JavaScript for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming

I saw some negative reviews from folks who bought this book for their kids who then struggled with the exercises. I can't speak to that specifically since I bought this book for my own Javascript education, but I will say this: as an adult who struggled to learn JavaScript, this book really opened things up for me. And as someone who has been trying to grasp JavaScript for awhile, I think I can offer some insight as to why it can be a difficult language to learn.First, in order to understand JavaScript well, you need to on some level be able to think like a programmer. I think it's possible that kids and adults without any previous programming experience can struggle to learn JavaScript for this reason. I picked up HTML and CSS fairly easily, but those languages don't require you to provide step-by-step instructions to a browser in the same level of detail. When you work in JavaScript, you are writing programs that need to be executed line-by-line, and since humans don't innately think like web browsers, it can be easy to get confused! (Actually, you're writing for a compiler that interprets the code for the computer, but that's a topic for another day.)Another reason why JavaScript can be a bit frustrating is the syntax can be a pain, especially if you're not used to it. The commands have to come in a specific order so the computer can understand them. In addition, there are a lot of parentheses, curly braces, and semi-colons, and if just one of them is out of place, the browser will return errors. Yes, this makes JavaScript a bit of a chore at first, but it gets more automatic with practice. Just like we all had to learn grammar, syntax, and punctuation in our native language in order to communicate clearly, we need to put in the time to learn the language of JavaScript.That said, I credit Nick Morgan and his book for helping me learn to think like a programmer. He explains each step of the code in plain English with numbered diagrams that are very easy to follow. Some of the challenges took me longer than I would have liked, but I don't consider that to be the fault of the book -- it's just because I am trying to learn something new. So for kids who want to learn JavaScript and continued to struggle with this book, I would encourage the parents to read this book along with their kids and guide them through the exercises until they've got the hang of it. They will learn to do fun things, like create random insult generators, a hangman game, and much more, but more importantly, they will be gaining skills that are in high demand. Nearly every web browser has JavaScript installed, and it is the most popular programming language in the world. Think about those implications for a second and the career options it will give them if they start early and learn to power through.Finally, I will offer one more suggestion for those who want to learn JavaScript but who continue to be frustrated. I am attending a web developer boot camp this fall with a concentration in JavaScript, and the course work starts out with PHP, which is a back-end programming language. My guess is that they will use PHP to help us get into the mindset of a programmer. For the C# track, the school I'm attending starts students out with Python. Both JavaScript and C# are C-based programming languages, and the school is starting us off with something else, and my guess is the reasons could include what I've described above -- the C-languages may be more difficult to learn for these reasons. So, for parents who would like to encourage their kids to power through JavaScript, maybe let them try out Python first since there is a book on Python for kids as well. I wish them the best of luck on their journey to learn to code.

This is a pretty good book. I actually got it for my 8 year old (almost 9) and he's been reading through it and doing some of the exercises.The coding itself is a bit awkward: you have to go into the debug window of the browser, and deal with things like having to use "Alt-Enter" and not being able to easily save your work. But I don't fault the authors: there is otherwise not an obvious first choice for Javascript development environment, and it's great that kids can see how to code right in almost any browser.

I bought this book two months ago and read it as well as typed all the examples to see how easy it is for kid(s) to follow. Even though, I am a software engineer I still wasn't clear in on how to introduce Javascript concepts (html, css...) in a simple way. This book is very helpful for any adult to teach their kids. All the concepts are introduced in a easy way starting from variables to functions and more, style step by step.I am very impressed the way the author introduced the concept of breaking the problem into components and then start coding. It was very easy for me to explain my son (13 yrs) the concept of animation and manipulating the timer and effects. I recommend this for any one who wants to teach their kids or a class on web development.I also feel this is more helpful for web development than some of the online tutorials for kids.

Helpful as an introduction for our autistic 9 year old in coding. Yesterday he was happy to make a simple animation, with Mom's help. Good book, overall.

I am in an intense coding boot camp, and this book has helped me SOOO much with getting a grasp on the basic concepts and properties of JavaScript. I also love it’s chapter on the DOM. The activities with each chapter are doable and make you feel great when you finish them, knowing you have made something and that you better understand the concept being taught. My only gripe is I wish it was bigger and covered more!

I've been struggling with JavaScript, so I was recommended this book. As an adult with zero knowledge of programming, this book is very easy to understand. It's fun, it explains all the topics, vocabulary in details and keeps you busy with exercises that get more complex each time. I don't know if the topic is easy for 10-year-old kids, but I'd say it's a great book for beginners.

My son is just 8 years old, but has tons of programming books and can even write his own simple programs. He loves Python, Microsoft Small Basic, Scratch 2.0 etc. The example of hitting a few buttons to get the Java console to magically appear in Chrome did not work. I was able to get it going by going under Tools-->Java console. It's stuff like that that I have to help "figure out", so we can keep programming. I also think the program in the first chapter is a bit complex, then the 2nd chapter goes back to super easy ones. I am almost ready to give up on this book, mind you I am in the computer field myself, and this feels like work using this book. I can imagine a parent who is not able to figure things out for their kid. I am struggling to like this book, but I haven't given up on it just yet. (it may happen very soon). As I said my son LOVES programming and he never says to return a programming book, but when I asked him he told me to "Return it". A better book for a beginner is "Help your kids with computer coding", which starts with Python and Scratch 2.0.

I bought this for a class. It’s pretty enjoyable to read and I’m sure it’s easier for kids to read and understand basics of programming. I will definitely keep this book for my kids in case they are interested.