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Minecraft for Beginners: Book Review

Minecraft is a great video game for kids because it teaches world-building, inspires creativity and strengthens memorization. Here at Coder Kids, we really encourage kids to play. Minecraft for Beginners is a great step-by-step guide for kids who are just learning how to play.

Now my kids are not Minecraft Noobs (beginners). They definitely know their way around the world of Minecraft. But my son, who is seven has mostly played in the Creative Mode because he enjoys the world-building environment more than fighting monsters—mostly because he loses to them and gets frustrated. When I showed him the Minecraft for Beginners book, he was immediately intrigued. If he saw this in his library at school, he would definitely check it out on his own.

But while he is a strong reader, the book contained a lot of small text which felt a little overwhelming to him. Because of this, I would recommend this book to kids who are eight years old or older and have strong reading skills.

Once we dove into Minecraft for Beginners together, the book was very comprehensive about explaining how to play the game and what everything in the world is and how it can benefit players. Most of the information provided really in-depth descriptions of the rulebook for playing the game. If your child is already familiar with Minecraft, they will know most of this information already. So I wouldn't recommend buying this book for kids that already play the game. This really is a getting started game for Minecraft and is completely tailored toward beginner players.

What Minecraft for Beginners Offers

That said, Minecraft for Beginners walks you through your first play through of what to mine and build to be a successful Minecraft player. It covers all the controls, the different biomes and how to mine underground, how to craft objects from mined materials, what to do when you find a village, how to eat and get food, and how to defeat monsters. Each of these sections, while suited for beginners, still offered some insightful tips that were new to my son.

Mining

Minecraft for Beginners teaches kids how to craft and mine different materials that they will need to be successful in the game. The book illustrates where to find the different materials the player will need and how to mine them. Then the book teaches how to build different tools and weapons as well as building a house and other useful objects from the mined resources.

In the back of the book, it has a whole section dedicated to cool objects players will want to craft before exploring other worlds. It gave their combinations for crafting and listed all the benefits for how these objects will help a player in the game. This was definitely new to my son—he only knew about a couple of them—and he was really excited to craft all these different objects for when he played Survival Mode.

Visiting Villages

Minecraft for Beginners explains why villages are good resources and where to find them. It highlights everything that can be found in a village and why you'll need those different resources to play the game. It also explains zombie villages and how to recognize them so that you don't go into the wrong village on accident. When we got to this section, my son had a ton of advice from his own experience.

Farming for Food

Another section is Minecraft for Beginners covered all the animals and plants players can farm and harvest for food. It highlighted each variety and how each helped the player's health. It was easy to see which animals, fruits and vegetables gave the most bang for the buck. My son like being able to analyze all the food sources to figure out how he should farm better in the future.

Defeating Monsters

Obviously, this was the section my son loved the most. Learning about all the different monsters and the best techniques to defeat them in the game was huge! Minecraft for Beginners gave great descriptions for each monster, how they attack, how to defeat them and what prizes they left after they are defeated. The tips for defeating the different monsters really held my son's attention and he learned a few new tricks that he immediately wanted to play and try out.

There is also a section on how to craft the best armor for fighting against different monsters. The book illustrated all the resource combinations needed to craft the different armor. This was cool for my son because it had all the combos together for an easy resource.

Why Minecraft for Beginners is a Great Resource

The book offers lots of great tips.

For kids that are just starting to learn how to play Minecraft, this book really gives great tips on what to build when you first start, how to protect yourself from monsters and what items you'll want to craft before you explore other biomes. Following all the tips will definitely help the player go from noob to experienced.

The book gives in-depth descriptions of everything in the rulebook.

This is the Minecraft rulebook turned up to eleven. Easy to understand and follow, Minecraft for Beginners well illustrates all the controls, resources, and the environments of the game. After reading the book, kids will feel very familiar with everything they encounter during the game.

The book walks players through a successful first game.

Written as a step-by-step guide, the book helps the player from understanding the controls, selecting a character, mining for resources, exploring the different biomes and defeating the different monsters. With the help of this book, your child will survive their first night which is kind of a big deal. And the book can easily be used as a resource while playing the game. If your child runs into a problem or question about the game, this book will often have the right solution.

The book becomes a parent's cheatsheet when your kid needs help in the game.

This obviously is my favorite thing about the book. I keep this book with our game system. When my son is stuck on a particular problem in the game and he's calling for help, I flip open the book and ask if he has the right resources, tools, armor or attacks. I feel like a pro even though I've never played the game. The book is easy to navigate and find what I'm looking for so that I can help my son out of his Minecraft bind. Winning.

Personally, I think Minecraft is a great video game for kids. I would rather my kids play this than Mario Smashbrothers. Minecraft teaches kids problem-solving skills as well as world-building. It's kinda like a cool Lego set you will never step on with bare feet. It fosters imagination and a coding mindset.

If your child is ready to play Minecraft, then Minecraft for Beginners is a great resource to help them get started. It will teach them everything they need to know about the game as well as give good tips on things they should mine and build to be a good player. You can buy the book Minecraft for Beginners on Amazon now.

If you are interested in having your child use Multiplayer mode in Minecraft and play with their friends, we highly recommend using Apex for your server.

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