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Books for Young Coders

A number of coding instruction books for kids are available, but what about fictional stories about kids who code? I take a look at two fictional book series for young coders that weave computer science concepts through tales of mystery, adventure, and teamwork. These books are great for older elementary students who love to read and are curious about technology. I’ve also thrown in a review of my favorite publisher of instruction books for budding coders.


Girls Who Code

In late August 2017, Girls Who Code, a non-profit organization, released a non-fiction coding book and the first two fiction books in a 13-book series. Book 1: The Friendship Code, written by Stacia Deutsch, takes Lucy, Sophia, Maya, and Erin through a cryptic mystery while they learn the value of persistence with coding and friendship.

Reshma Saujani, CEO & Founder of Girls Who Code, explains that it’s difficult for girls to envision themselves as computer scientists when they aren’t often portrayed in those roles. It’s hard to become someone you don’t see. The Girls Who Code organization hopes these new books for young girls will help change that image.


Learn more about the Girls Who Code books and where to buy them.

Secret Coders

My daughter enjoys reading graphic novels. We love reading the Secret Coders book series together! Like the books’ New York Times-Bestselling author and illustrator, Gene Luen Yang, I’m a fan of LOGO and BASIC programming languages. (I grew up on that stuff!)


Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes shove readers right into the mysteries of Hopper’s new school, Stately Academy. Along with Eni and Josh, the three coders stumble upon Little Guy, a robotic turtle, who leads them on a programming adventure.


Readers are encouraged to help the Secret Coders solve puzzles throughout the story that require computational and algorithmic thinking. The books themselves have a puzzling bird with four eyes that pops up at the start of each chapter. Eventually, the reader discovers binary code and understands the mystery behind the birds.

My daughter started explaining binary code to me after only a few chapters into the first book. We had a lot of fun with the story and puzzles. Even more activities, instructional videos, and coding puzzles are provided on the Secret Coders website.


Coding Instruction Books

I’ve shared my two favorite fiction book series for young coders. Now it’s time to look at some non-fiction books that help kids (young and old) learn code.

I highly recommend coding books by no starch press. They publish several books that make coding and computer science concepts accessible to young readers. Some of my favorite books in their catalogue include JavaScript for Kids by Nick Morgan and of course books by Al Sweigart, one of my favorite authors for kids’ coding books. I recommend checking out Sweigart’s Scratch Programming Playground and Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python (4th edition).

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