Best computer coding books for kids

This post on coding books continues my series on Coding for Kids. In the process of doing research on this topic, I’ve come up with the following list of very interesting, useful, age-appropriate books on computer coding for kids. Several of these are “interactive books” as well, with flaps to lift and both online and offline activities.

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 NOTE: All titles are links to the product so you can see a full description and images of each book listed below.

Coding Books for Kids: Usborne Books

Usborne Books and More, a company that publishes educational material for children and students, has a great series on computer coding books for kids. (Note: I am not an Usborne distributor, but my friend Bethany is, and she has contributed links here for the Usborne books on this list. If you’re looking for other educational and engaging resources for your family, she’d be happy to assist you. You can reach her here and preview the extensive catalog of Usborne books.)

1. Coding for Beginners using Scratch: Simple Coding for absolute beginners by Usborne

Scratch is a very user-friendly and fun coding language that even very young kids can enjoy using. Older kids (and adults!) can learn a lot of solid coding skills while creating games and animations in Scratch. I wrote a post about Scratch Jr – you can read more here about our experience using this app to create simple animated “puppet shows.”

2. Coding for Beginners using Python: Simple coding for beginners by Usborne

This is another coding book with thorough, clear explanations and step-by-step instructions. The full-color illustrations make the book fun to look through and help to make a complex topic feel approachable and fascinating! 🙂

3. Lift-the-flap Computers and Coding by Usborne

Usborne does an amazing job with their non-fiction lift-the-flap books! Every page and every little flap is filled with detailed, easy-to-understand descriptions. This book is a bit more advanced and may be best for kids who already have a basic understanding of computers.

4. Look Inside How Computers Work by Usborne

This book is written for a slightly younger audience than the previous one, and lays a very thorough foundation in helping kids understand the basic structure of computers and of basic coding principles. I’ve included a few pictures here of some of the pages so you can see the flaps in action. 🙂

This page has 3 layers of flaps – there are flaps on the keyboard …

… and the whole keyboard lifts up to reveal the motherboard on a computer, with more flaps on each part of the circuit (RAM, ROM, CPU, etc.). (My 4 year old laughs hilariously every time he hears the word “motherboard.”)

This book also gives a brief introduction to some of the different computer coding languages, describing the process of building code.

Coding Books for Kids: DK books

The DK series is another well-written series of non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics. We discovered it in our search for books on the topic of coding for kids, but will continue to look for DK books in future unit studies.

 5. My First Coding Book

This is probably the best book on this list for the youngest coders among us. 🙂 Each page has sliding tabs which are part of brightly colored diagrams that demonstrate basic coding steps.

6. DK Readers L2: Story of Coding

This book is broken up into several short chapters that walk you through the history of the invention of computers and computer programming.

Here’s a few fun facts that I learned from this book:

• Once upon a time, a bug (a moth, I think) found its way into a computer and ruined things as it flitted around inside the machine – hence the name “bug” for problems in computer code.
• The first computer was about 1,800 square feet and weighed almost 50 tons.
• The first computer programmer was a woman named Ada Lovelace.

7. Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer

I was excited to find this biography about Ada Lovelace, after reading a brief snippet about her in The Story of Coding. This book is beautifully written and illustrated, and it adds a great touch to a unit study on coding, bringing history to life through the story of a girl who was full of ideas and persevered in the face of difficulty and discouragement to bring her dreams to life.

Coding books for kids with offline activities: Hello Ruby

8. Hello Ruby: Journey Inside the Computer

The Hello Ruby series (currently 2 books) addresses coding as a creative activity. The author, Linda Liukas, creates whimsical characters and pictures describing her imaginary journeys inside a computer. This is another great way to round out a unit study on coding, showing a unique, anthropomorphic perspective on the inner workings of a computer.

9. Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding

Her second book focuses on the skills used by computer programmers, describing logical thought processes as challenges and games in another whimsical journey through a computer. This book is full of offline coding activities that help kids develop and practice logic and analytical thinking skills.

You can find several of her offline activities (with really cute images and fun printables!) on her website: http://www.helloruby.com. My 4 year old had fun with her paper computer activity. We used it to make a new page in our ongoing interactive science notebook.

Then Daddy-bear opened up our computer and showed Superman the different parts on the motherboard. He was properly impressed :). It was a great bonus activity to complete our study on computers and coding!

Based on all our experience learning about coding through books, apps, websites, and activities, I was inspired to create an offline, interactive coding game for kids – I call it “Choreograph a {human} robot dance.” You can read the full description and see a preview of the game here.

Other posts in this series:

• Coding for Kids – resources and ideas
• Scratch Jr – coding for kids

Learning Resources for Teachers, Tutors, and Parents

If you’d like to visit my store to see my library of learning resources (focused on Pre-K – 3rd grade Math, Reading, and Writing, and High School Algebra and Geometry), you can check it out here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sandra-Balisky