Raspberry PI – Python for Kids – A Playful Introduction to Programming

Python is a powerful, expressive programming language that's easy to learn and fun to use! But books about learning to program in Python can be kind of dull, gray, and boring, and that's no fun for anyone. Python for Kids - A Playful Introduction to Programming features original artwork by Miran Lipovača. The book is full color and over 344 pages.

Python for Kids brings Python to life and brings you (and your parents) into the world of programming. The ever-patient Jason R. Briggs will guide you through the basics as you experiment with unique (and often hilarious) example programs that feature ravenous monsters, secret agents, thieving ravens, and more. New terms are defined; code is colored, dissected, and explained; and quirky, full-color illustrations keep things on the lighter side.

Chapters end with programming puzzles designed to stretch your brain and strengthen your understanding. By the end of the book you'll have programmed two complete games: a clone of the famous Pong and "Mr. Stick Man Races for the Exit"—a platform game with jumps, animation, and much more.

As you strike out on your programming adventure, you'll learn how to:

• Use fundamental data structures like lists, tuples, and maps
• Organize and reuse your code with functions and modules
• Use control structures like loops and conditional statements
• Draw shapes and patterns with Python's turtle module
• Create games, animations, and other graphical wonders with tkinter

Table of Contents

• About the Author and Technical Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I: Learning to Program
  • Chapter 1: Not All Snakes Slither
  • Chapter 2: Calculations and Variables
  • Chapter 3: Strings, Lists, Tuples, and Maps
  • Chapter 4: Drawing with Turtles
  • Chapter 5: Asking Questions with if and else
  • Chapter 6: Going Loopy
  • Chapter 7: Recycling Your Code with Functions and Modules
  • Chapter 8: How to Use Classes and Objects
  • Chapter 9: Python's Built-In Functions
  • Chapter 10: Useful Python Modules
  • Chapter 11: More Turtle Graphics
  • Chapter 12: Using tkinter for Better Graphics
• Part II: Bounce!
  • Chapter 13: Beginning Your First Game: Bounce!
  • Chapter 14: Finishing Your First Game: Bounce!
• Part III: Mr. Stick Man Races for the Exit
  • Chapter 15: Creating Graphics for the Mr. Stick Man Game
  • Chapter 16: Developing the Mr. Stick Man Game
  • Chapter 17: Creating Mr. Stick Man
  • Chapter 18: Completing the Mr. Stick Man Game

About the Author

Jason Briggs has been a programmer since the age of eight, when he first learned BASIC on a Radio Shack TRS-80. Since then he has written software professionally as a developer and systems architect and served as Contributing Editor for Java Developer's Journal. His articles have appeared in JavaWorld, ONJava and ONLamp. Python for Kids is his first book.