EMMY IN THE KEY OF CODE by Aimee Lucido. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.  406p.  ISBN 978-0358040828 hc. $16.99     Gr. 4-7     JUV FIC

Every kid who’s moved to a new town knows how hard it is to adjust to a new house, new school, and new friends.  Sprinkle in some culture shock, as Emmy and her musical parents move all the way from Wisconsin to San Francisco, California.   Emmy loves music, but can’t sing like her mother or play piano like her dad; so she uses this change of scenery to remove herself from her usual music electives.  Instead, she signs up for a computer class.  Her soon-to-be friend, Abigail, also finds herself in computer class, and the two quickly begin to learn coding.   They spend lunch hours with their inspiring computer teacher, Ms. Delaney, who becomes seriously ill and puts their computer projects in jeopardy.  Written in verse to make the text emphasize important parts of this heartwarming story, Lucido also includes information on binary code and programming loops.  Text formatting and book design are exceptional.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI