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    Cover of Scratch Programming Playground

    Scratch Programming Playground

    Al Sweigart · 2016

    Programming
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    2recommend
    2mentions
    2people
    2018–2024years
    100% recommend

    Mentions per year

    2018201920202021202220232024

    What Hacker News says

    1. OscarTheGrinchJan 2024
      I'd start with Scratch. Lots of well meaning advice here but Scratch is still the best for kids to build code and quickly see the product dance on the screen. Quick iteration time is the key to building a feelings of accomplishment.

      We started with the book "Scratch Programming Playground" by Al Sweigart.

      Now we are doing youtube tutorials by Griffpatch. One of the latest is a simple 3D raycast Wolfenstein clone, which might interest your son. However I recommend a simpler jumping on point, like his Geometry Dash series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy4zsTUHwGJJnoXPSYlKQ...

      thread
    2. jchinJun 2018
      I've been compiling Scratch books and here are my (and my kids') favorites:

      - Coding for beginners using Scratch (Usborne)

      - Code Your Own Games!: 20 Games to Create with Scratch by Max Wainewright

      - Super Scratch Programming Adventure! by The LEAD Project

      - Coding Projects in Scratch by Jon Woodcock

      - Scratch Programming Playground by Al Sweigart

      The list above is roughly in order of difficulty. The first two books have spiral binding so they sit flat on the table. I found this to be immensely helpful when my kids first started to use the computer / do Scratch. They could focus on using the mouse and tap-tap-tap typing on the keyboard without losing the page.

      (edited for formatting)

      thread

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