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The author, Michael Kolling, is a computer scientist. He develops programming languages that teach programming. His group made BlueJ and Greenfoot. He is a professor in the United Kingdom.

His daughter (who is 9) asked him to teach her how to program a video game.
http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=39

Greenfoot is like Alice in that it has objects and you create graphical worlds. However, it's more advanced than Alice, in that you can see the text code. In Alice, you use drag and drop icons.

Kolling does 4 lessons with his daughter. They make a game that has Dr. Who (the star of a science fiction tv show in Great Britain) fighting opponents.

Lesson 1: Jan. 20, 2008 (Monday, week 1)
http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=39

Lesson 2: Jan. 23, 2008 (Wed. week 1)
http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=40

Lesson 3: Feb. 1, 2008 (Friday, week 2)
http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=42

Lesson 4: Feb. 8, 2008 (Fridaym, week3 )-- Last lesson for now
http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=43

Michael Kolling says
"So, Sophie decided she wants to make a Doctor Who game. Now, here’s a very important point. If you ever want to teach your own kid (or any kid) to code, this is really crucial: find something they really want to do. Let them decide the story, choose something they like. They take ownership, and the roles are set. It is not you telling them to do something, it is them who want to do something, and you’re just helping them along. If you manage to get them into the situation where they have an idea, and they really want to do it, you half way there."

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