers write codes and complete puzzles by pencil and paper, play games in real life, and even do some arts and crafts. The four chapters follow Cody the robot, who helps the Nat Geo Explorers in their field missions—the readers are asked to program Cody to achieve the objectives of each chapter. Each chapter explores a set of concepts (such as algorithms, debugging, users and events, and conditionals) through varying activities. Some use classic challenges such as the traveling salesman problem; some encourage building physical items, for example making a cipher wheel for coded messages; and some are even games to be played with friends. The writing is crisp and clear throughout, and the text is laid out in easily digestible chunks that are broken up by frequent illustrations. Some images depict the various activities, some accompany relevant historical anecdotes, some are photographs of racially and gender diverse children, and many are beautiful nature pictures fitting the theme of each chapter’s challenge. Extensive backmatter includes solutions to the puzzles, additional exercises (including making slime), resources on coding computers directly, a glossary, and an index.
Appealingly, this positive, highly accessible coding guide needs no computers. (Nonfiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3443-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gleefully providing ammunition for snarky readers eager to second-guess misguided beliefs and commands of grown-ups, Rondina dishes up the straight poop on dozens of topics from the cleanliness of a dog’s mouth and the relationship (none) between French fries and acne to whether an earwig could really crawl into your ear and eat your brains. Since she cites no readily checkable sources—support for assertions comes in the form of quotations from experts in various fields, but there is no bibliography—it’s hard to tell how accurate some of her claims are—it would be nice to have a citation to the JAMA studies that debunk the sugar-hyperactivity connection, for instance—and too often she provides only an unsatisfying “You Decide” instead of a clear “True” or “False.” Still, it all makes painless reading equally suitable for casual dipping or reading straight through, and Sylvester’s pen-and-ink spot art adds further light notes to every page. An extensive closing catalog of familiar “Parentisms”—“I’m not running a taxi service,” “Because I said so, that’s why,” etc.—adds a chuckle-inducing lagniappe. (Informational ephemera. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55453-454-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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