Coding For Kids For Dummies

My little brother loved it. Would recommend.

A great way for parents to bond with their little coders.

Coding for Kids is part of the widely popular For Dummies series of books. In this book (which is geared for ages 8 to 13) one will learn about coding using Scratch, AppLab, and MakeCode. And as the chapters progress you'll be walked through the steps of 15 different coding projects. Now even though this book is geared towards kids I'd say anyone interested in learning to code will find this to be a useful resource. This book assumes that you are coming into its pages with no coding experience so you are given the bare basics of what you will need to get started. To use this book you will need access to a computer or tablet and an internet connection. Basic math, spelling, and punctuation skills are also needed. After going over this book I think the Scratch and AppLab coding will be what most will go with as MakeCode requires additional supplies to complete. The later chapters will help you decide what you will do next with your newly acquired skills - skills that could become a career if you so desire. I would recommend being careful as you go through this book as it is easy to get into the wrong coding program if you don't pay attention. I'd recommend using Post-Its to block off the sections you don't want to use before you start your coding projects. This is a well-written book that even if you don't plan on using much will at least give you some good background information so you can at least carry on a conversation with basic knowledge of what is being said when coding comes up. *And a word of note if you don't personally have access to a computer with internet check with your local library many now have public access computers for use that you could use for Scratch. I received a complimentary copy of this book through Amazon's Vine Program with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.

I believe this book will be most helpful for my great grandson. I also appreciate the timely manner in which I received it.

I got this for my 11 y/o son. He’s been taking coding classes through Code Ninja and has really enjoyed it. I thought this book would be a nice addition to what he’s already covering. The book is aimed at a young teenager with parent support. It’s not a beginners hands-off approach by any means. I’m able to sit down and go through the lessons with him but it’s not simple enough for a child to do it on their own.

Grandsons love it

My nephew loved it!

My 9 year old son found this book hard to use on his own even though he loves coding and has some experience with it. As someone who has no idea how coding really works I like the simplified step by step layout of this book. I was able to help my son with the different prompts so he could feel comfortable. He’s used to more hands on projects so the book layout was new to him. My son loves to read but I think he was intimidated by the layout of this book. I think this book could be great for younger readers but some may need an adult to help them. This book seems designed to be very a hands on book that teaches as you go so it would be best if the child could use with a computer. We’ve had other books that were more of a reference book on coding but this one is meant to actually teach and instruct as you go.

An excellent book. My nephew has been studying with it

With coding becoming an ever more popular concept to be explored in schools, this book is an excellent way to supplement and augment the skills being taught in school. It is well laid out and easy to follow. Perfect for the beginner or for those who want to supplement their developing skills. I would’ve preferred them to dump the ‘for dummies’ from this title as it’s aimed at kids but I suppose they’re just keeping the same branding.

Easy use for the younger crew

Useful book to teach 8-13 year olds about the basics of coding. I love that the paper quality is good — it's not thin and prone to tearing easily. I love that it's properly full colour — it makes the book more engaging. Bright yellow is used in between chapters. It looks really nice. The text is not too small and there is ample whitespace — this makes the book much easier to read and navigate. The printing is of a sufficient resolution that the inline pictures (figures) don't look fuzzy — I've seen it happen in other Dummies books and it looks awful. # Reality Coding is a hard slog and no book can make it magically interesting. This subject matter is really for geeks or clever, curious children. Have realistic expectations.

I have been an "IT Professional" since before the advent of PCs, and now my grand-children want to learn how to program. This book is great and is essentially a guide to the MIT developed "Scratch" language - which is (happily) FREE! Scratch is a graphical programming language where you use coloured blocks which "snap" together to create the program. I have not used this (at the moment I use C# and PHP) - but it sounds like a great idea. The book works by showing you how to create a dozen or more projects, which cover all the basics of programming. I think there is a lot of useful stuff in here - and these days you probably need to know little about the underlying operating system (which in my early days was a crucial part) - but with online web based systems this is almost irrelevant....