I liked the integrity of the kids in this book. It's still not my favorite series, but I see how it can be valuable to young people. (To me, it is like a super-long computer story problem.)

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Secret Coders: Robots & Repeats is the fourth book in the Secret Coders series. Jumping in at the fourth book is probably not the best of plans if you are unfamiliar with coding at all. With respect to the storyline however, it was not a big distraction starting at the fourth book though I do recommend the young reader start from the beginning of the series.

I quite enjoyed how the concept of nesting was introduced along with a refresher on binary coding. A few stumbles but once the Coders thought about it (especially Hopper), they caught on and got the coding written correctly to accomplish their goal, which was trying to locate Hopper’s missing dad. I found Dr. One-Zero to be a palatable nemesis who in my mind, drove the Coders to learn and try harder to stop him in his nefarious ways.

The layout of the book is in a grid like manner and as such, very easy to read, geared towards a younger reader – the 8-12 age range. The colours used are basic: white, green and shades of grey and black and not distracting as to take away from the lessons being taught.

There is a cliffhanger, so reading the next in the series, Book 5 – Secret Coders: Potions & Parameters, would be the next logical step ☺

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

This 4th installment in the Secret Coders series by Gene Luen Yang & Mike Holmes was just as exciting as the first. Students in grades 3-6 will have fun with binary, coding, and a graphic novel mystery. As usual, this book ends in a cliff hanger. Highly recommended.

I love this series. As with the other books, the concepts of repeats in coding are explained in a way that is very easy to understand. I like that each chapter gives the reader a chance to solve the problem before revealing it and explaining how to debug their code. It's a great way to introduce the process.

Each volume of this series takes the plot in new and intriguing directions while still reinforcing the programming concepts. I like that each challenge either modifies code we've seen before or at least uses the same concepts. While its a slow way to learn effective programming, its a good way to subtly teach.

My students love this series. Book Four continues to move the story forward but for me personally, it didn't have quite the narrative arc I was hoping for. It will however leave readers wanting Book Five to come out ASAP!

The Coders are back! Dr. One-Zero is a bane to their existence, especially with his new "Advanced Chemistry" class, where he only teaches them to make Green Pop. Hopper's paired up with an obnoxious classmate who knows nothing about chemistry; Josh is fostering a kinda, sorta crush, and Eni's sisters are following him around the school, reporting his every move to his overprotective parents, who want him to cut all ties with his fellow Coders. The Coders are still working together, though, and make a new discovery: The Turtle of Light. They also discover someone they've been looking for: Hopper's dad, who's under the influence of the evil Green Pop! This fourth installment is still good fun and has more coding challenges for readers; most notably, working out pattern repeats. The fifth book, Potions and Parameters, is coming in March.

This is such a unique series. It brings mystery and adventure to learning how to code. The books build upon each other as they teach coding and the plot continues as well. Still on the search for her missing Dad, Hopper and the guys learn to put repeats within repeats into their coding along with learning how binary code and ASCII work. There are times in the story where it will ask you to write some code or guess what a given code will make. It would be great when this series is finished to publish a workbook to go along with it.

The evil One Zero has taken over the school as Principal One Zero! The Secret Coders have to figure out what he’s doing at school, use their growing coding skills to outwit him, and continue to look for Hooper’s dad.

Each new graphic novel in this series continues to build on the coding skills taught in the last one. This one gets into inset repeats and introduces ASCII. Of course, many readers are in it for the ongoing mystery of where Hooper’s dad is and how the Secret Coders can foil the evil plots of One Zero. There aren’t a lot of answers in this volume, the plot just continues to thicken! There’s a group of students at our school who just love the fun and the brain stimulation this series provides. They can’t wait for this one, and I don’t think they’ll be disappointed (though they’ll definitely finish and be eager for the next one).

I previously reviewed the first book in the Secret Coders series and found it to be fun, educational, and quite funny. This one was along a similar vein - fun, educational, funny. However I can't give this book many more stars than this - gentle, fun, good characters, but not super engaging or interesting for me. I think I will carry on with the series for now, but I think these books might be better off with kids or beginners to coding who are interested in learning more with a little humour alongside.

Hopper, Eni and Josh are back and still fighting Principal One-Zero. This time One-Zero is determined to split the team up, but the team has other plans to bad they didn't factor in robot ducks with teeth.

