Lauren Ipsum
by Carlos Bueno · first published 2014
84% recommend16% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Alice in Wonderland-style fantasy adventure that teaches computer science and abstract thinking mostly through story, with brief explanations. Works as a read-aloud for kids, and adults enjoy it too.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Lauren, a clever girl lost in Userland, applies logic and problem solving skills to find her way home, encountering along the way such concepts as timing attacks, algorithm design, and the traveling salesman problem.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…She is now working out the story to go with it and will begin putting it all into scratch soon. I can't wait to see what she comes up with! EDIT: Forgot the link for [0]! [0] http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Ipsum-Carlos-Bueno/dp/146117818...
on “Teaching my 10 year old niece how to program.” ↗Huge upvote for Carlos Bueno's Lauren Ipsum (aka HN'er aristus). I first heard about this book on HN (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2144526), when it was just a few chapters. I read them to my daughter, Laurel. She thought it was soooo cool…
on “Teaching is Compression” ↗Carlos Bueno's Lauren Ipsum (http://www.laurenipsum.org) is probably the next best thing.
on “Ask HN: What book(s) do you wish existed?” ↗Since this is HN, Lauren Ipsum by Carlos Bueno. I read it to my kid and we both loved it. Don’t remember how old was she though.
on “Ask HN: Books your kids like most” ↗I seriously nominate Lauren Ipsum by Carlos Bueno as a _better_ Alice story. It's exlipictly about CS, but is also chock full of math, philosophy and some life advice. It's almost a GEB for kids.
on “If you could only have one programming book on bookshelf what would it be?” ↗How old is she? Lauren Ipsum from NoStarch press was a good read if you are interested in the topics. I think they also sell Python flash cards, don’t know how much experience you’d need for them to be useful.
on “Ask HN: Learning How to Program Offline” ↗A paperback copy of Lauren Ipsum [1]. It's sort of like Alice in Wonderland for the 21st century. On the surface it's a fantasy adventure, but the dialog and situations teach the reader about the joys of abstract thinking. Seven years…
on “Ask HN: What are the best educational gifts for kids?” ↗In a similar vein is Lauren Ipsum (http://www.laurenipsum.org/). Technically it's for kids, but I'm an adult and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
on “A is for Array - ABC Book for Kids” ↗in a similar vein, I highly recommend people check out "Mostly Lost: Lauren Ipsum - A story about computer science and other improbable things." [1] [1] http://www.laurenipsum.org/mostly-lost
on “Linda Liukas' Programming book for Children has Huge First Day on Kickstarter” ↗You ought to read Lauren Ipsum sometime. Most of the book is taken up by story; the actual explanations of each concept takes very little space.
on “Linda Liukas' Programming book for Children has Huge First Day on Kickstarter” ↗This looks like a great project! I'd also remind people about HN user aristus' Lauren Ipsum book (http://www.laurenipsum.org/) for kids. Every one you buy he donates one to schools, etc.
on “Linda Liukas' Programming book for Children has Huge First Day on Kickstarter” ↗I was about to recommend this. +1 for Lauren Ipsum. I'm also working on my own programming based fantasy story. Will definitely post up on HN when it's done.
on “Explaining Programming to Six-Year-Olds” ↗…computers books for kids: "A is for Array" "Lift-the-Flap Computers and Coding" "Computational Fairy Tales" "Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding" "Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction To Programming" "Lauren Ipsum: A Story About Computer Science and Other Improbable Things" "Rosie Revere, Engineer" "Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine" "HTML for Babies: Volume 1 of Web Design for Babies" "What Do You…
on “A Hacker Writes a Children's Book” ↗Love your book btw. I was scrolling down to see if someone had already suggested it. PS. One of my favorite excerpts from Lauren Ipsum: `That's how it starts. A little Jargon doesn't look like much. Some people even keep them as pets. But they form packs, and they are very dangerous.`
on “Ask HN: Help me weave in STEM topics for a children's book” ↗She is an adult. Lauren Ipsum is a cute book though. I'll have to remember that one.
on “Ask HN: Learning How to Program Offline” ↗