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Ruby and her friend Mouse imagine themselves on the inside of a computer in search of Cursor and discover its components, including bits, logic gates, and hardware. - (Baker & Taylor)

Ruby and her new friend, Mouse, embark on an imaginative journey through the insides of a computer in search of the missing Courser, in a creative story that introduces children to a computer's basic components. By the award-winning author of Hello Ruby. - (Baker & Taylor)

What exactly is a computer? How does it work? What is it made of? Learn all this and more with Ruby!

In Ruby's world anything is possible if you put your mind to it—even fixing her father's broken computer! Join Ruby and her new friend, Mouse, on an imaginative journey through the insides of a computer in search of the missing Cursor.

From bits and logic gates to computer hardware, in Journey Inside the Computer, Ruby (and her readers!) will learn the basic elements of the machines that power our world. Then future kid coders can put their knowledge and imaginations to work with fun activities.

Praise for Linda Liukas and the Hello Ruby series:

"[Linda Liukas] wants kids to understand and embrace basic computer logic, so that they later formulate code in the same effortless and creative way they build structures with LEGO." —The Wall Street Journal

"Hello Ruby by Linda Liukas is half picture book and half activity book rolled into one adorable package. What I love about it is that it introduces programming without requiring a computer at all." —GeekMom.com

- (McMillan Palgrave)

Welcome back to the world's most whimsical way to learn about technology and coding as a programming superstar introduces kids to the basic components of a computer through storytelling and imaginative activities. - (McMillan Palgrave)

Author Biography

Linda Liukas, author of Hello Ruby, is a programmer, storyteller, and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. She is a central figure in the world of programming who worked on edutech before it was even called that. Linda is the founder of Rails Girls, a global phenomenon teaching the basics of programming to young women all over the world. She has studied in business, design, and engineering at Aalto University and product engineering at Stanford University. She was selected as the 2013 Ruby Hero (the most notable prize within the Ruby programming community) and she's the Digital Champion of Finland, appointed by EU commissioner Neelie Kroes. - (McMillan Palgrave)

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Booklist Reviews

Ruby can do just about anything she sets her mind to, including beating her own boredom by playing on her father's computer. But when the mouse fails to work, Ruby and the computer mouse (transformed into an actual mouse) make themselves smaller à la Alice in Wonderland and fall down the "mouse holes" into the computer in a journey reminiscent of The Magic School Bus.Ruby then introduces readers to the inner workings of a computer with anthropomorphized versions of bits, logic gates, and software. In the second half of the book, activities and games expand on Ruby's journey by offering further explanations of computer components and inviting readers to make their own computers (albeit pretend ones made of paper and cardboard). Liukas' whimsical multimedia illustrations nicely balance entertaining storytelling with informative images. The entire package is incredibly accessible, interesting, and kid-friendly, and, since it focuses primarily on the fundamentals of what makes a computer rather than coding, it fills a much-needed niche in the world of computer-science books for children. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Simple chapters and whimsical color drawings relate Ruby's (Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding) attempt to use her father's computer. With help from the computer's talking mouse, she shrinks and explores the computer's components and finally locates the (fast asleep) missing cursor. The lengthy appended activity book contains instructive exercises that are often too complex for the intended audience--even with parental assistance. Glos. Copyright 2018 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 1–3—Liukas combines the picture book format with an activity book to introduce young readers to computers and programming. In the first half, main character Ruby shrinks and enters her dad's computer to see why the cursor isn't responding, tumbling into an Alice in Wonderland—esque adventure. In her quest, Ruby encounters bits, logic gates, the CPU and GPU, RAM, ROM, and software; she learns what part each of them play in the operation of the computer, and a little about their nature (the fact that bits "only talk in ones and zeroes"). Illustrations, done in Adobe Photoshop, depict the scenes inside the computer. Backgrounds in the areas Ruby explores resemble circuit boards or rows of binary code. Processors, memory cards, and other hardware scurry about on stick legs following CPU's orders. Activities in the book's second half prompt readers to assemble a paper model of a computer, go on a safari to identify computers, and even design their own operating system. An introduction to the characters at the front of the book explains basic functions and a glossary in the back defines useful terms. Sidebars offer advice for parents and educators. VERDICT A gentle introduction to the world of computers and associated vocabulary. Recommended for elementary libraries, STEM programs, and computer labs.—Suzanne Costner, Fairview Elementary School, Maryville, TN

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal.

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