Linda Liukas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Linda Liukas
Liukas at the Data of Tomorrow Conference 2017
Born	1986 (age 38–39) Finland
Occupation	Children's book author

Linda Liukas, born in 1986, is a talented author and illustrator from Finland. She writes and draws children's books that teach kids about computer programming. She also helps people learn to code.

In 2014, her book Hello Ruby became super popular on Kickstarter. This website helps people raise money for their projects. Her book raised an amazing $380,000, making it the most funded children's book ever on the platform!

Because of her work, the European Commission named Linda Liukas the "Digital Champion of Finland" in 2013. This title recognized her efforts to help people understand technology. In 2015, she gave an important speech at TEDxCERN, a famous event where people share big ideas.

Linda Liukas's Journey to Coding

Linda Liukas first became interested in computers and websites when she was 13 years old. She even made a website about Al Gore in 2001, showing her early passion for the internet.

For the next ten years, she studied many different subjects, like philosophy and engineering. But she always kept her interest in computer programming. When she was 23, she decided to focus on the web again.

Helping Girls Learn to Code

Linda Liukas co-founded a project called Rails Girls. This group helps women learn the basics of computer programming. Thanks to her efforts, Rails Girls became a huge success around the world. Workshops have been held in more than 160 cities, teaching many women how to code.

Liukas also works with Codecademy, an online platform. Codecademy offers free courses to help anyone learn programming.

How Hello Ruby Was Born

Linda Liukas started learning a programming language called Ruby. She found some parts tricky to understand. To help herself, she began drawing pictures. She created a little girl character named Ruby.

Whenever Linda faced a problem she didn't get, she would think, "How would Ruby explain this?" She drew sketches of Ruby meeting a snow leopard or solving problems with penguins and green robots.

At first, these drawings were just for herself. But when Linda showed her friends, they loved them! They encouraged her to turn her drawings and explanations into a book. After making many changes and improvements, the Hello Ruby book was published in October 2015. It has helped many children learn about the exciting world of coding.

See also

• Computer programming
• Coding for kids