Ava in Code Land

April 15, 2020
Preschool-G Ava thrives in Code Land, where she creates fun levels such as Breakfast Roller Coaster and Birthday Every Day. She loves Pixels, a cat who shape-shifts into things that scare him (such as stripy underpants). Her world is perfect except for Max Hacksalot, who rides on a magical pirate unicorn, breaking Ava's code. Ava patiently fixes the broken code, but when Max traps her in the Game Over screen, she feels defeated. However, concern for Pixels inspires Ava to create a fantastic new level: Cake Galaxy! This book introduces readers to coding syntax in context (e.g., Sky.color = "purple"). The illustrations depict a charming world of cupcakes and coins, and their jaunty style complements this lighthearted story. The numbers at the top left of the page seem to indicate game points but may confuse the reader because of their handwritten look. Another distraction is Ava's keyboard, which is missing keys that correspond to her code. This would be a fun read-aloud for young gamers and would pair well with a beginning coding class.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)