Over the summer, I've been looking for books and sites to create projects and competitions/challenges for students in my programming course and the school's coding club. Though some of the projects and the book's design might be tailored more to middle school students, this will be a resource I use for both the club and the course. I think it is great to give real, clear uses of the programming language as soon and as often as possible.

I've read a variety of coding books and websites of varying quality. This is a particularly good one. Coding books for children have a tendency to be simplified, often to the point that they are hardly useful. DK, though, has provided young readers with an in depth introduction. Explanations are clear. Loads of examples of the various coding principles. Even more importantly, the examples are more than just code. We're given concrete, applicable uses for these principles, how to use them for creating, say, a game. It's this direct application, not for a particular project (as web guides tend to have) but for a type of project. This is an excellent choice for any kid or adult looking to get started in Python.

{Excerpt} I’m actually super glad that I got to review this book. Yes it is geared towards kids, however, if you’re an adult with a child who likes computers and computer games, flipping through this would actually teach you a few things that you could show your kid that they would find interesting and then YOU could teach them instead of the book. This way you would understand what they were talking about when they get excited about other projects.

Read more at my blog!
http://southeastbymidwest.com/2017/07/book-review-coding-projects-in-python-by-dk-publishing/

I was caught by surprise when this beginner's guide to Python was aimed at children, but focused on syntactical issues rather than problem-solving. The authors assume that the readers will have some experience in using a programming language as a problem-solving tool. There is very little time spent on developing algorithms that can solve problems.

The first couple of chapters review python syntax. The rest of the book focuses on illustrating code for eight apps or games - but with little detail on how the solutions were developed. Added value is provided with a set of appendixes that provide all the code developed in the book, a glossary, and an index to all the features of python covered in the book. Lots of color and illustrations would make the book attractive to a child wishing to learn to program.

If the reader has prior training in developing algorithms and translating them into a programming language, this book might be of service. However, that is not likely to be a child. This is my first concern with this book. The other is the inclusion of syntax errors within the coding examples in the text. I did not test all the code, but did find one error on page 19 of Chapter 1 where a sample piece of code has an unmatched parenthesis.

The lack of instruction in creating algorithms and the presence of error(s) requires the need for an instructor to walk the student through the various samples provided in the book.

The book would serve as an ancillary text for a python course. The index and sample code would serve as excellent samples for the beginning programmer learning python. The book, however, is not suitable for teaching basic programming skills.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Excellent resource for beginners. Love the explicit step-by-step instructions with complimentary graphics.

I need this book, and I'm an adult. Coding is not my strong suit - SQL nearly broke me, and I've been hoping to get into Python, but the coding textbooks available to graduate students all assume prior experience with coding - prior experience I do not have. I needed a book that featured clear, simple, step-by-step explanations, and DK always delivers the best instruction guides. Coding Projects in Python is extremely helpful - I definitely recommend it to kids who are interested in coding, or adults who need an easy introduction to Python and who struggle with coding (like me).