How to Code a Rollercoaster
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Girl and robot use coding ideas to navigate amusement park.
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What's the Story?
In HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Pearl ad her robot, Pascal, go to an amusement park called Gigaworld, intent on riding the Python rollercoaster. She figures applying coding concepts like "varible" and "value" will help her keep track of her tokens so she won't run out of them before she gets to the Python. But she keeps choosing to do other things -- go on rides, buy snacks, play games -- and using them up along the way. She realizes she's down to one token and needs two to ride the coaster. What will she do?
Is It Any Good?
This lively picture book shows how using computer coding concepts can help you analyze a problem and apply a strategy to solve it. In the case of How to Code a Rollercoaster, the issue is keeping enough tokens so you'll be able to ride the rollercoaster by the end of your day at an amusement park. The concepts and vocabulary are sophisticated and my be hard for some kids to grasp, but Josh Funk's explanations are clear. Simple subtraction would accomplish the same goal, but this fun intro to coding adds appeal for tech-minded readers. And Sara Palcio's charming, zippy illustrations are a delight.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the coding concepts and steps in How to Code a Rollercoaster. Do you feel like you get what coding is about? Do you think you might like to be a coder someday?
Do you think it would be fun to have a robot to go on adventures and solve problems with? What adventures can you imagine?
Pearls almost uses up all her tokens before she gets to the rollercoaster ride. How coudl she have managed her tokens better? Have you ever had to manage tokens, tickets, or coins to make sure you had enough to last all day? How did you keep track?
Book Details
- Author: Josh Funk
- Illustrator: Sara Palacios
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: STEM , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: September 24, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 44
- Available on: Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: April 8, 2020
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