ThE BegInnIng
Ruby is a small girl with a huge imagination. She solves problems, builds things, and asks questions that adults sometimes forget to ask.
Hello Ruby started not as a product, but as a provocation: what if the interface to computing was a storybook?
In 2014, I launched the project on Kickstarter. I hoped to raise $10,000. We raised $380,000. It turned out the world was ready for a new narrative about technology, one that was playful, gentle, and designed for small hands.
In an era where technology feels opaque and untouchable, Hello Ruby opens a tiny door. It invites children to become not just users of computers, but thinkers, critics, and storytellers of technology.
Hello Ruby is not about turning kids into coders. It's about helping them think clearly, imagine wildly, and understand the invisible rules shaping their world. It treats computer science not as a skill, but as a literacy.
MeEt ThE ChArAcTeRs
Ruby's friends are all different. They have unusual abilities, they like different things, but they all are friends.
Ruby
About me: I like learning new things and I hate giving up. I love to share my opinions. Want to hear a few? My dad is the best. I tell great jokes. And I have five special gemstones.
Birthday: February 24 Interests: Maps, secret codes, and small talk Pet peeves: I hate confusion Favorite expression: Why? Secret superpower: I can imagine impossible things
Robots
About me: I'm playful and flexible and fast. I have hundreds of robot siblings. I'm never happier than when my whole family and friends are building something together.
Birthday: September 23 Interests: Cooking shows, the Penguins, and making more friends Pet peeves: I don't get all the fuss about being clean and consistent. Who cares? Favorite expression: Be/get together Secret superpower: I might look small, but I grow up really fast.
Penguin
About me: I'm very smart. But occasionally others think I'm eccentric. I communicate with very short (and often rude) sentences. I love problems—especially breaking them into smaller pieces.
Birthday: August 25 Interests: Patterned knits, riddles, and abbreviations Pet peeves: I hate being told what to do. And spaghetti. Favorite expression: Choice Secret superpower: I'm older than the others.
Django & Python
About me: I have a pet snake called Python. I'm very organized, persistent and somewhat rigid. I like things that can be counted: odd, even, prime, cubed, rooted, backwards and forwards. But I don't take myself too seriously.
Birthday: February 20 Interests: The circus, philosophy and pythonic things Pet peeve: There's always one good way of solving problems. Favorite expression: Simple is better than complex. Secret superpower: I always have a solution.
Foxes
About me: I get really excited about new things. I love gardening: I grow many kinds of plants, species (and sometimes bugs). I like being enthusiastic, friendly and cheerful. But don't try to limit my freedom! (That's when I get really angry.)
Birthday: November 7 Interests: Gardening, geckos and night-time. Pet peeve: Always being safe! Favorite expression: The way you like it Secret superpower: I can spin like no-one else.
Snow Leopard
About me: I'm the most beautiful, polite and well-mannered Snow leopard I know. I often have fights with the robots. (Which is kind of pointless, since we are similar in the end.)
Birthday: June 8th Interests: Solitude, Zen, and pirates Pet peeve: People think I'm tough, but I'm really cuddly. Favorite expression: Think different Secret superpower: Boundless beauty
ThE BoOkS
Hello Ruby is a modular world. Each book is self-contained, but all form a growing pedagogical and artistic universe.
The Series
- Adventures in Coding (2015): introduces the basics of computational thinking and programming logic
- Journey Inside the Computer (2016): a tour of computer hardware from Ruby's perspective
- Expedition to the Internet (2017): teaches protocols, networks, and digital citizenship
- Robot's First Day of School (2018): asks how machines learn, and what makes us human
- Hello Ruby: A Very Big Computing Adventure (2020): an updated bind-up version of all four books
Formats & Ecosystem
Beyond the books, Hello Ruby has grown into a complete learning ecosystem:
- 150+ printable activities for digital and outdoor learning
- Playground curriculum with 50+ outdoor activities teaching CS and math through movement
- Educator's guides and professional development resources
- Love Letters to Computers - a 10-episode video course for teachers
- One-minute videos exploring computer science concepts through hands-on activities
The books are illustrated in a warm, hand-drawn style that invites both children and grownups in. Each story is paired with playful activities that stretch the concepts beyond the page into kitchens, playgrounds, and classrooms.
