The best coding books for kids start with Scratch around age 8 and switch to Python at about 10 or 11. That is roughly when typing real code stops feeling like a chore for most children. If you only buy one, get Python for Kids, 2nd Edition for a confident reader, or the 2024 DK edition of Coding Games in Scratch for a younger one.
This guide ranks eight Python and Scratch books for kids and teens, from ScratchJr picture books for 5-year-olds to the Pygame projects teenagers want next. We checked every pick in October 2026 against the Amazon US catalog and the publisher or distributor pages, so the cover, edition and link match.
Which coding book should your kid start with?
Pick by the age of the child and their patience for typing, not by the title with the most reviews. A 7-year-old handed a 368-page Python book will close it after one chapter, and a 13-year-old given a picture book of block puzzles will feel talked down to. These are our picks per reader:
- Best overall for Python: Python for Kids, 2nd Edition (around $20 on our check date). Full color, Python 3, and two real games by the end.
- Best Scratch book for ages 9 to 12: Coding Games in Scratch (around $11 to $20). The 2024 DK edition, built on Scratch 3.0.
- Best for ages 5 to 7: The Official ScratchJr Book (around $19 to $20). The official companion to the free ScratchJr tablet app.
- Best budget Python book: Coding for Kids: Python (around $11 to $20). Fifty short activities for ages 10 and up.
- Best for teens ready for more: Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition (around $28 to $50). An adult book that a motivated 13-year-old can finish.
If you’re buying a gift and don’t know the level of the child, the DK Scratch book is the safe choice. Scratch runs in any web browser, so there’s nothing to install, and the 2024 edition is the first DK has made tablet friendly.
How did we pick these books?
We started from what parents actually search (coding books for kids, Python books for kids, Scratch books) and then searched the kids’ catalogs of No Starch Press, DK and Callisto. Edition, page count, publication date and price come from the Amazon catalog data, pulled on October 31, 2026. Age bands, versions and project lists come from the publisher pages, and from the authors’ sites where the publisher said nothing.
Every book had to clear three bars before it made the list:
- A Scratch book teaches Scratch 3, the interface kids see on scratch.mit.edu today.
- A Python book teaches Python 3 and ends with something a child can show off, such as a game.
- The linked listing is a new paperback in print, and the cover shown here is that same edition.
We left out the wave of self-published “Python for kids” titles from 2025 and 2026. We stuck to established publishers with editorial review, because a child who hits a typo in the code usually blames themselves rather than the book.
How do the eight books compare?
Read the table by age first, then by what the child ends up building. Page count matters more for kids than for adults, because a long book only works if the child can see the payoff coming.
| Book | Language | Publisher, year | Pages | Suggested age | Ends with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python for Kids, 2nd Ed. | Python 3 | No Starch, 2022 | 368 | 10+ (our call) | Pong clone and a platform game |
| Coding Games in Scratch | Scratch 3.0 | DK, 2024 | 224 | 9 to 12 (publisher) | Racing, platform and puzzle games |
| Scratch 3 Programming Playground | Scratch 3 | No Starch, 2021 | 288 | 8+ (our call) | An advanced platformer |
| The Official ScratchJr Book | ScratchJr | No Starch, 2015 | 160 | 5 to 7 (ScratchJr app) | Simple animated stories and games |
| Coding for Kids: Python | Python | Callisto Kids, 2019 | 232 | 10+ (publisher) | 50 games and activities |
| Coding Games in Python | Python with Pygame Zero | DK, 2018 | 224 | After a Scratch book (our call) | Complete arcade-style games |
| Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, 4th Ed. | Python 3 | No Starch, 2016 | 376 | Teens (our call) | Dodger, a pygame game |
| Python Crash Course, 3rd Ed. | Python 3 | No Starch, 2022 | 552 | 13+ (our call) | Alien Invasion, charts and a Django web app |
Two things stand out in that table. Only two of the eight carry a publisher age band on the pages we checked, so the “our call” rows are our reading of the text, not a promise from the publisher. And three Python picks date from 2016 to 2019, while Python 3.15 shipped in October 2026, so expect the install screens in those books to look different from what your child sees.
1. Python for Kids, 2nd Edition
Jason R. Briggs wrote the Python book we’d hand most 10-year-olds first, and the 2022 second edition is revised for Python 3 and printed in full color.
The book splits into three parts across 16 chapters. Kids learn variables, lists and loops, draw shapes with the turtle module, and then spend the last third building two games with tkinter, a Pong clone called Bounce! and a platform game called Mr. Stick Man Races for the Exit. Building toward two games gives a child a reason to push through the chapters on classes and objects.
In our judgment a child under about 10, or one who doesn’t enjoy reading yet, will find 368 pages heavy going. A reluctant reader is better served by a numbered step-by-step format like the DK Python title further down.
- No Starch lists 368 pages and says the book covers Python 3.x.
- The first edition from 2012 is still on sale, so check that the cover reads “Second Edition”.
- Amazon showed it at about $20 against a $34.99 list price, with stock that comes and goes, so check the current listing.
