The Illustrated AWS Cloud: A Guide to Help You on Your Cloud Practitioner Journey

by Jen Looper, Denise Yu

An intuitive, fully illustrated guide to Amazon Web Services for the visually oriented In The Illustrated AWS A Guide to Help You On Your Cloud Practitioner Journey , a team of veteran tech educators delivers a visual and entertaining guide to Amazon Web Services cloud concepts. The authors focus on the job role and responsibilities of an AWS cloud practitioner, guiding readers through choosing the best AWS services for specific use cases. In addition to general cloud concepts, security and compliance, technology, and billing and pricing topics, you’ll The authors also provide bonus content on their companion website at Perfect for anyone looking for an easy-to-follow and visual introduction to the Amazon Web Services cloud, including those considering a career as a cloud administrator or technical support person, The Illustrated AWS Cloud is an effective resource for business, finance, sales, and marketing professionals who support and collaborate with AWS tech professionals.

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 7, 2023

Reviews

[Andrew Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book as I wanted to determine if it was a good resource to be used for studying the AWS Cloud Practitioner or learning cloud fundamentals. I cleared this book in 2 hours, but I am well-versed in the subject matter.

I would suspect it should take a week for someone to complete this book.

Here are my thoughts:
- extra large font
- easy to read
- fun illustrations
- good coverage of the learning materials.
- evergreen

What it doesn't have:
- architectural diagrams
- code samples
- UI examples
- practice exam question samples
- no pricing examples

[Update] The books website has a free quizlet of 237 questions to your knowledge of AWS services. This is useful to test your knowledge and can contribute towards studying for the exam.

https://illustratedaws.cloud/supplement/

How do we use this book?
I'd recommend it as a companion book, something you can read in bed, in the bathroom, the train, or when you're visiting in-laws and hiding away in the basement looking for an escape.

You could squeeze in some study time by reading this to your 7 year old or have your kid practice learning to read.

I would have the pens and highlighters out, and get creative to help you anchor information into your head.

Who is it targeted for?
The illustrations might indicate its for teens, or kids, or the neurospicy? I would say the evergreen, lightweight learning material for cloud and suits a broad audience.

Is it enough to pass the exam?
Not on its own, folks should get some hands-on experience in the console, and do some practice exams.

Any other thoughts?
While its called the illustrated guide, this book does not convey concepts through illustrations like say the O'Reilly's Head First's Series. This is a book for those who learn through reading.

I would describe this book as being the "Frog and Toad" for learning AWS for Beginners, where the reading is easy and has a natural flow to convey information.

White space, line breaks and more room in the margins would have been good so you could doodle or make your notes as everything is very tightly packed.

[Update]
The author has produced a free bullet journal with all the illustrations in PDF format to help with notetaking downloadable on the website https://illustratedaws.cloud

Do I recommend it?
As a companion book yes. I picked it up off of http://Amazon.ca for $30 CAD.

The author's proceeds for this book will be donated to Code To Inspire, a nonprofit that helps girls in Afghanistan learn to code.

[Marc ZEIMET · Rating 4 out of 5]

A visual book written in a clear and concise style, with a high-frequency use of illustrations, it suits beginners, and high-school students who would like to gain a broad but beginner view on the general topic of Cloud Computing and more specifically on the AWS range of services.

This is a good starter book to understand the certainly complex concept of AWS: it remains very basic though but well presented avoiding the technical jargon, explaining terms and vocabulary where needed.

While it lacks depth, it can be read and used by anyone, both kids and pupils (at secondary school educational levels) as well as people who want to understand the topic from scratch and follow the AWS Cloud Practitioner journey.

[Lexi Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and easy read. What a lovely introduction to the wonderful and wild world of AWS. I felt like I understood each AWS tool/component (as well as I could in a picture book) through the use of analogies and relatable explanations, but I do wish it went more into the specifics of each service and how they all work together. I got a good understanding of each individual piece, but not necessarily how they all work in tandem.

Overall, a nice read and very easy to digest. Would 10 out of 10 recommend to non-technical beginners overall….. although occasionally some pretty intense jargon got dropped in without any explanation… jump scare alert.

[Cesar Millán · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great and easy starting point for anyone who wants to know about AWS Cloud.