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  • Published: 12 December 2023
  • ISBN: 9781718503205
  • Imprint: No Starch
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 57
  • RRP: $37.00

Ada & Zangemann

A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream





A modern fairy tale that conveys the joy of tinkering and calls for self-determined use of software.

A modern fairy tale that conveys the joy of tinkering and calls for self-determined use of software.

The famous inventor Zangemann lives in a huge villa high above the city. Adults and children alike love his inventions and are desperate to have them. But then something happens: when Zangemann wants to take another close-up look at his inventions during a walk through the city, a child hits him in the shin with the skateboard. That hurts! Enraged, the inventor makes a momentous decision . . . The clever girl Ada sees through what is going on. Together with her friends, she forges a plan.

This illustrated children's book tells the story of the famous inventor Zangemann and the girl Ada, a curious tinkerer. Ada begins to experiment with hardware and software, and in the process realizes how crucial it is for her and others to control technology.

Ada & Zangemann will inspire children's interest in tinkering and encourage shaping technology.

  • Published: 12 December 2023
  • ISBN: 9781718503205
  • Imprint: No Starch
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 57
  • RRP: $37.00

Praise for Ada & Zangemann

"A rousing tale of self-reliance, community, and standing up to bullies...software freedom is human freedom!"
—Cory Doctorow, Sci-Fi Author

"Introduces readers young and old to the power and peril of software. Behind it all is a backdrop of ethics of knowledge sharing upon which the arc of human history rides." 
—Vint Cerf, Computer Scientist and One of the Inventors of the Internet

"Even as a non-child, I was captivated by the story from the first page to the last. Kudos to the author for packaging difficult topics such as monopolies, lobbyism, digital divide, software freedom, digital autonomy, IoT, consumer control, e-waste and much more in a child-friendly form in an easily understandable and exciting storyline."
—Jörg Luther, Chief Editor of the German Linux-Magazin, LinuxUser