Friday, December 1, 2017

Hello Ruby, Journey inside the Computer

Hello Ruby, Journey Inside the Computer
by Linda Liukas
96 pages; ages 4-8
Feiwel and Friends, 2017

theme: computers, technology

Ruby is a small girl with a huge imagination. Anything is possible if Ruby puts her mind to it. But today Ruby is bored.

Dad had promised that he would play with Ruby on the computer - but he isn't home. So Ruby decides she'll play with the computer by herself. But... the computer isn't working!

What I like about this book: Ruby falls into the computer like Alice falls into Wonderland. But Ruby's wonderland is full of bits and bytes, and she has to maneuver herself through a series of logic gates. She does have a trusty companion - a mouse - and meets many interesting characters along the way, such as CPU. And when things go wrong, Ruby has to do some troubleshooting.

Like the first book (Hello Ruby), the second half of this volume is an activity book jam-packed with things to do.

Beyond the book:
Crawl into a computer. In this video, author Linda Liukas explains how stories can help us understand the mechanics of a computer. That's why she made each component into a character in her story, to show how they interact with each other.

Play games with Ruby - Just head over to her website.

Read my interview with Linda (a couple years ago) over at Sally's Bookshelf.

And - Come back on Wednesday for some more coding and computer fun with the Wednesday Explorers Club! 

Today we're joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy from the publisher.

8 comments:

  1. Wow, it is so long, that intrigues me for this age group.

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  2. Very interesting and ingenious approach to teaching kids about computers. I, too, am surprised by its length for this age group. Perhaps it's best for the higher end of the range?

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  3. Now I am intrigued. I have to find this one. Thanks, Sue.

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  4. Oh wow! What an interesting book. I've never seen anything like this before.

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  5. What a unique book that is timely. It's a great way to interest and teach children about computers. Love the cover. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. This is certainly an interesting book. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Yes - it does seem long - but the first 40 pages are the story. The remaining pages make up the "activity" section

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