2. Coding Games in Scratch
The DK visual Scratch book is our pick for ages 9 to 12. Buy the June 2024 edition: the 2019 revision also teaches Scratch 3.0, but Penguin Random House says the 2024 one is the first made tablet friendly, and the 2015 original predates Scratch 3.
DK sells it as a step-by-step visual guide, which suits kids who learn by copying first and tinkering second. Penguin Random House names Jumpy Monkey, a game that simulates gravity, and Dog’s Dinner, which teaches collision detection, alongside racing, platform and puzzle games. The publisher also says this edition is the first that is friendly to tablet computers.
Pass on it if your child already finishes Scratch projects without help. At 224 pages of numbered projects it is shorter than the 288-page Sweigart book, so a confident 11-year-old may finish it quickly. If that sounds like your kid, pick 3 offers more advanced projects such as a full platformer.
- Penguin Random House lists ages 9 to 12, 224 pages and Scratch 3.0.
- The 2015 DK edition of the same title still has a live listing, and the 2019 revision also has a Scratch 3.0 badge, so look for the blue grades box that only the 2024 cover has.
- It sold for about $11.50 on our check date against a $19.99 list price.
3. Scratch 3 Programming Playground
Al Sweigart wrote the Scratch book for a kid who wants to understand the games, not just rebuild them. We rank it below the DK book only because it asks for more reading, which suits a 10-year-old better than an 8-year-old.
After a getting-started chapter, each chapter builds one project, from Rainbow Lines and Maze Runner through Basketball, Brick Breaker and Asteroid Breaker to an advanced platformer, and the book adds review questions and coding challenges. Projects that grow into a full platformer teach planning, which is the habit that makes the jump to Python easier later. His site pitches Scratch at ages 8 to 16, and this book suits kids nearer 10 than 8.
Skip it for a child who wants pictures on every page. There are full-color screenshots, but there is more reading than in the DK book, and an 8-year-old may need an adult nearby.
- No Starch published this Scratch 3 edition in January 2021 at 288 pages.
- The 2016 Scratch Programming Playground without the “3” predates Scratch 3, so its screenshots will not match what your kid sees.
- The companion video course by Sweigart on Udemy is now free, which helps when a chapter stalls.
- Amazon had it at about $20, with thin stock on our check date.
4. The Official ScratchJr Book
For a 5 to 7-year-old, skip Scratch entirely and start with ScratchJr and this book. Full Scratch expects a child to read menus and type names, so a younger child gets stuck on the interface before reaching any logic.
ScratchJr is a free app for iPads, Android tablets and Chromebooks, built for ages 5 to 7, where kids snap picture blocks together to make characters move and talk. Marina Umaschi Bers and Mitchel Resnick wrote the book as a companion to it for parents, with chapters on animations, stories and games, tips for grown-ups and an appendix on moving up to full Scratch. You read it together, so it works for a child who cannot read well yet.
Once a child is reading confidently at 8 or 9, move on, because the full Scratch picks above will hold their attention longer. The book dates from 2015, and scratchjr.org says an Official ScratchJr Activity Book is coming, so check whether that has shipped before you buy.
- No Starch lists 160 full-color pages.
- The ScratchJr site says the app is free on the App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore.
- The book cost about $19 against a $19.95 list price, with limited stock on our check date.
5. Coding for Kids: Python
Adrienne B. Tacke wrote the lowest-priced Python pick on our check date, by a few cents over the DK Python book. Its 50 activities split the learning into short sessions, so it suits kids with busy weeks.
Callisto Kids pitches it at ages 10 and up, and its distributor describes the activities as game-based exercises. That short-session format suits kids who lose interest in long chapters, and it makes a good stocking filler next to a bigger gift.
Skip it if you want a book you can preview, because we could not get a full table of contents from the publisher, and the listing names 50 activities rather than one large project. Kids who want a platform game at the end will get more from Python for Kids, which builds one across four chapters. It is also a 2019 print, so the Python install screens it shows predate the current release.
- Amazon lists the 2019 paperback at 232 pages.
- The subtitle reads “Learn to Code with 50 Awesome Games and Activities”, which matches the edition linked here.
- It sold for about $11 against a $19.99 list price on our check date.
6. Coding Games in Python
The DK Python book is the natural next step for a kid who finished the DK Scratch book and liked the format. It keeps the same numbered layout, so the only new thing to learn is typing Python instead of snapping blocks.
Every chapter builds a complete game in numbered steps, then suggests hacks and tweaks so kids change the rules themselves. DK builds the games with Pygame and Pygame Zero plus a downloadable pack of images and sounds, so the results look like real arcade games rather than text in a window. That visual payoff keeps a 10 or 11-year-old typing.
Look elsewhere if you would rather your child understood every line. The step-by-step format means kids copy more than they design, and Pygame Zero is an extra install on top of Python, so an adult may need to help with setup on the first evening.
- DK lists 224 pages and a July 2018 publication date.
- The images and sounds come as a downloadable pack, so grab it before the first chapter.
