6 Guides for Techie Kids
These kids today, with their Minecraft modding and their video game designing! Their creativity, dedication, and aptitude is astounding—given the right tools, is there anything they can’t do? These six books will encourage your budding techie’s curiosity and engagement; they’ll be making games, writing songs, and creating animations before you can say, “Hey…the villain in that game looks an awful lot like me.”
Getting Started with Raspberry Pi, by Richard Wentk
Get your kid a Raspberry Pi computer (which can be purchased in stores or online for under $50, because this is the amazing age we live in!) and prepare to be astonished as their imaginations run wild. This handy book will give kids a jumpstart, guiding them through four different projects which encourage them to create their own music, build their own websites, and create a game that combines Minecraft and Python.
Designing Digital Games, by Derek Breen
Playing video games is so two thousand and late, just like that saying. But designing video games? That’s a whole new frontier, and if you have video game enthusiasts at home, teaching them about game design is a great way to encourage their creativity (and help them build lifelong skills in the process). Young game designers can download the Scratch platform for free online, and this book uses three projects to help kids learn to build games with a variety of styles and themes, from ping pong to mazes.
Creating Digital Animations, by Derek Breen
Kids today: They get to do all the cool stuff that we didn’t get to do when we were their age—like creating their own characters and making them the stars of simple animations! Creating Digital Animations helps teach kids basic animation concepts using the free Scratch platform, so they can bring their own stories to life, including backgrounds and sound! Get off my lawn with your amazing homemade cartoons, whippersnappers!
Making YouTube Videos, by Nick Willoughby
Whether your kids are drama queens, young activists, or pint-sized mad scientists, their future is video. YouTube is where more than a billion people go to express themselves and connect with others. This exclusive book shows kids how to star in their own videos and post them online. There are tips and tricks on digital technology and ideas for creating content.
Getting Started with Coding, by Camille McCue
These days, kids are practically born knowing how to download an app or create a Vine, but the real power comes when they learn how to code. This is how ideas become everything from bestselling eBooks with augmented-reality features to 3D-printed prosthetic hands. This book introduces kids to the basics of coding. The simple activities encourage confidence and build a foundation of knowledge that give young coders the freedom to design any digi wonder they can dream of.
Modding Minecraft, by Sarah Guthals, Stephen Foster, and Lindsey Handley
Steampunk barn? Sure. Postapocalyptic submarine? Why not! A loop-de-loop castle in the sky? Build it, you crazy maker! The mega game Minecraft has been proven to improve abstract thinking, spatial reasoning, and creativity in players young and old. If the builders in your house are obsessed, they need a copy of this book. It’s packed with ideas and pro tips to help kids design their own totally unique mods.