cover image Baby Loves Coding!

Baby Loves Coding!

Ruth Spiro, illus. by Irene Chan. Charlesbridge, $8.99 (20p) ISBN 978-1-58089-884-3

A baby with big eyes, dressed as an engineer, plays with a colorful toy train set. When Baby sees that the red car is missing from the track and spies it in the toy box, she takes “Three steps to the right, three steps forward, and three steps to the left. Then baby takes three steps all by herself.” Each time Baby walks to the toy box, Spiro explains, it’s the same pattern—and that pattern is called an algorithm. The train, specifically the tiny computer in its engine, also follows an algorithm, this one created by a programmer. Chan creates a lively environment, with citrus shades offset by cooler tones. While its audience may not be quite ready to pick up a Python manual, this addition to the Baby Loves Science series introduces a few transferable concepts (ordering, cause and effect, pattern recognition) clearly and accessibly. Ages up to 3. [em](June) [/em]