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Computational Fairy Tales Paperback – June 26, 2012

by Jeremy Kubica (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 235 ratings
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Have you ever thought that computer science should include more dragons and wizards? Computational Fairy Tales introduces principles of computational thinking, illustrating high-level computer science concepts, the motivation behind them, and their application in a non-computer—fairy tale—domain. The goal of this book is not to provide comprehensive coverage of each topic, but rather to provide a high level overview of the breadth and excitement of computer science. It’s a quest that will take you from learning the basics of programming in a blacksmith’s forge to fighting curses with recursion.Fifteen seers delivered the same prophecy, without so much as a single minstrel to lighten the mood: an unknown darkness threatens the kingdom. Suddenly, Princess Ann finds herself sent forth alone to save the kingdom. Leaving behind her home, family, and pet turtle Fido, Princess Ann must face goblin attacks, magical curses, arrogant scholars, an unpleasant oracle, and rude Boolean waiters. Along the way she must build a war chest of computational knowledge to survive the coming challenge.
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  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    202 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 2
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.46 x 8.5 inches
  6. Publication date
    June 26, 2012
  7. ISBN-10
    1477550291
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1477550298
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 26, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 202 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1477550291
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1477550298
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 2
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.46 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 235 ratings

About the author

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Jeremy Kubica

Jeremy Kubica

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Jeremy Kubica is an engineer director. He received a Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in Computer Science from Cornell University. He spent his graduate school years creating algorithms to detect killer asteroids (actually stopping them was, of course, left as “future work”). He is the author of multiple books designed to introduce people to computer science, including Computational Fairy Tales, The CS Detective, and Data Structures the Fun Way, as well as the Computational Fairy Tales Blog.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
We don’t use a simple average to calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star. Our system gives more weight to certain factors—including how recent the review is and if the reviewer bought it on Amazon. Learn more
235 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

NJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Son who is into STEM LOVES this book!
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2019
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Son who is into coding and robotics (9 years old) LOVES this book, he already knew Python language and he said he had always wanted to know binary and that this taught him binary, he is loving it and reading it over and over. You learn so much better and retain the info when you are having fun learning. This book is SO fun for him, he loves it and can't put it down, he is on his 5th time reading it right now I think. It's a fairy tale adventure that actually teaches, I don't get any of it at all (though I haven't tried to read it, but his knowledge is way more than mine) but he is trying to teach me code based off examples in the book. There are some diagrams inside which he loves and he tries to use to teach me. It is a great story according to him, he absolutely loves it, he can't wait till the author writes more!! (and he insists there will be more because he says it was left open ended, there should be a second book about more complex things and to finish off the fairy tale according to him :) so author if you are listening, please write a part 2 haha!
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joslee
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm not a Computer Scientist
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2012
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I'm not a Computer Scientist. I've heard the phrase Computer Science bandied about in general conversations but when push came to shove I really didn't know what it meant. I now know that a large part of computer science is organizing data in such a way that it is easy to store and easy to access. The author is able to introduce the uninitiated to a glimpse of Computational Science. He does this by introducing us to Princess Ann who takes us on an adventure through the kingdom ruled by her father, King Fredrick. The kingdom is facing a crisis and the King's daughter has been charged with the mission of saving the realm. The book is likeable and funny as she faces different characters and situations along the way. Each character and situation progresses through concepts of data collection and dissemination. Each situation shows that data can be collected in different ways to suit the needs of the collector and that the data can be disseminated in many different ways, again to supply results to the user in the most efficient way. The author has been able to take the mystery out of many computational concepts that novices to the science and curious readers may find otherwise daunting.
7 people found this helpful
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Ye Paing
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read for a CS Student.
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2013
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As a Senior undergrad CS major, this book introduced the basic concepts of Computer Science from my first course to the last. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a CS student or looking to become one.

Although the book may be a bit complicated and hard to understand for someone new to the field, it does a great job of explaining hard to grasp concepts of CS.
4 people found this helpful
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Jamie Flournoy
5.0 out of 5 stars Fairytale puzzles solved with computer science
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013
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I am very impressed with Mr. Kubicka's ability to come up with a a story that presents puzzles for a fairytale princess to solve, which are actually CS problems in disguise. The descriptions of the algorithms in very concrete terms seems like they would be understandable to a young reader.

