Girl Code Revolution: Profiles and Projects to Inspire Coders

by Sheela Preuitt

Overview

This book is part how-to, part profile, and all about leading the girl code revolution! Discover step-by-step instructions for interesting projects and profiles of inspirational female coders and leaders who are breaking down barriers in STEM fields. Page Plus URLs inside the book take readers to fun coding projects online!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728408767
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

Sheela Preuitt enjoys writing nonfiction books on STEM topics for children. She is awed by the unfathomable magnitude of our universe and loves to share that admiration with the young readers through her books. She has a masters in Science Education, a masters in Computer Science, and ten published books.

Editorial Reviews

"This will be a welcome resource for neophyte coders, including parents."—Booklist

From the Publisher

10/01/2020

Gr 4–6—This guide spotlights computer coders and basic coding projects. Each short chapter begins with a profile of a woman who has contributed to the development and expansion of computer code, followed by two pages of a simple coding project. The projects teach basic coding, such as how to change the color of an image, move a drawing, or add emojis. Colorful pages with text boxes and bubbles are appealing. However, the text does not give nearly enough background information or instructional detail for readers to understand what they are doing. While the profiles provide some history, they do not explain the programming language used. JavaScript is named but not explained as the programming language (along with HTML and CSS) used to create web pages. Also, the instructional language assumes learners are equipped with prior math and computer knowledge, though the projects are for beginners. While there is a glossary, readers may still have questions. The source notes cite articles about the women profiled but do not provide resources for further coding study. VERDICT This brief book offers a great concept but is lacking in thorough explanations and robust resources.—Katherine Rao, Palos Verdes Lib. Dist., CA

School Library Journal

2020-09-29
A combination collective biography of women in computer science and JavaScript workbook.

After opening on an upbeat note, highlighting women’s historical roles in software development, the book then falls back on the dated trope of hammering in that these women were bucking sexism (“They loved what they did, and they did it well, disproving stereotypes that women were not suited for careers in STEM”), a defensive stance that won’t resonate with modern girls, who find a world of STEM toys catered just for them. Alternating double-page spreads offer profiles of female computer science pioneers, from such standards as Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper to influential scientists of color, like Annie Easley, Tracy Chou, and Lyndsey Scott—though some readers might not be impressed that her billing of “Top Model and App Developer” places beauty before brains. These are interleaved with JavaScript projects on manipulating images and videos, using a tie-in website hosted by Vidcode, a women-founded coding curriculum. The text’s instructions are often vague, with poorly defined terms—readers must use it while on the website. Unfortunately, the website also offers instructions that frequently don’t align with the book and miscalculates a beginner’s background knowledge. The result is needlessly fussy and likely to push kids to rely heavily on copy-and-paste or transcribing the book’s example code—if they don’t just give up.

Despite valuable profiles of individuals, more an exercise in frustration than coding. (source notes, glossary, about Vidcode, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews