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I'm looking for a physical, printed book to teach children how to program, using Javascript as the teaching language.

The best question found about teaching programming in general is Best ways to teach a beginner to program, but that has a Python bias, and doesn't mention any Javascript focused books.

When I was a kid I had a book that explained how to program in BASIC, with child-friendly explanations and listings to type in as you went along. Surely these must still exist?

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Phil
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    I don't think Javascript is a great language to teach kids to code in. That said, BASIC was a mess too, and it was my first language. – Paul Sonier Jun 08 '11 at 19:44
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    What I think is nice about JavaScript (not that it doesn't have its problems) is that in the context of a web page there are a lot of "quick gratification" exercises to do. Now that we've got jsfiddle.net, it seems like some clever pre-arranged sandboxes could be constructed. – Pointy Jun 08 '11 at 19:48
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    Have you considered kid-specific languages/environments like Scratch or Kodu? I've had great results with those. – Craig Stuntz Jun 08 '11 at 19:49
  • Phil, just get the Children on the Computer. I'm 13. I Started learning Javascript at 11, and look what I can make with 2 years of practice: http://jsfiddle.net/shawn31313/BggPn/48/ :) I learned on several sites. There's many out there. – Shawn31313 Nov 24 '11 at 06:49

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Quote OP: I'm looking for a physical, printed book to teach children how to program, using Javascript as the teaching language.

Basic algebra is for children because many adults already know algebra. An adult that does not know basic algebra would also need to use the same book as a child, but does that make it a children's book or simply a "basic algebra" book?

When I was a child I was interested in Electrical Engineering and read plenty of books. Even the college level (101) books start with an assumption that you know nothing of the topic.

All that being said, what I think you need is just a good JavaScript book that starts out with the very basics. I honestly don't think you can get more "child-friendly" text than in any of the "for Dummies" series of books. They are truly written so even a child can understand.

JavaScript for Dummies 4th Edition

JavaScript and Ajax for Dummies

jQuery for Dummies

All JavaScript "for Dummies" books

Sparky
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  • The Amazon reviews for that book a pretty brutal http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0764576593/ref=rdr_ext_cr_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 – Phil Jun 09 '11 at 15:42
  • @Phil: The book you mentioned from Amazon also has many good reviews. Something to keep in mind regarding Amazon reviews... they consolidate all reviews from all editions. From the Dummies site: _"Responding to reader feedback, the author has **thoroughly revamped the book** with more step-by-step coverage of JavaScript basics"_ – Sparky Jun 09 '11 at 16:42
  • @Phil: That isn't the only book I suggested. The [second book](http://www.amazon.co.uk/JavaScript-Ajax-Dummies-Andy-Harris/dp/0470417994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307637747&sr=1-1) and the [third book](http://www.amazon.co.uk/JQuery-Dummies-Computers-Lynn-Beighley/dp/0470584459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307637848&sr=1-1) both have better reviews. The fourth link is to all the various Dummies titles relating to JavaScript. – Sparky Jun 09 '11 at 16:45
  • Thanks, I hadn't noticed that. I've got the books on order. – Phil Jun 10 '11 at 14:19
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A 'modern' approach is through free interactive lessons, such as this one by codecademy.com

http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/javascript

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