{"id":12800,"date":"2018-10-01T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/?p=12800"},"modified":"2021-09-24T00:19:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T04:19:35","slug":"writing-baby-code-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/","title":{"rendered":"The Baby Code!<\/i> Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was first contacted by Penguin about writing a board books series in partnership with the nonprofit organization Girls Who Code<\/a>, I thought, \u201cIs it possible to introduce coding to babies?\u201d Writing a board book with only 14 pages doesn\u2019t sound that<\/em> difficult, but writing a board book about coding? Do I even know enough about the topic?<\/p>\n

Although I am a children\u2019s author and library director now, in my 20s I worked for a small software company, and then for IBM. I wasn\u2019t a programmer, but I worked closely with people writing code. My job was to test the software \u2014 I would go back and forth with the programmers until the software was ready for users to test. I understand the basics of coding, so I should be able to write board books about it, right?<\/p>\n

It turns out knowing enough was only part of the challenge \u2014 the main issue was figuring out what approach to take. When I wrote my first draft, it ended up explaining what a computer is because I thought I couldn\u2019t introduce coding without it. Well, it took an entire book to explain the computer\u2019s hardware, and I hadn\u2019t even used the word \u201ccode\u201d in the text! I got feedback from my editorial team to try and focus more on simpler, specific aspects of coding, so I wrote a draft called \u201cBaby Learns Loops,\u201d which tackled a core coding concept. But no matter how I framed it, the concept felt too big and difficult for a board book.<\/p>\n

My editorial team suggested I try focusing on computer applications instead (how computers are used in everyday tasks), and ways that a computer affects a baby\u2019s life. That\u2019s what finally led to my first draft of Baby Code!<\/a><\/em>, more than a month after I had started the project. Yes, crafting 14 sentences took more than a month. (It also took much patience from my wonderful critique group who gave me feedback on every<\/em> version. Thank you, ladies!)<\/p>\n

After all that effort, will a baby understand coding when an adult reads Baby Code!<\/em> aloud? Of course not. Yes, there are real code snippets incorporated into the book to give a feel for actual coding \u2014 but they don\u2019t need to be read for the narrative to work. And just like no one expects a baby to suddenly learn to read words, no one should expect a baby to learn code. The purpose of these books is to introduce the concept of coding in a way that relates to a baby\u2019s world. The reality is that many babies are exposed to computers from the minute they are born. Think of all the complicated equipment in the hospital at birth, and of how many parents and grandparents take photos of their newborns with smartphones \u2014 most babies encounter computers from their very first day of life!<\/p>\n

While a baby might not understand technology, she quickly learns how to work with it. As soon as my nephew could say a few words, he would yell, \u201cWake!\u201d directly into his baby monitor. He understood that the monitor somehow communicated with his parents. These board books feature computers that babies interact with on a daily basis. The code behind the computers is what allows the computer to interact with a person. I believe young children (and these books are for toddlers, too) can grasp the idea that a person can tell a computer what to do \u2014 and that\u2019s coding!<\/p>\n

Whether a little reader understands the concept of coding or not, it\u2019s worth reading these books to her \u2014 along with many other books, of course \u2014 because reading to a baby boosts her brain power and helps prepare her for reading on her own one day. So grab a Baby Code!<\/em> book and enjoy reading it with a child. The seed to understanding the concept of coding might be planted along the way.<\/p>\n

yes yes Get the Books: 9780399542572 Baby Code!<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/537736\/baby-code-by-sandra-horning-illustrated-by-melissa-crowton\/9781524789428\/ by Sandra Horning, illustrated by Melissa Crowton 9781524789442 Baby Code! Art<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/537738\/baby-code-art-by-sandra-horning-illustrated-by-melissa-crowton\/ by Sandra Horning, illustrated by Melissa Crowton 9781524789466 Baby Code! Music<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/537737\/baby-code-music-by-sandra-horning-illustrated-by-melissa-crowton\/ by Sandra Horning, illustrated by Melissa Crowton 9781524789480 Baby Code! Play<\/i> https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/537739\/baby-code-play-by-sandra-horning-illustrated-by-melissa-crowton\/ by Sandra Horning, illustrated by Melissa Crowton <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!<\/i>, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[52,89,173,241,627,803],"coauthors":[1123],"class_list":["post-12800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-board-books","tag-science","tag-author-voices","tag-baby-books","tag-stem","tag-coding","ages_stages-baby-toddler","ages_stages-pre-k"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World | Brightly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World | Brightly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brightly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-01T13:00:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-24T04:19:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.readbrightly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/baby-code-feat.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"607\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandra Horning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandra Horning\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World | Brightly","description":"When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.","canonical":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World | Brightly","og_description":"When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/","og_site_name":"Brightly","article_published_time":"2018-10-01T13:00:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-24T04:19:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":850,"height":607,"url":"https:\/\/assets.readbrightly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/baby-code-feat.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sandra Horning","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sandra Horning","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/","url":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/","name":"The Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World | Brightly","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.readbrightly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/baby-code-feat.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-01T13:00:06+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-24T04:19:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d66412ae4edc023f9a009a9c2dc4d3d6"},"description":"When author Sandra Horning shares what it was like to write Baby Code!, a 14-page board book that introduces basic concepts of coding to the littles of readers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.readbrightly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/baby-code-feat.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.readbrightly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/baby-code-feat.jpg","width":850,"height":607},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/writing-baby-code-series\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Baby Code! Series Relates Coding to a Child\u2019s World"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/","name":"Brightly","description":"Reading Is the Just the Beginning","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d66412ae4edc023f9a009a9c2dc4d3d6","name":"Jennifer Clare","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2348705ca7dfb856355c2ce836eaceef","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/118090b9fc01e77f84ae9dc424fa5d74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/118090b9fc01e77f84ae9dc424fa5d74?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jennifer Clare"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/penguinrandomhouse.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/contributor\/jclare\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12800"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.readbrightly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}