Kojo Ebooks

The following is a series of books about using Kojo to play with Computer Programming, Art, Math, and a lot more. Take a read, play along, and have fun!

There are also a couple of code-only (almost-no-prose) activity book to very quickly get going with Kojo:
  • Coding Challenges with Kojo, Level 1 – this book (in different editions) has been used at the Vattenhalen Science Center at Lund University, Sweden, since 2011 – to introduce visiting students and teachers to the world of coding.

Additional Kojo learning material is available on the Kojo Docs website. Here are some useful links from that site:

Kojo - An Introduction

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This book introduces children to the Kojo Environment, and gives them a taste of what they can do with Kojo.

Note - the book is fairly old (it was last updated in 2014), but it still does a good job of introducing the Kojo user interface and basic features.

For a really quick introduction to Kojo, there is also the Kojo Intro Video.

Explorations with Kojo - Level 1

Request a PDF copy via email. Or read online.

This book is meant to get children going on their journey of coding, and the learning of essential skills via coding. It helps them learn the essentials of coding, even as they interactively explore different topics in Math and Art (via coding). Topics covered include:

  • Math - distances, numbers, ratio and proportion, percentages, estimation, angles, arcs, polygons, coordinate geometry, equations, random numbers, visual and numeric patterns, and more.
  • Art - all kinds of shapes and colors, brought together creatively.
  • Coding – turtle graphics, values and variables, commands and functions, algorithms, primitives, composition, and abstraction.

The book also gives children practice with learning how to learn new things – using exploration, discovery, and feedback.

Explorations with Kojo - Level 2

Request a PDF copy via email. Or read online.

This book is meant to help children move to the next level of coding, and the learning of essential skills via coding. It helps them learn the essential ideas of functional programming, even as they go about making rich and interesting generative art. Topics covered include:

  • Functions.
  • Data and values.
  • Picture graphics fundamentals.
  • Picture graphics composition, transformations, and effects.

The book also gives children practice with learning how to learn new things – using exploration, discovery, and feedback.

Explorations with Kojo - Level 3

Request a PDF copy via email. Or read online.

This book is meant to help children progress even further on their journey of creation via coding, and the learning of essential skills during this journey. It helps them get better with the essential ideas of functional programming, even as they go about making rich and interesting animations and music. Topics covered include:

  • Animations.
    • Transitions, Easing Functions, Timelines and KeyFrames.
    • Animation combinators.
  • Music
    • Melody, Rythm, Harmony
    • Scores (with tempo, parts, instruments, phrases, notes, beats, rests, durations)
    • Drawing out scores in a visual workbench
    • Live loops, game music, and generative music.

The book also gives children practice with learning how to learn new things – using exploration, discovery, and feedback.

Adventures with Kojo

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This is the original introductory programming book for Kojo. The Explorations book above is much more recent, and covers a lot more ground, but this is still a fine getting-started book for younger children (around 10 years old). The focus of this book is:

  • To make children familiar with the basic ideas of Computer Programming (and to relate these ideas to Algebra and Arithmetic, where appropriate).
  • To get them to experiment with basic Geometry.
  • To enable them to exercise their creative and logical thinking skills by making nice and colorful computer sketches - using just a few building blocks, and their knowledge of Programming and Geometry.

Kojo Programming Quick-Ref

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This book is meant for a couple of different audiences:

  • Children who have been using Kojo for a while, and want a concise reference to the ideas, terminology, and useful features of Kojo.
  • Adults who are familiar with programming, and want a quick way to get productive with Kojo.