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Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming Paperback – December 22, 2012

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,051 ratings

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Python is a powerful, expressive programming language that’s easy to learn and fun to use! But books about learning to program in Python can be kind of dull, gray, and boring, and that’s no fun for anyone.

Python for Kids brings Python to life and brings you (and your parents) into the world of programming. The ever-patient Jason R. Briggs will guide you through the basics as you experiment with unique (and often hilarious) example programs that feature ravenous monsters, secret agents, thieving ravens, and more. New terms are defined; code is colored, dissected, and explained; and quirky, full-color illustrations keep things on the lighter side.

Chapters end with programming puzzles designed to stretch your brain and strengthen your understanding. By the end of the book you’ll have programmed two complete games: a clone of the famous Pong and "Mr. Stick Man Races for the Exit"—a platform game with jumps, animation, and much more.

As you strike out on your programming adventure, you’ll learn how to:
–Use fundamental data structures like lists, tuples, and maps
–Organize and reuse your code with functions and modules
–Use control structures like loops and conditional statements
–Draw shapes and patterns with Python’s turtle module
–Create games, animations, and other graphical wonders with tkinter

Why should serious adults have all the fun?
Python for Kids is your ticket into the amazing world of computer programming.

For kids ages 10+ (and their parents)

The code in this book runs on almost anything: Windows, Mac, Linux, even an OLPC laptop or Raspberry Pi!

Discover teachers' picks. Discover%20teachers%27%20picks.

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Customer Reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
75
4.7 out of 5 stars
1,434
4.7 out of 5 stars
3,302
4.5 out of 5 stars
55
4.7 out of 5 stars
321
4.7 out of 5 stars
172
Price $21.49 $28.99 $22.04 $40.74 $30.74 $33.72
User experience level Beginner Beginner Beginner Beginners with prior programming experience Intermediate Intermediate
For readers who want A gentle, kid-friendly introduction to Python A fast-paced, thorough introduction to Python A practical guide to using Python for automating tedious tasks A thorough introduction to Python for existing programmers Bridges the gap between novice and professional Learn how to write powerful, efficient, and re-usable code.
Compatible with Python version Python 3 Python 3 Python 3 Python 3 Python 3.6 and higher Python 3
Special features Kid-friendly, full-color code and illustrations Covers Django, matplotlib and plotly, and pygame Covers working with files en masse, automating emails and texts, scraping the web, and more Covers syntax basics, functions, parallelism and debugging Covers decorators, generators, context managers, testing, and web development Covers modeling, pygame, inheritance, polymorphism, abstraction, and encapsulation
Page count 368 pages 552 pages 592 pages 752 pages 384 pages 416 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the Author: Top 5 Tips & Tricks for Beginning Programmers


1. Never try to understand a long piece of code (or a long program) in one go. Focus on a few statements at a time. If possible, try to take a smaller chunk of the code and run it yourself to see what it does. Experimenting is always good, even if it doesn’t work and you get weird error messages, you’ve learned something!

2. Try it yourself. Make sure you try out code examples for yourself (don’t just read about them). Trying something and running it, actually helps it stick in your head. Better yet, if you change things around to see what effect that has, you’ll learn and understand more.

3. If all else fails, sleep on it. Sometimes no amount of brain effort will get you past a difficult or complicated problem. Either you don’t understand something, or a piece of your code won’t work, and you can’t figure out why. If all else fails, try sleeping on it. Or, at the very least, leave it alone for a few hours, and come back to the problem later. When you come to something fresh, often the answer will appear.

4. Never type long sections of code directly into the Shell. In Python, either in the Shell (IDLE) or the Console, you can type and run statements directly and see what happens. But if you’re entering a longer program, either use a text editor or use the Shell’s editor (select File, then New in the Shell). That way you can save your file, run it, and come back and fiddle with the code without having to re-type everything.

5. Pick the right project. If you’re looking for something to put your new-found programming skills to use, don’t think Halo, or Uncharted, or Super Mario Galaxy or Assassins Creed. Don’t even think Angry Birds, or Pocket God, or Rolando. Think arcade games from the 1970’s and 1980’s—games like Galaxian, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and Frogger have simple graphics and basic game mechanics, which makes them great first projects for budding game developers.

Do an internet search for arcade games from that period. Take a look at some examples and then try to write something similar yourself. It’s much more satisfying to take a simple project and actually finish it, rather than a hugely ambitious, complicated project that you never get working.