I think this book would be a good tool for encouraging curiosity on the part of young readers into learning more about computer science. Also, I enjoyed reading it myself and I'm an adult professional software developer, so maybe a parent reading this book at the same time might learn something too. :)

If you have a young reader who likes puzzles and fantasy stories, they might really enjoy this book.
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Chance
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect way to learn about coding.
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2016
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If you know a middle school computer science teacher, this is the perfect addition to their curriculum. If you have a 8-12 year old who is interested in coding, this is a great beginning. The story is great and the lessons are engaging! I originally got this book because I am 60+ years old and work with coders all the time. This gave me the vocabulary and the concepts to make that work go so much better. It really worked!
One person found this helpful
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NICHOLAS S D JOHNSON
3.0 out of 5 stars A fun but distressingly quick walk through the field of computer science
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2012
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I wanted to love this book. The description reminds me strongly of the fictional Young Lady's Illustrated Primer from Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age, and I'm a big fan of anything that attempts to teach people more about computer science, especially anything aimed at younger readers.

As a computer scientist myself, this was a fun read. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but I didn't expect to. The storyline that glues everything together is moderately fun, albeit a bit simple and unsurprising. The explanations of algorithms are quite good, and fairly easy to understand. My problem with the book, however, is that it doesn't seem to know who it is targeting.

As an introduction to computer science for a child or young adult, the book progresses far too quickly through the topics, covering a lot of material in a very short time. It goes over each concept just once, leaving far too many things assumed, and provides no time for revision and absorption before moving on to the next topic. As a book for older readers, the language and storyline are very basic and straightforward, which leaves me wondering just who the target audience are.

Fleshed out and improved, this book would make a marvelous introductory text for young people interested in learning about computer science. As it is, though, the book suffers in a no-man's-land between educational and entertaining, making it difficult to determine who would benefit from reading it.
31 people found this helpful
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Ramon Diaz Uriarte
5.0 out of 5 stars Just fabulous for both adults and children
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2014
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My daughter (11 years) and I (who happen to spend a lot of my working hours programming) have been reading this book. It is just great. The story itself is captivating, and the short snippets where the computer science background/relation is given is amazing. Notions from linked lists to sorting are all amazingly explained. Even if you do not care about Computer Science at all, this book is really fun to read. And given its kindle price, this is really a bargain. We are looking forward to reading more from Kubica.
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L-S-Green
4.0 out of 5 stars ++++
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015
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From my 13 year old son:

Really good book , fun to read and a great way to learn about computing and logic!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Slunečník
5.0 out of 5 stars Genial
Reviewed in Germany on April 21, 2024
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Eine ideale Mischung aus spannender Unterhaltung, immer tieferem Eintauchen in die Welt der Algorithmen und Datenstrukturen und dem Bereich, wo Philosophie und Informatik sich berühren.
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deepak kulkarni
5.0 out of 5 stars All about computers
Reviewed in India on August 26, 2023
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It's an excellent book must read
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Mom29qtpies
5.0 out of 5 stars My 11 year old son really enjoyed this book
Reviewed in Canada on November 7, 2017
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My 11 year old son really enjoyed this book. He is very into
computers and easily understood all these tales
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James R
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant, wacky journey into the world of computer science
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2016
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As a future computer science student, I decided to read this book and what a great decision that was! It explains a wide range of fundamental concepts within computing clearly and concisely through short, humorous stories. It is beautifully written; not lacking in detail yet completely approachable for someone with absolutely no prior knowledge of computer science.

It is incredible how engaging a read this is. The first section discusses the fundamentals of programming: variables, conditional statements, loops etc. Despite having prior knowledge of this all, I found this part to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. Graph theory is a topic introduced later in the book; even that is interesting and engaging despite being the same material covered in some incredibly boring A level Maths lessons.
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Jon Morgan
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but doesn't reach its potential
Reviewed in Australia on December 8, 2016
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As a software developer, I enjoyed some of this book, but felt it didn't live up to its potential. It's a very interesting concept: to turn mastering of algorithmic concepts into a quest narrative. However, what it ends up as is a collection of short stories, each illustrating one algorithmic concept, and loosely tied together into a narrative arc. And I enjoyed the overall narrative arc, with the start and end being particularly good: a princess trained in computational thinking is sent off to defeat a prophesied darkness, and ends up overcoming it with an unexpected and advanced algorithmic technique (no spoilers), but becomes aware that this is just the first of many problems which will need solving with computational thinking. There are also some good insights in the middle: I particularly enjoyed the section about good and bad commenting practices. However, many of the stories in between are comparatively short and contribute little or nothing to the narrative arc. Yes, they illustrate good CS principles and algorithms, but they feel contrived and trivial. I wanted both good stories and interesting takes on CS principles, and this book doesn't really give both.
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