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.

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!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

A great way for anyone to learn more about coding. As an adult, I am completely useless when it comes to coding, but this helped me learn some of the basics. I'm sure kids will pick this up much faster than me :)

Coding and Computers is full of interesting information. Lisa Regan investigates the history of computing and makes reference to many notable people in this area. The book also investigates the impact that computers and coding have had on our lives It makes this subject fascinating and relevant. There is a useful glossary section and the pictures are bright and colourful. In my opinion, photographs would have made the book more accessible for some younger readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Arcturus for this ARC,

An interesting read, packed with lots of information, written in a very accessible format. The simple illustrations work well on the whole, although personally I would have much preferred to see photographs of the people and artefacts interspersed with them. I think there is plenty here to interest young readers.

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!

A very informative reference book on Coding and Computers by Lisa Regan and illustrated by Roy Hermelin.
As well as giving interesting and simple explanations into the history of computers; the word computer used to refer to a machine or a person that did complicated calculations, we learn about the people who's inventions gave us the world we live in today.
From Grace Hopper noting the first bug found in a computer (an actual moth!) to Tim Berners-Lee developing the Internet we discover the journey from punchcard run Jacquard looms in the weaving Industry to Bluetooth, SatNav and the smart phones we all use today.
I learnt a lot about coding and computer language development and now know what FLOP, FUZZY LOGIC and FILTER BUBBLE mean.
A valuable addition to any child's library.