- Amazon had it for about $11.60 against a $21.99 list price on our check date.
7. Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, 4th Edition
The Sweigart Python game book is the best value on this list, because you can read the whole thing free before you buy the paperback. If your teen reads three chapters online and keeps going, the printed copy is a safe gift.
Most of its 21 chapters are text games that teach one idea each: Guess the Number, Hangman, Tic-Tac-Toe, Bagels, Sonar Treasure Hunt, a Caesar cipher and Reversegam. The last five chapters switch to pygame for graphics, animation, collision detection and sound, and finish with a game called Dodger. A teenager who wants to know how games really work gets more from this than from any of the DK books.
Younger kids who need color and pictures won’t get far with it, since this is mostly code on the page. You can test that cheaply, because the text of the book is free to read online. The 2016 edition also tells readers to install pygame with an old installer download, so expect to look up the current install method when you reach chapter 17.
- The full text is free to read at inventwithpython.com, so your teen can try a chapter before you pay.
- No Starch lists 376 pages and Python 3.
- Amazon had the paperback at about $19 against a $39.99 list price on our check date.
8. Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition
Eric Matthes wrote an adult book, but it is the one we would give a teenager who has outgrown the titles above. Teens notice when a book talks down to them, and this one never does.
Matthes is a former high school teacher, and the first half covers the basics before any project starts. The second half is three projects: a Space Invaders-style game called Alien Invasion built with Pygame, data visualization with Matplotlib and Plotly, and a Django web app with user accounts that the reader deploys. The third edition also moved the setup to VS Code and added pytest.
Skip it for anyone under about 13. It is written for adult beginners, and at 552 pages it needs a reader who already wants to code rather than one you are trying to tempt. Give a younger child Python for Kids first, so this book becomes the follow-up you buy next year.
- No Starch lists the third edition as a December 2022 release with 552 pages.
- The Django and data chapters make it useful well past the teenage years, so it does not get outgrown.
- It was about $27.50 against a $49.99 list price on our check date.
Once a teen finishes it, our Python books for intermediate and advanced coders pick up where Matthes stops, and the wider programming books list covers the classics every developer reads eventually.
Should kids learn Scratch or Python first?
Scratch first for most children under 10, Python first for most over 11, and either works in between. Scratch removes typing and syntax errors, so a young child spends the whole session on logic, while Python rewards a child who can already type and read error messages without giving up. Here is how we would match the books to ages:
- Ages 5 to 7: ScratchJr on a tablet, with The Official ScratchJr Book read together.
- Ages 8 to 10: Coding Games in Scratch (the publisher lists it from 9), then Scratch 3 Programming Playground once the DK projects feel easy.
- Ages 10 to 12: Python for Kids or Coding for Kids: Python, or Coding Games in Python for kids who loved the DK Scratch layout.
- Ages 13 and up: Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, then Python Crash Course.
Scratch itself is free at scratch.mit.edu, and the ScratchJr team describes full Scratch as aimed at ages 8 and up. Kids who like hardware can also carry their Python into a Raspberry Pi or micro:bit project later, and our Arduino and Raspberry Pi books guide covers that path.
Which old editions should you avoid?
Avoid any Scratch book printed before 2019 and the first edition of Python for Kids, because they still sell next to the current ones. Scratch 3.0 replaced the old Flash-based editor on January 2, 2019, so older Scratch screenshots show a layout your child won’t find online. The Amazon catalog still lists these older printings:
| Old listing | Published | Buy this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Python for Kids (1st edition) | 2012 | Python for Kids, 2nd Edition (2022) |
| Scratch Programming Playground (no “3”) | 2016 | Scratch 3 Programming Playground (2021) |
| Coding Games in Scratch (DK) | 2015 | Coding Games in Scratch (DK, 2024) |
| Coding Games in Scratch, Revised (DK) | 2019, Scratch 3.0 | Fine as a fallback; the 2024 edition adds tablet-friendly projects |
The cover is the quickest check. Each current edition prints “Second Edition”, “Scratch 3” or a “Scratch 3.0” badge on the front, so if a gift listing shows a cover without that mark, it is an old book even if the title matches. The 2019 DK revision also carries a Scratch 3.0 roundel, but it starts “Now with”, while the 2024 cover drops those words and adds a blue grades box, so check that too.
What should you check before you wrap the book?
Check that the device the child uses can run what the book teaches, because that is where most gift books stall on the first day. Go through these before you wrap it:
- A Scratch book has a device with a web browser, since Scratch 3 runs at scratch.mit.edu.
- A ScratchJr book has an iPad, an Android tablet or a Chromebook to install the free app on.
- A Python book has a Windows, macOS or Linux computer, because these books’ setup chapters assume a computer, not a tablet.
- The cover shows the current edition from the table above.
- An adult is free for the first evening if the book uses Pygame or Pygame Zero, which need an extra install.
For a teen already comfortable with Python, the next useful gift is usually a terminal skill rather than another language, and our Linux command line books are a good place to look. Curious teens asking how chatbots work will find a gentler start in our books about AI roundup.
