djotaku's review against another edition
5.0
This year one of my goals was to learn a new programming language. Ruby is supposed to be pretty easy for beginners so I figured it'd probably end up being a snap for someone like me who's been programming for a while. The only book I happened to already own was this kids' book that I had bought for my kids. They haven't yet wanted to use it (although they've gotten into Scratch)k but it worked fine for me. Indeed it was, and I couldn't help making comparisons between Ruby and Python the whole time. The two languages are incredibly similar. Ruby clearly seems to be inspired by Perl, but is still a lot more readable as almost plain English. (Although some of the shortcut refactorings can be pretty hard to get if you're not a Ruby person)
So what about the book? I've come away convinced that for nearly any kids' programming book, a story format is a wonderful way to teach programming. It's doesn't feel like a textbook and it gives the student some useful (if fanciful) problems that can be solved by the code. Frankly, I wouldn't mind an adult programming book with a story as a framing device. I wonder if there's a way to do it without being tongue-in-cheek, though. The only other type of programming book that I really love for a first-timer is a project-based book. That shows you real code. It's the difference between the new "conversational" approaches to learning human languages vs the phrase-book learning from when I was a kid (eg "¿Donde esta la biblioteca?" Great for all those times you go to another country to go to the library....)
If you have anyone young (or young at heart) in your life who is old enough to read and type on the computer, I think this is a GREAT first programming book. And, since my entire career has been programming and managing programmers, let me assure you that if you learn programming principles in any language - it's transferable to any other.
So what about the book? I've come away convinced that for nearly any kids' programming book, a story format is a wonderful way to teach programming. It's doesn't feel like a textbook and it gives the student some useful (if fanciful) problems that can be solved by the code. Frankly, I wouldn't mind an adult programming book with a story as a framing device. I wonder if there's a way to do it without being tongue-in-cheek, though. The only other type of programming book that I really love for a first-timer is a project-based book. That shows you real code. It's the difference between the new "conversational" approaches to learning human languages vs the phrase-book learning from when I was a kid (eg "¿Donde esta la biblioteca?" Great for all those times you go to another country to go to the library....)
If you have anyone young (or young at heart) in your life who is old enough to read and type on the computer, I think this is a GREAT first programming book. And, since my entire career has been programming and managing programmers, let me assure you that if you learn programming principles in any language - it's transferable to any other.
cheesepuppy's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
5.0
A great story-based way to learn Ruby. I’m an adult and this is my second programming language. I really like the format of this book. It was great to have a story and then write some code that goes with that part of the story.
This is so so much better than learning with math and fake variables like foo and bar. Concepts were explained multiples times and in different ways. I really appreciated the repetition.
This is so so much better than learning with math and fake variables like foo and bar. Concepts were explained multiples times and in different ways. I really appreciated the repetition.
joliendelandsheer's review
4.0
Review on my blog The Fictional Reader
As with JavaScript for Kids, I had no previous knowledge about programming and Ruby. I don’t think I’d ever used it and I sure didn’t know where to start. Ruby Wizardry is an amazing beginner’s guide to programming for kids. I do feel like this is much more kid-friendly than JavaScript for Kids. You’re taught how to work with Ruby through use of a story.
It starts with these two kids who help the King find his string necklace, which is where you learn about strings. Then a pipe in his castle bursts. Then you use a train to go to a breakfast restaurant and the train is stuck in a loop. Every single time they encounter a problem, which they then solve with use of Ruby. It’s a really interesting way to learn, because it keeps you -especially kids- involved in the story. And at the end of every chapter, they revise what you’ve learned so far.
This is a really kid-friendly way of learning, and it’s a thorough guide as well! I truly learned a lot while going through this. It also gives you links if you need to download something and helps you start up Ruby. If you ever want to teach your kids how to program, I feel like this would be the perfect way!
★★★ ½
As with JavaScript for Kids, I had no previous knowledge about programming and Ruby. I don’t think I’d ever used it and I sure didn’t know where to start. Ruby Wizardry is an amazing beginner’s guide to programming for kids. I do feel like this is much more kid-friendly than JavaScript for Kids. You’re taught how to work with Ruby through use of a story.
It starts with these two kids who help the King find his string necklace, which is where you learn about strings. Then a pipe in his castle bursts. Then you use a train to go to a breakfast restaurant and the train is stuck in a loop. Every single time they encounter a problem, which they then solve with use of Ruby. It’s a really interesting way to learn, because it keeps you -especially kids- involved in the story. And at the end of every chapter, they revise what you’ve learned so far.
This is a really kid-friendly way of learning, and it’s a thorough guide as well! I truly learned a lot while going through this. It also gives you links if you need to download something and helps you start up Ruby. If you ever want to teach your kids how to program, I feel like this would be the perfect way!
★★★ ½
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