The Best Coding Books for Kids of All Ages 2020
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Coding is currently one of the most in-demand jobs all over the globe. Coding has also become one of the largest trends in the education sector. As a result, a lot of parents and schools have started to adopt coding and programming courses for kids.Coding also has a lot of benefits for kids’ personalities and behaviors. If you’re looking for a way to encourage your kids to learn to code, we’re here to help!
Today, we’ll provide you with a list of the best coding books for kids of all ages. So without further ado, let’s jump in!
Top 6 Coding Books for Kids of All Ages
There are many books that use different approaches to teach your children how to code. The following list contains some of the best books that you can find.
Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas - 4 Years Old
“Hello Ruby” is a amazing guide for children as young as 4 years old. The best thing about it is that you don’t even need a computer to use the book and learn about coding!
The book is a complete package on its own that’s half picture book and half activity book. It takes your children along the journey with Ruby, a little girl who goes on a fun adventure.
The book uses storytelling and interesting activities to teach kids the concepts of coding. Additionally, they get kids to create patterns, break down bigger problems, and think outside the box.
All that comes in a simplified language to keep your children’s focus on learning how to code without going into too much detail.
Linda Liukas has released two additional Hello Ruby books - one called Journey Inside the Computer, and the other, Expedition to the Internet. We recommend the whole set!
This book is on our list for many reasons. First of all, it’s great for children as young as 5 to 7 years old. It also doesn’t require a computer, but still teaches kids about coding. We love how this book teaches coding concepts using interactive paper engineering. It also introduces your kids to coding terms such as algorithms, variables, and flowcharts in easy-to-follow steps.
This book is best for children between 8 to 10 year olds. It does require some reading, so be sure they can do it on their own, or be close by if they need some help.
The book contains a lot of paper inserts, which provides a fun and interactive way for your kids to learn to code. Your kid can lifts the flaps in order to learn how computers and coding works. These flaps represent computer parts, so they learn what goes on inside computers to make them do what they do.
This book is made for kids with little to no experience in coding. The book is mainly based on the coding language Scratch. Scratch is a block-based visual programming language developed by MIT for kids.
This book features a fun step by step guide to teach your kids how to create computer games and interactive animations.
The book is perfect for kids aged from 8 to 12. To use the book, your kids will need a computer with Scratch, which runs on any device.
Another book we strongly recommend and reviewed is called 25 Scratch 3 Games for Kids. If you’re interested in checking that book out, That book is a follow up to Code your own Games!: 20 Games to Create with Scratch - which is one of the most popular Scratch books ever written. This is a direct link to that book.
Marc Scott is the Head of Curriculum Development in the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This means that this book is written by someone who knows what he’s doing!
The book introduces your kids to the world of coding and programming is a fun way that won’t be difficult to follow. Kids ages 8 and up can learn a lot from this book.
We like that the book uses a combination of Python and Scratch - two languages we frequently use in our camps and classes. One of the projects even lets kids create their own chatbot!
CoderDojo is the coding community that lets you enjoy computers, learn new stuff, and hang out with other coders. The movement has been a huge success and this book is the perfect starting point to get into the world of coding.
This book is geared towards kids in third grade or higher, so kids 8-12 should have no problem follwoing along with the instructions and projects.
The book teaches the fundamentals of web development to your kids in an easy and interesting way.. CoderDojo Nano can help children build their own websites with simple lines of code. It also teaches everything related to web development, like CSS and HTML.
The book also uses colorful and fun pictures to teach the basics of Javascript. This makes it a great starting point in their coding adventure.
Why Is it Important to Teach Your Kids Coding?
Coding for kids has become a big deal because it has great benefits for your children, even if they don’t become coders when they grow up. Here are some of these advantages.
Coding Teaches Your Kids to Think Efficiently
Computer programming isn’t just a bunch of code lines written on a computer. It’s a full mind process of thinking and translating these thoughts into effective actions.
When you teach your kids how to code at an early age, they don’t only learn about coding, they also learn a new way to approach problems in their thinking. Coding helps them to become logical thinkers. They also explore different ways to break down a larger problem and turn it into smaller pieces that are easy to handle.
Additionally, they learn how to cycle thoughts and ideas and shuffle them so they can come up with an idea that works.
Coding at an Early Age Promotes Computational Thinking
When learning about computers, kids get anintroduction to the basics of coding. This helps kids understand the way digital systems work. They also develop a lot of methodical and cognitive skills that help them through this process.
After some time, kids learn to solve problems in a way that resembles a computer. They start decomposing a large problem into a set of smaller ones. This feature is one of the most important keys to computational thinking. It also encourages them to analyze both the problem and the results. That way, if the results are what they are looking for, they’ll try to solve the problem in a different way.
The ability to find and apply solutions to your problems is a useful trait for life in general, not only in coding. You definitely want your children to grow up as capable and progressive problem-solver.
Securing an Employable Future
The world is moving forward and changing at an unmatched pace. Today, coding has become an extremely valuable skill to have. Even outside technology fields, more businesses started to rely on coding to enhance their efficiency.
If you want to improve your children’s employment opportunities, you should look no further than computer science.The demand for skilled and experienced computer programmers is also on the rise.
Teaching your child to code at an early age increases the chances they grow up with interest in the field. In that case, they’ll have a lot of experience and skills from a young age. However, even if they don’t become computer programmers, having a basic understanding of coding will be useful in all areas of work.
When Should Kids Learn to Code?
Learning to code doesn’t require a lot of skills. In fact, you can learn how to code before learning to read and write.
In its purest form, coding is just a way to organize things in a way that makes them behave accordingly. This can be applied through interactive puzzles and colorful books.
For more information on when to start teaching your kids to code, check out our blog post, “How Yound is Too Young for Computer Programming?”
Wrap Up
There you have it, a list of best coding books for kids! A lot of these books help kids create things. For example, the Beginner’s Guide by Marc Scott teaches kids how to build their own chatbot. Also, Coding Games in Scratch helps children create animations and games. These books give them a chance to make something that’s completely their own while having fun in the process. That’s a win-win for everyone!
Make sure that you select a book that matches the age of your child so they can maximize their learning possibilities. Happy Coding!
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