Books with author Patricia Harris

Kids are starting to get it: Coding is fun and easy! Many elementary schools are stepping up and offering kids opportunities to learn about coding while having fun doing it. Coders as young as ten years old are learning to create their own apps, games, and animations. In this set, readers are introduced to skills and concepts essential to computational thinking and digital literacy, including algorithms, Boolean logic, and conditionals. Other titles discuss simulations and debugging programs. Manageable text paired with photographs of young kids using computers will show readers that coding isn’t just for professional scientists and engineers. Coding is for everyone!

Book 2 in the Lost on Hope Island: The Amazing Tale of the Little Goat Midwives series 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.

Why is having a choice important when it comes to both life and coding? How can coders include choices for the user? This book explains the concept of conditionals and introduces readers to the If/Then/Else concepta way to allow choices in computer programming. The book also explores several conditional statements from programming languages and talks about how we use conditional statements every day. Photographs and sidebars allow readers to deepen their understanding of the concept of conditionals.

When computer programming pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper discovered a moth causing problems in a mechanical computer, the term debugging was born. This book explores how fixing programming and hardware problems has developed into a critical process for computer programmers. The text includes case studies and examples of debugging tools. Readers are challenged to review a simple program with a problem, and to locate the bug. This provides young computer programmers the chance to see debugging skills in use. Photographs and sidebars help readers gain a solid comprehension of debugging skills and practices.

Why is having a choice important when it comes to both life and coding? How can coders include choices for the user? This book explains the concept of conditionals and introduces readers to the If/Then/Else concept—a way to allow choices in computer programming. The book also explores several conditional statements from programming languages and talks about how we use conditional statements every day. Photographs and sidebars allow readers to deepen their understanding of the concept of conditionals.

The Magic Misfits must stop the latest member of the Emerald Ring in the third magical book of Neil Patrick Harris's #1 New York Times bestselling series filled with fun and friendship!Theo Stein-Meyer loves being part of the Magic Misfits. Armed with his trusty violin bow, he completes the team with his levitation skills, unflappable calm, and proper manners. But when a girl named Emily begins to spend time with the group and the other Misfits grow suspicious, Theo is surprisingly drawn to her. She seems to understand the pull he feels between music and magic, family and friends.Then a famous ventriloquist arrives in town, and the Misfits are sure he (and his creepy dummy Daniel) are up to no good. With their mentor, Mr. Vernon, suddenly called away and tension simmering among the friends, will they be able to come together to stop this newest member of the mysterious Emerald Ring? It's time for Theo to make a choice about where -- and with whom -- he belongs.Join the Magic Misfits as they discover adventure, friendship, and more than a few hidden secrets in this unique and surprising series. Whether you're a long-time expert at illusion or simply a new fan of stage magic, hold on to your top hat!

Hopscotch is a block programming language designed for the Apple iPad and iPhone that makes learning about code accessible, exciting, and fun. Because coders drag blocks of code to write programs, they can learn the major concepts of coding without having to struggle with the syntax, special vocabulary, or even the typing of text required in text-based languages. In this instructive resource, coders will learn how to create drawings, simple animations, or games they can share with others, and they can have fun doing it.

Simulations help people understand large, complex problems using smaller, simpler models. This book delves into the history and thinking behind simulations. Readers will learn about Georg Leopold von Reiswitz’s development of a Kriegsspiel for military training, and other major developments. This volume also gives examples of ways that simulations can be useful, and discusses data sources. A concluding simple simulation will round out the learning experience, and encourage readers to create their own simulation. Sidebars and photographs accompany the text to aid readers in their exploration of simulations.

When computer programming pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper discovered a moth causing problems in a mechanical computer, the term debugging was born. This book explores how fixing programming and hardware problems has developed into a critical process for computer programmers. The text includes case studies and examples of debugging tools. Readers are challenged to review a simple program with a problem, and to locate the bug. This provides young computer programmers the chance to see debugging skills in use. Photographs and sidebars help readers gain a solid comprehension of debugging skills and practices.