The Best Coding Books for Kids Aged 5-14

There’s no denying that encouraging children to learn a new skill is essential in their development and upbringing. It helps them develop passions and interests and stimulate their brain and help them progress as they grow up. There’s also no denying that coding is one of the best skills you can direct your children in.

Think of the modern world and realize how important coding is. If your kid is one who loves technology, teaching them to code could be exactly what they need. It’s professional. It’s creative. It’s exciting to build something out of nothing. This is what coding can achieve.

You may be thinking, really? Kids learning how to code? It may surprise you, but it’s actually extremely common for kids to start learning how to code at a young age, sometimes even as young as 5! If this is something you’re interested in, here are the books you’re going to need by your side.

My First Coding Book

Written by Kiki Prottsman, My First Coding Book is, well, exactly what you’d expect it to be. Written with five to seven-year-olds in mind, you don’t need a computer to implement this book’s lessons, but still holds many valuable lessons they’ll need to know.

There are introductions to everything, including variable factors and flowcharts, and even more complicated concepts like algorithms. Everything, however, is clearly presented and easy to pick up—an excellent reference book.

A Beginner’s Guide to Coding

Aimed towards kids between the ages of eight and ten, this book is a masterpiece. That may sound like a bold statement, but it’s written by Marc Scoot, who is the head of Curriculum Development over at Raspberry Pi, so that sounds already show what kind of level this book is at.

It’s really not difficult to follow along with this book, and it’s great for most children to just get stuck in whenever they want. The languages revolve around Scratch and Python, which are ideal for kids to start with, and are still widely used languages today in the modern software world!

Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding

Written by Linda Liukas, Hello Ruby is by far one of the most impressive coding books for children ever written. Written to be enjoyed and used by children as young as four-years-old, you don’t even need a computer to enjoy using this book.

The book is designed in a way that has plenty of pictures and coding activities to enjoy, all of which follows the main character Ruby through the art of storytelling. This is like an advanced children’s book that doesn’t go into much detail but is a fantastic introduction to the coding world.

Lift the Flap Computers and Coding

If you’re looking for a children’s book that’s for kids who are a little older, between the ages of eight and ten, then this is the book for you. This is a slightly more advanced book written by Rosie Dickens than the others I’ve mentioned on this list, but it is great if your kids want to read and learn at their own pace.

The language is ideal for kids to read on their own, but you can always be close by or get involved if you want. It’s completely up to you. There’s a ton of interactive content to get involved here, include pull-outs and, as the title suggests, flaps to lift and explore the inner workings of computers and coding.

A truly interactive experience your kids are going to love!

Coding Games in Scratch

It’s always a lot better if you can educate your kids in a way that they find fun. If your kids are happy learning something, it’s going to be much more effective at going, and they’ll be much more passionate about how they’re spending their time.

This is the exact approach Jon Woodcock has taken with his book. There’s no denying that kids these days love computer games, and this book is ideal if you want to give your children the opportunity to create their own.

It’s all made in Scratch, a programming language that even you can understand, and the Minecraft-like graphics are a great way to draw children in and make them want to keep going.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katherine Rundell is a coding writer at Ukwritings Reviews. She writes about Coding Books and helping children get the best start in life when it comes to nurturing a career in technology and learning how modern software works.