Shanda McCloskey.  Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

In this debut STEM-themed picture book, Charlotte is technology savvy–and obsessed. She and her canine sidekick, Bluetooth, pass the days coding, downloading and fixing her parents’ gadgets. When her mom buys her a doll in an attempt to round out Charlotte’s interests, Charlotte is at a loss with what to do with it–it didn’t come with any instructions! When Charlotte discovers that her new doll has a battery pack, she reprograms it to create DOLL-E 1.0. Soon their friendship becomes fully charged.

McCloskey’s pencil and watercolour drawings are filled with movement and emotion. They more than pull their weight in this adorable picture book.

DOLL-E 1.0 and HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE (J. Funk, 2018) are two recent picture books that promote coding to girls in clever, entertaining ways. They are both sure to appeal to techy and more traditional kids.