Sophie Deen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sophie Deen
Deen in 2017
Education	Law, 2005
Alma mater	University of Sheffield
Known for	Children's books

Sophie Deen is a British author who writes books for children. She is also a leader in teaching young people about coding and STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Sophie is the CEO of Bright Little Labs. This company creates animations, books, games, and toys for kids. Their goal is to help children learn important skills for the future. They also focus on showing diverse role models and caring for the environment.

Early life and education

Sophie Deen went to Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls. She studied there from 1989 to 1999. Later, she earned a degree in Law from the University of Sheffield in 2005. After that, she completed a special course to become a lawyer.

Career journey

Sophie started her career as a lawyer. But she soon realized she wanted to work with children. So, she became a school counselor with an organization called Place2Be.

Helping kids learn to code

Sophie then worked for Code Club. This group helps introduce coding to young people. She helped create a new coding curriculum for schools in the United Kingdom. She worked with Google and the Department for Education on this project.

In 2014, Sophie became the head of Code Club Pro. This part of Code Club trained teachers. While working there, Sophie noticed that some young people found it hard to get involved with coding.

Starting Bright Little Labs

In 2015, Sophie Deen started her own company, Bright Little Labs. She wanted to make learning to code fun and exciting. She calls her stories "edutaining," which means they are both educational and entertaining.

Sophie did a survey with over a thousand people. She found that negative ideas about technology were often shown in children's cartoons. She told The Guardian newspaper that by age eight, children often think some things are for boys and some are for girls. This includes toys and even future jobs. Her research also showed that very few characters in kids' cartoons were black.

Bright Little Labs raised £14,500 through Kickstarter. Their projects have now reached children in over 30 countries.

Detective Dot and Agent Asha

The Kickstarter project led to the children's book, Detective Dot. It was first published in 2016. Detective Dot is a character who works for the Children's Intelligence Agency (CIA). The book invites readers to become agents and go on missions.

Dot's challenges are inspired by citizen science. This helps young people learn about data in a real-world way. Bright Little Labs works with teachers, artists, and writers. They create stories and content linked to the computer science curriculum.

Detective Dot was listed as a top coding toy by The Independent in 2017. The Evening Standard and The Sun also named it among the best STEM toys.

In 2017, Sophie gave a TEDx talk called "The robot revolution – a survival guide for kids."

In 2018, Bright Little Labs opened a live activity at Kidzania, London. Children can develop spy, computing, and coding skills there. They help save Kidzania from a computer virus.

In July 2020, Walker Books announced they would publish the Agent Asha fiction series. Sophie said that Agent Asha helps kids understand the modern world. It features strong role models and a high-tech spy agency. She also mentioned that coding is now a basic skill, like reading and writing.

In 2020, Vogue magazine recommended the Agent Asha Children’s Spy Agency Activity Gift Pack.

Published works

Agent Asha: Shark Bytes

Agent Asha: Shark Bytes was published by Walker Books in 2020. It is the first book in the Agent Asha series. Asha is a recruit for the Children's Spy Agency. She uses her coding skills to stop a villain from destroying underwater internet cables. The story is full of spy adventures and technology.

Shark Bytes has received several honors:

• It was shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize in 2021.
• Tech Advisor named it the Best Coding + STEM Toy in 2022.
• It was part of the UK’s Summer Reading Challenge in 2022.
• It was shortlisted for the Little Rebels Award.
• It was nominated for the CRIMEFEST Award for Best Crime Novel for Children.
• The Sun recognized it as the ‘Best STEM Book’ in 2019.

Agent Asha: Cyber Chop

Agent Asha: Cyber Chop was published by Walker Books in 2022. This is the second book in the Agent Asha series. Asha Joshi is a top coder and spy. She uncovers a plan by a rich tech person to replace real trees with fake ones. The book teaches STEM ideas like algorithms and debugging.

Detective Dot

Detective Dot was published by Bright Little Labs in 2016. It is about Dot, an 8-year-old coder. She uses her tech skills to bring everyday objects to life. Dot helps young readers think about where things come from. The story takes readers on a trip around the world. It shows how connected our world is.

Awards and recognition

Sophie Deen has been recognized many times for her work:

• She was listed in the Computer Weekly Top 50 Most Influential Women in Tech from 2017 to 2020.
• She was a finalist for the Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020.
• She was named a Leading Honouree in Campaign’s ‘Rising to the Top’ category in 2020.
• Bright Little Labs was a finalist in the Tech4Good Diversity Awards in 2019.
• Sophie was named one of the Top 30 changemakers by London Tech Week in 2018.
• She won the FDM Barclay’s Everywoman Award as Startup Founder of the Year in 2017.
• The British Interactive Media Association named her one of the top 100 most influential people in the British digital industry in 2017.
• She won the EDF Energy Pulse Award in 2016 for inspiring young people into STEM.