Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding

by Linda Liukas

Overview

"Hello Ruby is half picture book and half activity book rolled into one adorable package. It introduces programming without requiring a computer at all. The point of the book isn’t to teach you a programming language, but programming concepts." —GeekMom.com

Meet Ruby—a small girl with a huge imagination, and the determination to solve any puzzle. As Ruby stomps around her world making new friends, including the Wise Snow Leopard, the Friendly Foxes, and the Messy Robots, kids will be introduced to the fundamentals of computational thinking, like how to break big problems into small ones, create step-by-step plans, look for patterns and think outside the box through storytelling. Then, these basic concepts at the core of coding and programming will be reinforced through fun playful exercises and activities that encourage exploration and creativity.

In Ruby's world anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250065001
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Series:	Hello Ruby , #1
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	193,870
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Linda Liukas is a programmer, storyteller, and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. She is a central figure in the world of programming and worked on edutech before it was even called that. Linda is the founder of Rails Girls, a global phenomenon teaching the basics of programming to young women all over the world. She was selected as the 2013 Ruby Hero (the most notable prize within the Ruby programming community) and she is the Digital Champion of Finland, appointed by EU commissioner Neelie Kroes.

Editorial Reviews

Writing software is about expression, creativity, and practical application. Our kids should learn to bend, join, break and combine code in a way it wasn't designed to. Just as they would with crayons and paper or wood and tools. I believe there's plenty to learn in programming logic and culture before showing children a single screen.” —Linda Liukas author of Hello Ruby

“Hello Ruby is way more than a children's book.” —Fast Company

“Getting girls into programming, one children's book at a time.” —TechCrunch

"Hello Ruby by Linda Liukas is half picture book and half activity book rolled into one adorable package. What I love about it is that it introduces programming without requiring a computer at all. The point of the book isn’t to teach you a programming language, but programming concepts." —GeekMom.com

From the Publisher

Getting girls into programming, one children's book at a time.

TechCrunch

Hello Ruby is way more than a children's book.

Fast Company

Writing software is about expression, creativity, and practical application. Our kids should learn to bend, join, break and combine code in a way it wasn't designed to. Just as they would with crayons and paper or wood and tools. I believe there's plenty to learn in programming logic and culture before showing children a single screen.

Linda Liukas author of Hello Ruby

02/01/2016
Gr 1–4—Bubbly redhead Ruby takes readers on a journey through an imaginary world replete with talking penguins, snow leopards, robots, and foxes who unwittingly teach her basic coding concepts. When Ruby's father travels out of town, he leaves her with a challenge: to find five gems. Armed with four scraps of paper, she uses her analytic skills to draw a map of the imaginary world where the gems are hidden, and children follow Ruby as she looks for them. The hunt for each gem involves a loose tie-in to a host of coding concepts, such as sequencing, patterns, loops, and pattern recognition. Notably, though, none of these terms are used in the actual text of the story; instead they are discussed at length in the post-story "Activity Book" section. Colorful and cheerful illustrations offer enticing Easter egg clues to observant readers throughout are in both the story and the "Activity Book." The visuals also serve to pick up the slack left by the somewhat didactic text. The "Activity Book" furthers the learning of conceptual coding ideas but requires patience and concentration that the intended audience may not yet possess. Kids will not necessarily walk away knowing how to write code but may possibly grasp some of the basic concepts. VERDICT This whimsical coding story could be a great resource for mathematical-minded youngsters but might soar over the heads of those less math-inclined.—Amy M. Laughlin, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

2015-08-31
Originally a Kickstarter project, this chapter-book/workbook hybrid seeks to introduce programming to young readers. Liukas, a programming-literacy advocate and a founder of Rails Girls, an international organization that offers programming workshops to young women, brings an extensive, impressive computer science background to her book. It opens with profiles of the cast of characters, which represent in-jokes about various computer systems, before starting with titular Ruby coloring in her room (and her drawings are a game for comp-sci-savvy parents, who will enjoy identifying the references). The childlike illustrations are serviceable, and the same can be said for the prose. The plot starts for real in the second chapter, when a postcard from her father sends Ruby on a scavenger hunt for five gems. Using logic-puzzle clues and a map, Ruby plots a course that takes her to each of the other characters, where she quickly solves problems to retrieve the gems—up until the last gem, which she decides not to even ask for, in a sudden, preachy, shoehorned message about friendship that fails to provide a satisfying story conclusion. While the story isn't particularly successful, the second half of the book consists of exercises to encourage young programmers. The puzzles cover basic computer science tools and concepts with easy-to-follow examples (though the youngest readers may still need adult help), and they sometimes reference the story. Ditch the anemic story and nerd-pandering, but keep the nifty activity book. (glossary) (Fiction/activity book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews