DKfindout! Coding

This is a good kid-level (and my level to be honest) overview of the history and general subject of coding. True to DK it has visually compelling images and layout. It does not really teach coding so if that's what you are looking for keep looking. I appreciate the thorough representation of women in this book.

We love the DK findout! series! This one talks about the history of coding, info about computers, coding today, hackers, etc. It presents the information in bite sized pieces with lots of pictures which is great for elementary aged students. We Fun-school with Thinking Tree journals, and this series has been a great addition to our homeschooling library!

I bought this for my kiddos to read for the math and science content, but I actually learned a lot. I’m not in the math or science fields and this helped me understand the basics of cording. I found it more interesting than my 1st grader and preschoolers, but it’s one of those books that is good to have around the house for reference.

This is a book about coding, as opposed to teaching how to code. There aren't any instructions or projects to work on within this book. It's more of a history/science connection to coding. As long as you know and want that, it's a pretty cool book. It's a smaller book than many I've got from DK, but it's still packed with information. It has color photos and illustrations throughout, so it's an eyecatching book. It doesn't have to be read straight through, either. I like that it features men and women coders, too. While it wasn't what I was expecting, it's still a nice book.

This is a solid introduction to not only coding but computer science in general. It has a good first section on history, and there's lots of early women pioneers and contemporary coders featured. It shows a lot of diversity.It includes a lot of pictures and nice diagrams in it.It discusses encryption and computer hacking, and the early Enigma machine, which delves a bit into WW2 history. It also shows contemporary uses of computer coding.It's information rich, and loaded with visual information. I really love this book for any kid interested in computers, but generally older kids and tweens will probably get the most out of this book, though it could teach a lot of adults some things too!

After writing my review, I like to take a look at what others said about the product. I saw a number of negative comments--boring, too easy, incorrect information, etc. I have to say that I disagree with the negative comments. I can't attest as to whether or not the information is correct, since I'm not a computer science major. That being said, for one with basic knowledge of programming, it didn't seem that the information was too far off point--or far enough off point that it mattered.I really liked this book and think its great for 8--13 year olds. I loved the part about the history of programming. After all, it's nice to see that Pac Man and Atari haven't been forgotten. I also liked that the book demonstrates the different ways that coding can be used--from computers to robots to video systems. It shows the importance of coding in music and all the parts of our life. I liked how the book laid out the history of coding and showed how it has developed to meet the needs of today. I highly recommend it!

DKfindout! Coding is a great companion to learning about computers and the first programming languages. It starts at the beginning and takes us up to present day. Eventually we will look back on this edition and laugh at where it stops but for now I truly wish I had a picture book like this when I was learning programming languages in college in the late '80s. It adds a great deal visually to the history of computers that is so hard to imagine without a museum to walk through. They are missing some versions of storage that I would like to have seen included but overall is not lacking in its presentation and educational value. I think this book is a guide to go deeper with a child into each chapter by watching a movie about one of the many topics or trying out Raspberry Pi for the first time. I will enjoy reading this with my kids ages 10-13 and I think the colorful and fun pages will interest them on the subject. Five stars.**review by Mrs WryGuy2**

DKFINDOUT! CODING is mostly a collection of factoids about early computers (e.g., Babbage’s Difference Engine), programmers and inventors (e.g., Steve Jobs, Bill Gates), elementary coding programs (e.g., Scratch), apps (e.g., smartphones in action), gaming (e.g., virtual reality), and the like. It’s so elementary in scope, I wonder what age group would find this worth reading?This is probably the first DK book I’ve examined that I haven’t liked. I’m an information junkie, but the presentation here is so shallow, there is very little actual knowledge imparted.I think the book is pretty useless for increasing a child’s programming know-how, as promised in the advertising. For example, one of the items in the “Learning to code” section (a two-page spread) states: “Be a robot master Robot kits let you build a robot quite easily. You can then tell the robot what to do by writing instructions in code.” Does a child who is interested in coding need to be told this in a book? Would this inspire a child who knows nothing about coding to want to learn to code?