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CODE THIS GAME!

Name: CODE THIS GAME!
Author: Meg Ray
ISBN: 978-1-250-30669-2

MAKE YOUR GAME USING PYTHON, THEN BREAK YOUR GAME TO CREATE A NEW ONE!

by Meg Ray ; illustrated by Keith Zoo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 20, 2019

An innovative, accessible way to turn anyone into a serious coder.

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A coding guide that builds a Plants vs. Zombies–style game in Python.

In the resultant game, Attack of the Vampire Pizzas, the player’s new pizza restaurant suffers from an infestation of sauce-drinking vampire pizzas; the player must keep the vampire pizzas out of the delivery boxes in order to prevent bad customer reviews (which will cause a “pizza shop closing” game-over message). As this complicated game is written in raw Python code, the book’s introduction is a beefy crash course containing detailed installation instructions as well as exercises to familiarize readers with the basics of using text code. Along with thorough instructions, a color-coded design (with a well-spelled-out key) allows readers to easily track the changes in the code and keep all of the nuts and bolts straight throughout (the text demands revisions and computational thinking). The largest segment of the book (which builds the game) has chapters that end with the code being worked on as well as a “Level Up!” sidebar, effectively a combination recap and progress bar that breaks the code-dense material into manageable chunks. The care in design extends to the physical form of the book—the spiral binding allows it to lie flat, and the covers contain a pop-out built-in bookstand for those who prefer to use it while it’s propped up. The final section gives ideas for readers to customize the game or try making one of their own design.

An innovative, accessible way to turn anyone into a serious coder. (further resources, asset gallery, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-250-30669-2

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Odd Dot

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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SKYWALKERS

MOHAWKS ON THE HIGH STEEL

by David Weitzman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010

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Weaving together architectural, engineering and Native American history, Weitzman tells the fascinating story of how Mohawk Indian ironworkers helped construct the sprawling bridges and towering skyscrapers that dominate our urban landscape. The book begins with a brief but informative history of the Kanien'kéhaka—People of the Flint. Leaders in establishing the League of the Iroquois, a confederation of Indian nations in the New York region, Mohawks had a longstanding reputation for their sense of tight-knit community, attraction to danger and love for physical challenge, qualities that served them well when hired in the late 1800s to do the most arduous work in railroad and bridge construction. With the advent of the skyscraper, Mohawks possessing agility that seemed gravity-defying worked hundreds of feet above the ground. They were not immune to tragedy, and the author discusses in detail the collapse of the Québec Bridge that killed 31 Mohawk workers. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that capture the daring spirit of these heroic workers, the concise, captivating account offers great insight into the little-known but considerable role Native Americans played in our architectural and engineering achievements. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-59643-162-1

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook

Review Posted Online: July 30, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
PHARAOH’S BOAT
by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman

- BOOK REVIEW
A SUBWAY FOR NEW YORK
by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman

- BOOK REVIEW
THE JOHN BULL
by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman

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THE ARABIAN NIGHTS

by Wafa’ Tarnowska & illustrated by Carole Hénaff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2010

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In a large, handsome format, Tarnowska offers six tales plus an abbreviated version of the frame story, retold in formal but contemporary language and sandwiched between a note on the Nights’ place in her childhood in Lebanon and a page of glossary and source notes. Rather than preserve the traditional embedded structure and cliffhanger cutoffs, she keeps each story discrete and tones down the sex and violence. This structure begs the question of why Shahriyar lets Shahrazade [sic] live if she tells each evening’s tale complete, but it serves to simplify the reading for those who want just one tale at a time. Only the opener, “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,” is likely to be familiar to young readers; in others a prince learns to control a flying “Ebony Horse” by “twiddling” its ears, contending djinn argue whether “Prince Kamar el Zaman [or] Princess Boudour” is the more beautiful (the prince wins) and in a Cinderella tale a “Diamond Anklet” subs for the glass slipper. Hénaff’s stylized scenes of domed cityscapes and turbaned figures add properly whimsical visual notes to this short but animated gathering. (Folktales. 10-12)