Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners |  | Authors: Warren Sande, Carter Sande
Publisher: Manning Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $21.92
as of 9/9/2010 06:34 CDT details
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New (28) Used (8) from $21.13
Seller: supermoviedeals
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 15,873
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 440
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1933988495
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.133
EAN: 9781933988498
ASIN: 1933988495
Publication Date: March 30, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9781933988498 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
"Computer programming is a powerful tool for children to 'learn learning,' that is, to learn the skills of thinking and problem-solving...Children who engage in programming transfer that kind of learning to other things."--Nicholas Negroponte, the man behind the One Laptop Per Child project that hopes to put a computer in the hands of every child on earth, January 2008 Your computer won't respond when you yell at it. Why not learn to talk to your computer in its own language? Whether you want to write games, start a business, or you're just curious, learning to program is a great place to start. Plus, programming is fun! Hello World! provides a gentle but thorough introduction to the world of computer programming. It's written in language a 12-year-old can follow, but anyone who wants to learn how to program a computer can use it. Even adults. Written by Warren Sande and his son, Carter, and reviewed by professional educators, this book is kid-tested and parent-approved. You don't need to know anything about programming to use the book. But you should know the basics of using a computer--e-mail, surfing the web, listening to music, and so forth. If you can start a program and save a file, you should have no trouble using this book.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
 The Excellent Teach Your Kids (Or Teach Yourself) Programming In The Python Language Book. May 11, 2009
Ira Laefsky (Philadelphia, PA)
41 out of 41 found this review helpful
This attractive and moderately-sized volume gets elementary through high school education in programming computers right, and makes the best use of the universally available (and free) "batteries-included" language--Python. In the early days of personal computers (about 1978), everyone and his brother had a Teach Yourself Basic on the TRS-80 or Apple-II programming book that got you and your kids up to speed in the Dartmouth-developed (Digital Equipment Corporation-improved) BASIC computer programming language. At that time, you were lucky if at the conclusion of the book you could produce a simple-minded character-based Tic-Tac-Toe game (or self-prompted lessons in the multiplication tables). With excellent pedagogy and the libraries (like PYGAME) now available for the modern Python programming language this book enables the home-schooled student (or timid grandparent) to build sophisticated simulations and graphical entertainment (like a virtual pet) at least equivalent to the commercial games available in that era.
Due to the excellent tools and step-by-step examples given by Warren and Carter Sande the young reader, or his/her parent, is well prepared for a modern college level course in Data Structures or Algorithms with well illustrated examples of Lists, Modules, Event-driven and Object-Oriented Programming. The use of GUI-builders and programming libraries enable the novice to achieve impressive results within the course of a few short months of self-instruction.
The book is well illustrated, and the examples and tools downloadable from the book's web site run correctly without the need to fix typo's.
All in all, the book is an excellent read for a 12-year old, or an adult novice, and will provide superb instruction and entertainment for its readers.
--Ira Laefsky
Excellent but designed for PC not Mac July 25, 2009
I Teach Typing (Stanford, CA USA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I have been programming and teaching programming at the university level for 25 years and I have been looking for years to find a book for children, like my 10 year old son, who wanted to learn about programming but were not up to the high school reading level. This book perfectly fills the niche. With clear writing, well thought through examples and gentle humor, it is superb for the young learner. My son has taken over my PC since I gave him the book. So, it is safe to say it can hold a child's attention.
The fact that it is good for a young audience does not mean that it is dumbed down too far to be useful for any age. The depth and pace of the material is appropriate for anyone, starting from scratch, who wants to learn to program from lots of examples. Actually, it sets the stage nicely for someone who is anxious about needing to learn programming at the university level.
The only real down side is the support for Mac. The book uses Python which works on Mac, Windows and Linux but a couple of the components used in the book do not have good instructions for the Mac on the books website. For example, they are written for older Mac OS or require you to dig deep in the system files to find the directories where things belong. The forums on the website will help but expect to need to dig around a bit, especially if you use Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard), until the author(s) fix the main Mac instructions.
Even though I had to poke around a bit to make sure the Mac would behave, I still love this book. Setting aside the fact that this fills a badly need gap in programming instruction for kids, this book is just great with a wonderful ratio of code snippets to explanations and clear concise discussions of both basic and fairly advanced concepts (like object oriented programming).
What a great book for kids! June 1, 2009
Lisa Hartjes (Michigan)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
My husband's a computer programmer, and my nine year old son told us he wants to learn how to write computer programs too. I did a lot of looking around for something that would be suitable for my son to use, and finally discovered this book.
We had to wait a while for this book, as the release date was changed and there were other problems, but this was definitely worth the wait. My son read through the book in no time flat, and definitely understands what's in it.
The next step is for the two of them to sit down and go through the code examples together.
Mr. Sande (young and old), thank you so much for writing this book!
Great educational fun July 15, 2009
E. Peck (Orlando, FL)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
My daughter and I have been enjoying working through this book together. The choice of an open, multi-platform language is nice, as almost anyone with a computer can take advantage of what it has to offer.
Python has many great libraries and the use of Pygame makes possible some projects that would be much too difficult for this level of work. That really hooked my daughter, the ability to make her own games. We've been having a blast working through the book together.
There are tons of learning opportunities that take things well outside the realm of just 'programming'. I recommend this book to anyone with kids that are inclined towards doing more with a computer than just running applications.
Great Book for Kids! May 8, 2009
CLR (San Diego, CA)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
The authors have done a wonderful job introducing the basics of computer programming through Python. I gave this book to my 9-year-old, and he's hooked! The exercises are fun and engaging, and the text and graphics are easy for him to follow.
This book comes highly recommended!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
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