Nothing Loopy about This: What Are Loops and Conditionals? by Brian P. Cleary, Martin Goneau
Published by Millbrook Press (Tm) on January 1, 2019
ISBN: 1541533070
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

This playful picture book geared for younger elementary students introduces two basic but essential fundamentals of computer programming: loops and conditionals. For adults that need a mini-lesson, a loop is a repeating set of instructions, and a conditional tells a program to do something if a situation is true, and another if it is false. As kids are increasingly exposed to introductory programming through curriculum and games, it is the hope that they are laying down the groundwork for coding literacy. This simple introduction helps reinforce the concepts that kids are likely already using if they are playing with Scratch, Alice, or other programming languages for kids. The information is presented in a rhyming format with fun illustrations, such as a robot using a loop to frost thirty cupcakes or a teacher using a conditional to decide if recess will be held indoors or outdoors. This would be a great read-aloud to integrate into coding curriculum. Recommended for grades K-2.

Reviewed by Kat Luedke, Long Island Community Library