Scratch Programming in easy steps Paperback – Illustrated, 13 Dec. 2019

Good book

My 10 year-old uses Scratch at school but she is left to explore by herself. This book has shown her what is possible, some ideas to copy and develop and some 'secrets' that she didn't know about. She took it to school and others in her class liked the book too.

Clear, well written and beautifully laid out book. My son is now learning how to code and create his own programmes. This turns screen time into real educational time about how computer programmes are created.

My youngest son (8) has been working with Scratch for a while at school and enjoying the process, but was getting frustrated at not being able to progress the way he wanted, my eldest (10) hadn't touched Scratch at all. Found Seans book through a friend at work and got a copy to see if I could help get the eldest into it and get younger one past his 'road-block'.The book is very clearly laid out and doesn't assume any prior knowledge. There are clear steps to progress code through the basic stages and simple follow-along projects. Anyone of a certain age who ever typed their way through pages of code in the back of 8-bit era magazines can rest assured these are simple enough to not get discouraged if things go awry, the diagrams and images used in the book are like-for-like to whats onscreen so you won't have to debug anything! Both boys have hugely enjoyed the book and have progressed well and are now looking forward to linking up with their Lego remote control kit.I'll let my eldest, Thomas, sum up his experience for you..."Hi I'm Thomas and I'm 10. I'm new to scratch. I would never of made such big and advanced bits of code without this book. I started of with trying to create space swarm (p 147-162) I struggled a bit but I eventually figured it out and now I have a working version of space swarm!I then decided to go 1 bigger by creating a game using physical computing but I found it tricky because I didn't have a sensing hat (no raspberry PI)! so I got as far as I could go and managed to figure out which bits of code I didn't need for it to work properly I created a separate game through the first steps of the chapter I called it Swat That Bat!Thank you so much for all of the great tips and how to get out of problems like how to score or how to create a game over. Now (thanks to the book) I think I'll be capable of creating my own game (I will definitely have the book at my side in case of any problems)!Thank you again. In fact I started scratch because my dad told me about this book. I would recommend this book to people who are new to scratch (like me) and/or want to improve their scratch skills."

I am helping students to understand the very basics of coding and I've found this text to be a great resource. Initially, I got the older version of text but lacking confidence in my ability to adapt the older (Scratch 1.4 / Scratch 2) programmes to Scratch 3, I bought the updated text. Am I pleased that I did, too!!!As a reach-for project text, it's super-helpful for someone like me who's still coming to terms with the platform. The screen shots and clear explanations are invaluable.One other thing, the fact that the projects each seem to fit perfectly into my one-hour online sessions without having to either stretch things out or rush through important concepts is a big big bonus. Thanks Sean!!!!

One of the great things about Scratch 3, I have come to learn from reading this book, is that you don’t only need a desktop computer, laptop or Raspberry Pi to run it. It can also be run on a tablet. However, not all features are able to run on a table solely using the touchscreen and the author of this book has taken this into account. Chapters, which require keyboard entry or are not touchscreen compatible are highlighted with a “Beware” sticker at the beginning.Each chapter increases in difficulty, building on the knowledge gained in previous chapters. However, due to the ease of understanding in this book, it is perfectly possible to dip in and out of chapters and not follow a completely linear path.I love the “Physical Computing with Scratch” chapter, not least because the “introducing Feeding Time” game has dinosaurs in it! I like how it guides you through using Scratch with micro:bit, as well as with HATs and the GPIO on the Raspberry Pi.Overall, the book is easy to read and follow, and is essential for anyone beginning their Scratch journey.

I've been running a not-for-profit organisation dedicated on providing digital making activities for 5 years now, and I run Scratch workshops sometimes with my organisation and this book is the perfect aid to this - will be recommending this to my attendees. It's got amazing projects, super easy to follow and is perfect for all.All I can say is... if you're already considering buying this book... just click that buy now button already.

Suitable for 7 year old