Meet Published Author (and Coder), Fatima!

Eleven-year-old Fatima is from Dallas, Texas. She’s in the 6th grade and loves to read, write, and rollerskate. We’ve been very impressed with her projects, so we chatted with her to find out more about who she is and why she codes!

What do you want to be when you grow up? Possibly a writer, because I really love writing and reading. I wrote a book in 5th grade called My Runaway Hope and it’s on iBooks. It’s about the time of slavery and trying to find freedom. It’s twenty chapters long. I really like historical fiction.

How did you get introduced to Tynker? I was introduced to it by my school, and once I started I couldn’t stop. In school they showed us the coding app and said “If you want to do it you can.” One of my friends was really interested in it, so I got interested in it too.

What is your favorite thing you’ve made? I think my favorite has to be my Flappy Bird game, I really like it.

Do you ever Tynker with your friends? Yeah, my friend who showed me Tynker is in some of my classes, so we work on projects together.

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? I look at them a lot. I like how it shows everyone’s work. My favorite one so far is Revolve.

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? I love the coding part, and publishing it. It’s really cool when you see your work.

What are you planning to make next? I’m working on this game called Mr. Jump, based on Mr. Jump. You have to tap on the screen and the man jumps up and you have to go through obstacles.

Why do you like to code? I like to code because it’s really cool and fun, and it makes you be creative. It’s a bit similar to writing a book, because you’re showing your work and trying to inspire people, and keep them entertained.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes, definitely. It’s a really good experience.

What advice would you give for kids starting out with Tynker? Try something easy for a start, and then gradually start something harder. I started with how to draw a road, and then slowly I started making games like Flappy Bird.

Fatima’s dad Zubair loves that she is learning to code! He’s impressed by her projects – he told us, “I would love to know how to code, but I don’t think I can do it. I became a doctor because I am technologically challenged!” He was pleasantly surprised by Fatima’s coding, saying, “I didn’t even know that she’d actually made the Tynker project until she showed it to me and it lot of people in her class were already looking at it, so that was very very nice.”

We’re happy coding is a positive and exciting experience for Fatima. It’s never too late to learn yourself, Zubair! 🙂 Thanks for your time, Fatima and Zubair. We’re looking forward to playing your Mr. Jump game. Keep Tynkering!