Books with author Patricia Harris

Lost on Hope Island: The Amazing Tale of the Little Goat Midwives is an adventure story without villains, zombies or fire-breathing dragons. The book asks the real question “What if I were shipwrecked -- could I survive?”A page-turner for young readers or a family read-a-loud-book, Lost on Hope Island will give fans of Harman’s previous USA Today best selling books an opportunity to discuss, with their children, the topics of birth, death, racial diversity, climate change, loneliness, courage, family and hope.

Coding was once an inaccessible activity for elementary students, but not any more. Scratch is an exciting and easy-to-learn coding program for people of all ages. Instead of lines of text, users code by dragging and dropping colorful, stackable blocks to create animations. With this colorful, intuitive, and simple application, even new Scratch users will begin to understand the logic behind coding in just minutes! Coding examples and photographs of age-appropriate students help readers feel at ease with STEM concepts. Sidebars and a graphic organizer help readers get the most out of this informative volume.

This detailed guide explores the historical development of algorithms and how they are used as a way of teaching computers to work through problems. Named for Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, modern algorithms and functions make programing more efficient. Algorithms are simplified for readers using words, flowcharts, and pseudo code to build a beginning understanding of algorithms and how they are used in our modern, computerized world. Young coders and STEM students are sure to strengthen their technical skills with an in-depth and fun exploration of this essential coding topic.

Usually we think of coding as something only trained experts and scientists can handle, but not any more thanks to programs like Python. First developed in 1991, Python uses lines of code, letters, and symbols, to create computer programs. Python is easier to read and takes fewer lines of code to accomplish tasks than some programming languages. Python’s creator, Guido van Rossum, wanted to create open-source software that used easy-to-understand coding text. His software allows even novice programmers to see results in a short amount of time. Vivid photographs, sidebars, and a graphic organizer help make this STEM-centric volume a dynamic learning experience.

This detailed guide explores the historical development of algorithms and how they are used as a way of teaching computers to work through problems. Named for Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, modern algorithms and functions make programing more efficient. Algorithms are simplified for readers using words, flowcharts, and pseudo code to build a beginning understanding of algorithms and how they are used in our modern, computerized world. Young coders and STEM students are sure to strengthen their technical skills with an in-depth and fun exploration of this essential coding topic.

No, it’s not dessert—it’s a tiny single-board computer for budding computer scientists to experiment with. This versatile product can be paired with simple coding software, such as Python and Ruby, enabling young scientists to create fun and useful computer devices. Readers will learn the history of Raspberry Pi™ and gain a basic understanding of computer programming through clear photographs and manageable text. Sidebars, captions, and a graphic organizer offer readers more chances to deepen their knowledge of this STEM-related topic. With accessories, Raspberry Pi™ can be used to create music players, digital picture frames, robots, and much more.Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Use of the Raspberry Pi name in this book does not imply a recommendation or endorsement of this title by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

George Boole, for whom Boolean logic is named, developed the idea of expressing any idea as a mathematical or logical statement. Today, Boolean logic is foundational to computer programs and computer hardware, but it is also important in our everyday thinking. This guide includes an overview of logic gates and a review of differences between computer logic and human logic. The author’s clever use of a famous movie line—“Lions and tigers and bears!”—truly helps make a potentially difficult topic easy to grasp for readers of all ages. Photographs, illustrations, and sidebars round out the educational experience.

In this volume, readers learn that early computers were housed in large rooms, and each individual circuit and part was separate from the others. Today, thanks to miniaturization, a whole computer system can be integratedor combinedon a single chip. An X-ray of a tablet reveals that most of the case is filled with batteries. The actual computer board is much smaller than most people would imagine. This book traces the development of integrated circuits and shows what they might make possible in the near future.