{"id":38718,"date":"2021-02-15T19:45:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T23:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38718"},"modified":"2021-02-15T19:45:14","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T23:45:14","slug":"review-of-can-you-crack-the-code-by-ella-schwartz-illustrated-by-lily-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38718","title":{"rendered":"Review of Can You Crack the Code? by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Lily Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Can You Crack the Code?<\/p>\n

A Fascinating History of Ciphers and Cryptography<\/em><\/p>\n

by Ella Schwartz
\nillustrated by Lily Williams<\/p>\n

Bloomsbury Children\u2019s Books, 2019. 118 pages.
\nReview written December 14, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review
\n2020 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n\t#6 General Children’s Nonfiction
\n2021 Mathical Honor Book, Grades 6-8<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always thought codes and ciphers are fascinating, from the time I was a kid right up to the present when I made some videos showing how to make interesting ciphers using mathematical concepts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When I made the videos last Spring when the library was closed for the pandemic, I didn\u2019t find too many current books on making codes, but that situation has been remedied. This book is a nice solid selection to fill in that gap. Written for elementary to middle school kids, it gives a history of encoded messages along with explanations of ciphers and codes the reader can use.<\/p>\n

Each chapter has a message to decrypt, and the book ends with a message for the reader to solve and email the author if they figure it out. A few clues are given, and it\u2019s a nicely appropriate historical code used.<\/p>\n

The book starts with steganography \u2013 hiding a message in some way \u2013 and the Caesar cipher and continues with things like Benedict Arnold\u2019s book cipher and Thomas Jefferson\u2019s wheel cipher up through a puzzle encoded in a statue in front of CIA headquarters and the use of prime numbers in computer security.<\/p>\n

Even when they get deep into the history of clandestine messages, they do give the readers chances to crack the codes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty here to get kids intrigued, and one thing I love about code-making is there are lots of jumping-off points from this book.<\/p>\n

ellasbooks.com<\/a>
\nlilywilliamsart.com<\/a>
\nBloomsbury.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/can_you_crack_the_code.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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