Get Hello Ruby
- Order books → - Available in almost 40 languages from your local bookstore or online retailer
- Download free activities → - 150+ printable exercises for home and classroom
ReCoGnItIoN & ImpAcT
Global Reach
- Published in almost 40 languages, from Japanese to Farsi
- Used in over 40 countries in museums, embassies, libraries, and classrooms
- At the time, the most funded children's book on Kickstarter ($380,000 raised)
- The Japanese edition was the most sold children's book on Amazon and Rakuten for a week
- Won the DIA Design Award, the biggest design award in China
Awards & Recognition
- 🏆 2025 Math Power! Prize Winner - For innovative approaches to mathematical manipulatives bridging CS and mathematics
- Fast Company Innovation by Design 2025 - Urban Design, Honorable Mention (Ruoholahti Computer Playground)
- Featured as "The world's first coding playground" by BBC
Press Coverage
Featured in major international media including:
- TED: Linda's TEDx talk has been watched over 1.5 million times
- Wired: "Hello Ruby is way more than a children's book"
- The Guardian: "The heroine of Liukas' book is a girl, but it's not a book for girls"
- TechCrunch: "Getting girls into programming, one children's book at a time"
- Fast Company: "Can this children's book help make the internet a better place?"
- Also featured in: Monocle, Wallpaper*, Helsingin Sanomat, Mashable, and more
PeDaGogiCaL DNA
Hello Ruby is built on decades of research in how children learn best:
Constructivism (Seymour Papert)
Children learn by building, making, and creating—not by passive instruction. Every Hello Ruby activity invites hands-on construction.
Montessori & Reggio Emilia
Learning happens through sensory-rich, hands-on experiences. We design activities that engage the whole body, not just the mind.
Storytelling
Every concept is embedded in narrative. Ruby's adventures make abstract ideas concrete and memorable.
Systems Thinking
Computing is seen as cultural, ethical, and material—not just technical. We explore how technology shapes society and identity.
Physical Play
From the Ruoholahti Computer Playground to classroom activities, we believe in learning through movement. Abstract concepts become tangible when you can climb, jump, and play them.
"Code is the 21st century literacy and the need for people to speak the ABC of Programming is imminent. Our world is increasingly run by software and we need more diversity in the people who are building it.
More importantly, writing software is about expression, creativity - and practical application. Our kids should learn to bend, join, break and combine code in a way it wasn't designed to. Just as they would with crayons and paper or wood and tools.
We believe there's plenty to learn in programming logic and culture before showing children a single screen."
LiNdA LiUkAs
Hello Ruby's founder Linda is a programmer, storyteller and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland.
Linda is a central figure in the world of programming and has worked on edutech already before it was called that. She is a Codecademy alumni and the founder of Rails Girls, a global phenomenon teaching the basics of programming for young women all over the world.
Having never really outgrown fairytales, Linda sees the web as a maze of stories and wants to hear more diverse voices in that world.
Beyond Hello Ruby books, Linda has created: - The Ruoholahti Computer Playground - The world's first CS playground in Helsinki - Playground curriculum - 50+ outdoor activities for embodied CS and math learning - Math manipulatives - New approaches to teaching mathematics through a CS lens (Math Power! Prize Winner, 2025)
To read more about Linda and her work, visit lindaliukas.com
Follow Linda's journey through her newsletter at helloruby.substack.com
PreSenTaTionS
TED.com: A delightful way to teach kids about computers
A 12 minute talk on technology, programming and the first Ruby book. Watched over 1.5 million times.
TED Residency: Crawling into a computer
A 6 minute talk on what is a computer. What if you could fall in love with a computer by falling inside of it? Goes together with the second Ruby book.
Beyond Tellerrand 2025: A Playground Worth a Thousand Programmes
A 40 minute talk on how playgrounds can reimagine computer science education, featuring the Ruoholahti Computer Playground project.
Slush 2014: Storytelling, software and one Scandinavian childhood
A presentation focused on the Principles of Play around Ruby.
