A brightly inventive children’s introduction to a widely used programming language.
An illustrated book that aims to teach kids the basics of the Python programming language.
In this short work for elementary school–age kids, colorfully illustrated by Villafraz and other uncredited artists, Eskenas, the founder and CEO of Redondo Beach, California–based Sundae Electronics, crafts a simple narrative about a faraway land where an enchanted computer generates nursery rhymes using Python programs. “A program is a collection of code that can be run by a computer,” the narration notes, starting with introductory definitions. “Every programming language has its own set of rules for how the code is written, which is called the syntax.” In small, gradual steps, Eskenas deepens the complexity of the terms and concepts that her young readers will need in order to master this language, always offered in direct, easy-to-understand terms: “You assign a value to a variable with an equal sign (=), which is called an assignment operator,” goes one such passage. “The value on the right side of the equal sign is assigned to the variable on the left side of the equal sign.” The text uses different typeface colors to give different operations a clear visual element, and it’s all done in the context of well-known nursery rhymes that many kids will already know, such as “Rain, Rain, Go Away” (rendered as a program that begins “if weather == ‘rain’ ”), and more complex fairy tales, such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” (whose program features the line “if large_porridge == ‘too hot’ or large_porridge == ‘too cold’ ”). The combination of the fairy tale–style narration and boisterous artwork works extremely well, as it completely removes the tedium that often accompanies computer programming instruction for kids. There’s no denying the importance of getting across the basics of coding to youngsters, and it’s hard to imagine a more engaging, and therefore effective, vehicle for that education.
A brightly inventive children’s introduction to a widely used programming language.Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73590-796-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Sundae Electronics LLC
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book about engineering notable mostly for its illustrations of diverse characters. (Board book. 1-3)
Babies and engineers have more in common than you think.
In this book, Alexander highlights the unlikely similarities between babies and engineers. Like engineers, babies ask questions, enjoy building, and learn from their mistakes. Black’s bold, colorful illustrations feature diverse babies and both male- and female-presenting adult characters with a variety of skin tones and hair colors, effectively demonstrating that engineers can be any race or either gender. (Nonbinary models are a little harder to see.) The story ends with a reassurance to the babies in the book that “We believe in you!” presumably implying that any child can be an engineer. The end pages include facts about different kinds of engineers and the basic process used by all engineers in their work. Although the book opens with a rhythmic rhyming couplet, the remaining text lacks the same structure and pattern, making it less entertaining to read. Furthermore, while some of the comparisons between babies and engineers are both clever and apt, others—such as the idea that babies know where to look for answers—are flimsier. The book ends with a text-heavy spread of facts about engineering that, bereft of illustrations, may not hold children’s attention as well as the previous pages. Despite these flaws, on its best pages, the book is visually stimulating, witty, and thoughtful.
A book about engineering notable mostly for its illustrations of diverse characters. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31223-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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