First, if you don’t know, Minecraft is a computer game in which you, the protagonist, exist as a sort of sprite with a hammer out in front of you. As you move across the landscape (or through the air or water) you can whack at things and your hammer will destroy them, or y our hammer will make things, or change things. And it is often not a hammer you wield, but perhaps a shovel or some other tool. Meanwhile, you come to possess things, often by mining them, and these things can be crafted together of you do it right, to make unique things.
The visuals are highly pixelated, in that everything is a three dimensional square block. Like this:
The game can be simple, or complex. It requires creativity and knowledge of complex thing. Once a player discovers that the game is hackable, it requires hacking. My 9 year old son has developed fairly impressive programming abilities just from messing with Minecraft (aside from his robot building, etc.)
But if you didn’t know all that you likely would not be reading a review of minecraft books.
Mojang, the creator of Minecraft, has produced a nmber of “handbooks” covering basic minecraft activities, like working with redstone (an important substance, it makes fire) or constructing things like buildings. Here’s the thing (I whisper conspiratorially to fellow parents) … you don’t really need books to learn Minecraft. You can learn everything you need to know by watching tens of hours of mindless YouTube videos. Or, you can trick your kids into reading books about Minecraft, then, they … well … read!
And, for this reason, I recommend the Minecraft Handbook Collection – 4 books (Beginner’s Handbook, Redstone Handbook, Combat Handbook, Construction Handbook)
… Includes the Essential Handbook, Redstone Handbook, Combat Handbook, and Construction Handbook.
For the first time ever, Minecraft’s four bestselling handbooks are available in a stunning, gold-foiled boxed set! This ultimate collection includes the Essential Handbook, Redstone Handbook, Combat Handbook, and Construction Handbook.
Minecraft–the indie sandbox video game that took the world by storm–has been hailed as one of the greatest phenomena amongst gamers and educators for both its simplicity and its brilliance. Allowing players to build, explore, create, collaborate, and even survive, Minecraft has created a brave new world of gameplay. Each handbook contains helpful tips and information from the creators themselves, all of which will prove vital to your survival and creativity as you learn to mine, craft, and build in a world that you control.
Well crafted, very useful, attractive books are good for kids.
Have you read the breakthrough novel of the year? When you are done with that, try:
or Paperback
*Please note:
Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.
Minecraft is awesome. For me, although YouTube videos can be helpful, I found the wiki far more helpful. But I am a software engineer, and accustomed to that style of documentation, where you get a general idea of what you want to do, and then start looking for the widgets that you need to do it. 😉
That said, I’m very amused by the description of Minecraft as “a computer game in which you, the protagonist, exist as a sort of sprite with a hammer out in front of you,” since of all the tools available to you in vanilla, un-modded Minecraft, a hammer is not one of them. 😉 That thing you’re running around with is your *fist*.
There is a certain whimsical joy in starting a new Minecraft survival world and punching trees so you can build a crafting table and your first tools.
Well, you use a hammer in other contexts like you use a Pickaxe, etc.
Are you sure that is not a hammer?