I find these some of the cutest coding books for kids that work on the fundamentals of coding and usually one or two things at a time. This book teaches about nesting and goes back and reinforces the binary code as well. It teaches code in a fun manner and one that can be repeated on paper if a computer is not available. Not to mention if your not quite into the coding part yet the storyline is still fun and action packed with lots of cliff hangers. This is just a awesome fun series and I have enjoyed reviewing, talking and suggesting these books to many of readers now for some time, and I hope I can continue.

The latest installment in this delightful series continues to deliver. It's a good blend of fun antics, adventure and learning. Coding is explained in easy to follow examples, and I appreciate that there are challenges for the kids to try coding before giving the solution. A good book I want to recommend to every kid who comes to our computer, maker or technology programs.

The Coders are back in action! The plot advanced well here and we might be getting closer to finding Hopper's dad! (Although at some point I'll have to re-read all of them together...I forgot all about what happened to Mr. Dean...) Of course much time is devoted to teaching code and binary, and I loved that once they got a code wrong and had to go back and fix it...a great lesson for kids to learn! As always, I was just getting into it when it came to an abrupt cliff hanging ending and I'll have to wait forever for the next one!

I feel like I missed what was happening because I didn't read the last book, but it is still a great book for kids!

I'm in the generation that grew up before coding was taught in schools, but since technology was everywhere and I love learning new things - I want to at least learn the basics. I initially picked these books up because Gene Luen Yang is a fantastic author, and I'll read any graphic novel he puts out. What I figured would be a cute, quick read turned out to be incredibly informative. What's even better is that I didn't feel like an idiot, or like I was being talked down to, while I was reading it. I know this series is made for kids, but honestly... I'd recommend this to anyone that likes comics/graphic novels and has an interest in coding.

Robots & Repeats is a great addition to the series, and it does well to reinforce what was taught in earlier volumes yet still bringing new and exciting stuff to the story. The art is both appealing and consistent - two very important qualities in a juvenile graphic novel.

I highly recommend the whole series for any library collection, and these would be a great addiction/display for any coding programs at the library.

More problem solving awaits the Coders. As the series progresses they gain new skills that help them on their adventure. I enjoy these books even though I know nothing about coding. It is a great way of introducing coding to kids in a very relatable manner.

Dr, One-Zero has gained control of the school and made a terrible change. He has cut all existing class periods in half and used the extra time in the day to require all students to take a chemistry course. The problem is that he has them doing the same experiment over and over - creating Green Pop! With Principal Dean at the hospital under observation, the kids decide it is time to use Mr. Bee's most powerful tool - the Turtle of Light to find a location marked on One-Zero's secret map and try to take him down for good. With everyone but Hopper's parents siding with Dr. One-Zero that the kids should not be allowed to spend time together, how will they pull off their big plan and save the school, the town, and Hopper's dad?

For kids who are interested in computers, robotics, and solving puzzles - this series is wonderful. It explains how each program works, then asks readers to think through what program is needed to solve the next problem. In this fourth book of the series, Mr. Bee shows them how to nest one repeat inside another within a program.

I really like this series and the more I read of his stuff, the more I appreciate Gene Luen Yang. Unfortunately, the newest Volume of Secret Coders fell a little short for me.

This volume, the kids are doing what they do best: Code. Dr. One Zero has taken over the school as principle and the children have finally found the "ultimate turtle". This volume, their friendship is in danger when they get caught sneaking around school. Still, Dr. One Zero is out there hatching evil plans. His newest? Well, it might be the clue to finding Hopper's dad . . . or it might be a trap.

My problem here is that almost nothing happens plotwise in this volume. In the previous volumes, there was a good mixture between code and plot, but this is almost all code and flimsy plot. I'm hoping that the next volume is better, or the climax comes soon, because I'm not sure how much longer Yang can stretch the plot here.

3 out of 5 stars

The trio coders are still trying to figure out the plan of the nefarious principal, Dr. One-Zero in this 4th installment of Secret Coders. This book teaches readers about the concept of Repeats in computer language. When the coders are caught trying to find a way to get into Dr. One-Zero's conference room, they have to employ what they learned about Repeats to get themselves out of a jam.

This is the fourth book in the Secret Coders series. I really don't think of these books as a series - more as chapters in a story. As I have said in previous reviews of the other Secret Coders books, there is no overlap AT ALL. This may be by design so that you must purchase the entire set if you want to be able to follow the story.

In this episode we learn about nested loops, and there is a portion where the kids get the code wrong, and we see how debugging works - a valuable lesson for anyone who is interested in coding in any depth. We also see the introduction of conflict between our main characters, or more correctly, their families, as they decide how much responsibility they have for stopping Dr. One-Zero. We are left with a cliffhanger coding challenge once again. . . to be continued.