Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books > In the Key of Code

In the Key of Code

Book Synopsis

An original, inventive and heart-warming novel from an exciting debut author about a lonely new girl and an unlikely friendship formed in a school code club that will appeal to fans of Sarah Crossan.

When twelve-year-old Emmy’s musical family moves to California so her dad can take a job with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Emmy has never felt more out of tune. But when she ends up in a school computer science club, she finds that she can understand code through a language she is familiar with: music. Slowly, Emmy makes friends with Abigail and the two girls start to discover their voices through the programming language of Java.

Extraordinarily crafted, the novel begins to incorporate Java’s syntax and concepts as Emmy, and ultimately the reader, learns to think in code. By the end, Emmy doesn’t feel like a wrong note, but like a musician in the world’s most beautiful symphony.

Our Review Panel says...

Set in the USA, Emmy and her family have just relocated to California all the way from Wisconsin. In a leap of faith, to promote her father’s career as a pianist, Emmy’s family have left behind everything they know and love. Including her Mom’s career in opera. This is a joyous and accomplished piece of writing. The use of verse in the novel is powerful and captures the emotions exquisitely. A perfect book for children (and adults) who enjoy coding and/or music…

This book is available on these booklists:

Booklists you might also like...

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments