Computers are such an important part of our everyday lives... but how much do you really know about them?
This endlessly fascinating book not only explores the science behind information technology, but reveals the true-life stories of the people behind the scenes who played important roles in forging this radical transformation in human culture. Young readers can discover how coding actually works, who invented the internet, and much more.
The full-color illustrations by Roy Hermelin brings the text to life with a modern sense of energy, fun and humor. It's absolutely packed with surprising and eye-opening facts, and a blast to read.
Lisa Regan has written over 400 published titles, including picture books, puzzle books, children's reference and curriculum-linked workbooks. She lives in Colchester, UK, with her sons and husband.
Her work ranges from magazine-style books on fashion and sleepovers, to highly illustrated STEM titles that fit into schools and libraries lists. Her favourite topics are wildlife and geography, but she also has huge fun writing rhyming tales.
Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Thank you to Netgalley and Arcturus Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I read this with my 8 year old son who was very excited when deciding what to read next. He is very interested in coding and computers so we read this together.
Initially he was expecting there to be some coding that he could try out but this is more of the history of computers. This didn't put him off as was intrigued to hear about how computers had come to be and he looked forward to each evening when we could read a bit more, with him reading large sections and only getting stuck on some of the long names. It was very interesting understanding the history and when and how computer games were mentioned.
I expected it to be a fairly short book and was surprised that it had 372 pages, but we enjoyed it all and it was very informative.
I would guess the recommended age for this book is for 8 years plus if reading it yourself but could be younger if reading with a parent and very interested in computing.
Coding and Computers is a book intended to introduce younger readers to the history of computer science and explain the basic concepts and future implications that come along with computers. As someone in the industry, I'm always happy to see any tool (be it a video, a book, or a game), that helps people understand CS better and give them the chance to become much better educated. I do, however, worry a bit about how vaguely some concepts are explained, because that can cause confusion and misunderstanding. A few examples would be not explaining memory and storage, and RAM and ROM well enough (to the point even I got confused by the explanation); calling JavaScript a program, although it's a programming language; and the very weird assessment that smartphones *need at least* two cameras as well as quite a confusion on what's front- and rear-facing. I think with a few touch-ups the book could be even better at what it aims to achieve. Aside from that, I absolutely believe that people, both young and old, should learn more about computers and this book is quite a good place to start.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*
Thank you to NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing For this copy of Coding and Computer by Lisa Regan in exchange for an honest review. It publishes August 27, 2020. I had the help of an 8-year-old budding coder for the review of this book! She says this book is “Cool!” She read out loud many tidbits, learned a lot about computer and coding history, and really enjoyed the format of the book itself. I thought this book was very informative, there isn’t too much text-to-pictures, and the illustrations themselves are bright and fun. I think any young coder would have a blast reading this book, and any older coder, (who’s new to it), would benefit as well! This would make a great gift!
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a great computer science history book for elementary/middle school kids! I can’t WAIT until it’s published and I can get some copies for my classroom!