Review

"By the end of the book you have a fully-functional platform game running, and most likely a head full of ideas about your next game…Python for Kids is just as good an introduction for adults learning to code."
—Geek.com

"An excellent introduction to programming for anyone interested in learning to program, regardless of their age. The material is extremely well organized and presented, and makes for a great resource for either home or school."
—GeekDad


"Despite the title, a fun book for all ages. The provides a clear, easy to follow, introduction to python programming. The content is easy to understand, the examples are clearly illustrated and straightforward."
—Technical YA, Best Books to Learn Python Language in 2021

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ No Starch Press; 1st edition (December 22, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1593274076
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1593274078
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years, from customers
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1070L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 6
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.9 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,051 ratings

About the author

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Jason R. Briggs
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Jason R Briggs grew up in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand, but for the last 17 years has divided his time between NZ, Thailand and England.

Which is entirely far too much time spent strapped inside a glorified tin can with wings.

He currently lives in England, in a small village just outside of London, where he spends much of his time grumbling about the weather... the people on the Underground... the distinct lack of anything resembling a proper antipodean lager.

You can find more information on his website: http://jasonrbriggs.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,051 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's introduction to programming clear and easy for beginners to understand. It explains concepts in an easy way for kids to learn on their own. The book is fun and appealing to kids, with funny examples that encourage them. They appreciate the effective examples and projects that build upon themselves. The book can also be used for adults as it covers Python basics without dragging you into advanced topics. Readers mention good pacing and consider it a great value.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

104 customers mention "Introduction"102 positive2 negative

Customers find the book's introduction to programming easy for kids to understand. It guides them step-by-step through various concepts and applications. Many consider it a great reference book and look forward to having their kids go through it.

"...One of the great challenges in teaching kids is shedding assumptions about language, knowledge, perspective etc. that adults take for granted...." Read more

"...Overall, great reference book and I look forward to having my kids go through this book in the years to come...." Read more

"...(The book has advice on installing Python on different operating systems as well, by the way.)..." Read more

"...It is well written, covers excellent topics and gives numerous examples for you to follow along...." Read more

74 customers mention "Programming knowledge"66 positive8 negative

Customers find the book's programming knowledge clear and easy to understand. They appreciate the down-to-earth approach that covers Python basics without getting bogged down. The effective examples and projects make learning programming fun and engaging. Readers mention the book quickly differentiates between programming at the command line and creating a file.

"...It takes 4 chapters (62 pages) to cover and about 260 lines. It has more complexity but most challenging thing is that for a lot of the code, you..." Read more

"...I think the gaming "angle" to learning a programming language is great. You have fun and you learn...." Read more

"...The first few chapters of the book are very well done, presenting concepts through examples that a kid can easily follow along with using a Python..." Read more

"...The book is very clear and is easy to work with. I am using it to learn Python and teach it to an advanced high school junior...." Read more

17 customers mention "Fun to read"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fun and engaging for kids. They appreciate the lively examples and find it helpful and amusing. The book is interesting and not boring, providing an immediate gratifying experience for children. It's a good summer read that kids can work on independently.

"...You have fun and you learn. I was like a little kid showing my 8 and 9 year old sons the games I had created. =_)..." Read more

"...It is fun to learn from this textbook and you can skip around as needed so you can get started quicker on writing a program that meets your own..." Read more

"...And this book can also be for grown ups. Its not boring, to me, and my friend, and many others, so I highly recommend this book...." Read more

"...projects and helped him make great strides in learning Python and having fun. It's really the only book he needs...." Read more

16 customers mention "Emphases"12 positive4 negative

Customers find the book's examples and projects helpful. They say it presents concepts clearly through easy-to-follow examples that kids can follow. The examples are inspiring and build upon one another, as opposed to a few dry ones.

"...The first few chapters of the book are very well done, presenting concepts through examples that a kid can easily follow along with using a Python..." Read more

"...It is well written, covers excellent topics and gives numerous examples for you to follow along...." Read more

"...It covers complicated tuples and data structures for pages long before it covers anything to do with user input. And guess what?..." Read more

"...It covers the basic Python statements and excises and a lot of examples...." Read more

7 customers mention "Adult content"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book suitable for adults and kids. It is suitable for beginners, including junior programmers.

"...And this book can also be for grown ups. Its not boring, to me, and my friend, and many others, so I highly recommend this book...." Read more

"Don't let the title fool you. This is a good book for anyone, kid or adult...." Read more

"...easiest first languages so it is ideal for the beginner and it is perfect for kids...." Read more

"Fits for first time junior programmer. Thank you." Read more

5 customers mention "Pacing"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing good so far. They finish about one chapter per day.

