It's time to enrol in Coder Academy!

31 October 2017


As you might have seen, my new book Coder Academy is out now. The book is mostly based on Scratch, the free coding language popular in schools. There's also a chapter about coding a web page.

photo of a box with four copies of the book artistically arranged in it

I was excited to get my author copies!

Aimed at children aged 7-10 years old, the book uses a mixture of on-the-page and on-the-screen activities. For example, there's a section where you use the stickers in the back of the book to design a sprite, and see how to make it in Scratch. There's also a pattern to complete in the book that you turn into a tune in Scratch.

In the back of the book is a poster, a coding pairs card game, press-out paper robots to assemble, and stickers for designing sprites and marking your progress through the book.

Photo of the Coder Academy board game, robots, poster, sticker sheet, and Coding Pairs cards

Coder Academy comes with press-out robots, a poster, sticker sheet and Coding Pairs game

I'm delighted with how the book has been received. How It Works magazine gave it a five-star review and said: "The need for youngsters to become coder-savvy is as important as ever. For those seeking to inspire the next generation to go down this important path, Coder Academy would make a most welcome addition to the bookshelf. Coder Academy... transforms a typically dry subject into something much more palatable through informative and enjoyable activities."

The Week Junior made it book of the week and said: "If you're looking to code for the first time, then this book is the perfect way to get started."

LoveReading4Kids made it non-fiction book of the month and said: "This well-designed, interactive workbook provides a really good introduction to coding for children. It breaks it down into fun, step by step exercises and each bright, visually attractive page sets children tasks to do, with sticker rewards when they get the answers right... As the author himself has said, coding is highly creative, and even without the press out robots on the end pages, this is a fun, appealing and stimulating approach to one of the key skills of the 21st century."

TechAgeKids wrote: "Coder Academy is a fantastic activity book for tech-loving kids and would appeal to children from age 6 and up... We love the combination of coding, craft and design. Coder Academy would appeal to children with a wide range of interests and who are new to coding."

Parents in Touch wrote: "With extras at the back of the book including a game, a pull-out poster, stickers, and even a robot model to press out and make, this is the must-have book for any future junior coders. It's straightforward and does not require any previous knowledge. Ideal for coding clubs in school as well as for home use."

Thank you to all those publications and everyone else who has written a review or is otherwise helping to spread the word. Visit my Coder Academy mini-site for a free sample chapter, a Scratch sprite pack, desktop wallpaper, bonus content and more. You can find links to order the book here.

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© Sean McManus. All rights reserved.

Visit www.sean.co.uk for free chapters from Sean's coding books (including Mission Python, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps and Coder Academy) and more!

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