"...I also found the book to be paced well with a balance of challenge (concepts and coding tasks) and support (explanations and help)...." Read more

"...to have captured his interest much more and he has been finishing about one chapter per day." Read more

"...I am happy, so far. Well organized. Good pace. Well illustrated. Better than most out there. I recommend." Read more

"Great book, and good pacing so far. Haven't finished it, but so far s good." Read more

5 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They say it's a great purchase and fast shipping.

"...n't make it though the whole thing, but on the whole I think it was worth it...." Read more

"...Has helped me get through my Intro to programming class. The price is not bad and affordable which is really good because most good textbooks are at..." Read more

"Great product, great value, and fast shipping." Read more

"Even at 23, this book was a great buy. Really good introduction to programming." Read more

3 customers mention "Appeal to kids"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book appealing to kids. They say it's fun and has bright colors and a large font.

"...However the book is brightly coloured and in a large font...." Read more

"...The book may be fun and appealing to kids. It contains some cool stuff about python. It contains plenty of examples...." Read more

"Dazzle your grandkids..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2013
    This Fall, I plan to teach an after-school Python course at our local public school to 4th and 5th graders and I have selected "Python for Kids" to form the content. I had looked at a few books on teaching kids programming and on learning python and Jason Briggs' book stands out for several reasons.

    It makes programming and Python in particular accessible to kids with no experience with either. One of the great challenges in teaching kids is shedding assumptions about language, knowledge, perspective etc. that adults take for granted. Jason does this very well without talking down or dumbing down.

    I also found the book to be paced well with a balance of challenge (concepts and coding tasks) and support (explanations and help). When new terms or programming concepts arise, Jason makes sure to introduce them so nothing goes over your head.

    The first 12 chapters are a basic introduction to the language and to programming concepts and the last 6 take the reader through two programming tasks of increasing difficulty.

    The first task is the creation of a "Bounce!" game - it takes 2 chapters (21 pages) to teach and about 100 lines of code. It is a primitive "breakout/pong" style game and really a fair amount of payoff for the effort the budding programmer must put in.

    The second program is called "Mr. Stick Man Races for the Exit" and is a bit more advanced/involved. It takes 4 chapters (62 pages) to cover and about 260 lines. It has more complexity but most challenging thing is that for a lot of the code, you can not run it to check your work as you go. I had a bug in my code that took me a bit of effort to find before I got it working perfectly. However, Jason has a companion web site with all code snippets in the book including these last two projects and the code example he provided there helped my find the error I had made.

    I am very grateful to Jason for writing the book I was looking for.
    14 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2016
    [20160713 - Initial Review]

    I think the gaming "angle" to learning a programming language is great. You have fun and you learn. I was like a little kid showing my 8 and 9 year old sons the games I had created. =_)

    I enjoyed the idea of creating squares and circles and stars, etc, etc, as you can really get an idea of the using modules, classes, objects, functions and for me especially loops. I did stop at chapter 11 of 18. The first 11 chapters really helped me understand a lot about using python. I did not read through the remaining chapters because I don't need python for gaming in my work world but for file manipulation. I'm sure I'll be looking over the remaining chapters in the future if I need to reference some logic in those chapters that can help me. Overall, great reference book and I look forward to having my kids go through this book in the years to come.

    I'm looking to use the gaming angle again and have purchased Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, 3rd Edition.

    I've also purchased the following books to look over after Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, 3rd Edition:

    Python and Algorithmic Thinking for the Complete Beginner: Learn to Think Like a Programmer
    Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners
    Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science
    Data Science from Scratch: First Principles with Python

    P.S. No Starch Press covers are interesting. I kinda like that feeling, almost waxy!?
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Manjay
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice book for Kids
    Reviewed in India on December 2, 2023
    Its a simple language for kids, easy to understand by kids with great illustrations !!
  • Neil from NZ
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for kids
    Reviewed in Australia on October 9, 2022
    great book easy to follow
  • Yes Zenith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Thanks.
    Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2015
    Just received this book today. It is a gift to my 8.5-year-old nephew for his going to gift school later this year. He just loves this book so much and he has finished the reading of about one-sixth of this book in a couple of hours today. He has learned some fundamental knowledge of Python in the past weeks. So it is fun and pleasure for him to study this book. Thanks to the author Jason Briggs and also to Amazon.ca. Great book!
  • Emile
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book
    Reviewed in Germany on February 27, 2016
    I am an adult. Yet, I read a book like this. The reason for that is that most books assume that you have a rudimentary knowledge of programming. This book does not. And therefore it is a good introduction book to the Python programming language.
  • Seveno
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book... to get anyone of any age into programming..
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2015
    I have been trying to get to grips with programming for many years....I am 76 years old and this is the first book that has kept my interest and started me programming ...Thank you Mr Briggs
    One person found this helpful
    Report