- Tiny Tales, Big Ideas

A Berry Good Output: Functions Made Easy

Deep within Whisker Woods, three forest friends stumble upon a shimmering box that takes an input—like a simple seed—and produces an output…but with a magical twist. When Ruby, Finn, and Bella discover the box’s secret, they quickly learn how precise instructions can transform one battered berry into a bountiful harvest just in time for winter.

What's Inside

An Engaging Adventure: Follow Ruby’s excited nose wiggles, Finn’s daring “squirrel-ize it!” ideas, and Bella’s thoughtful plans as they team up to save their precious berry patch.
A Playful Introduction to Code: Discover how a “function” takes in an input, follows a set of instructions, and produces an output—making a big coding concept feel easy and fun.
STEM Learning Disguised as Fun: Watch the forest friends navigate magical mishaps, tiny triumphs, and important lessons about being precise—a skill vital in both stories and coding.
Vibrant Illustrations & Simple Text: Perfect for read-alouds, classroom discussions, or young explorers eager to learn computer science. Enjoy this book in the Lexend dyslexia-friendly font, designed to support readers of all abilities.

Whether you’re a parent hoping to spark a passion for programming, a teacher looking for classroom-ready STEM materials, or a curious kid excited about what happens when you mix magic and code, A Berry Good Output: Functions Made Easy offers a playful pathway into the powerful world of computer science.

About Tiny Tales, Big Ideas

At Tiny Tales, Big Ideas, we believe storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to ignite curiosity in STEM. Founded by an experienced educator, our books transform complex coding concepts into engaging narratives—ideal for classrooms, home libraries, and curious minds everywhere.

About the Author

Brian Duryea is a dedicated public school educator who has spent years demystifying technology and computer science for young learners. Through the Tiny Tales, Big Ideas series, he transforms technical topics—like functions, variables, and more—into joyful adventures brimming with memorable characters and imaginative settings.

How to Use This Book in the Classroom

Read Aloud & Discuss: After reading, ask students: What are the “inputs” and “outputs” in the story? Why is it so important for the characters to write precise instructions?
Paper Functions: Give students worksheets with a Function Box as its title. Ask them to write their own rhyme for a function and explain it.
Flip the Classroom: Let students read the book in small groups, then present to the class the basis of the story and what happens.
Create a Classroom “Function”: Brainstorm a simple routine—like a class greeting or end-of-day cleanup—and label it a “function.” Discuss how precise steps (instructions) lead to a predictable “output.”
Draw the Data: Invite students to illustrate how the box changes the inputs. Show arrows from “input” to “function” to “output.” This visual helps them see how ideas flow in coding—one step at a time, following clear instructions.

Deep Dive: A Berry Good Output

The story of Bella, Ruby, and Finn introduces readers to one of the core concepts in coding—functions. In programming, a function is a set of instructions that takes in inputs, does something with them, and produces outputs. Just like the magical box in Whisker Woods, functions can transform whatever you give them, depending on the instructions you write.

In the story, Bella, Ruby, and Finn learn the importance of being clear and precise with their instructions—just as a programmer must be with code. When their instructions are too vague, the box surprises them with wild, unexpected results. This mirrors how small mistakes in a function can lead to buggy or unexpected behavior in a real program.

The magic of this ‘function box’ is that it makes concepts like input, output, and the need for precise instructions come alive for young learners. Instead of abstract code, kids see a fun, tangible example of how functions work in everyday problem-solving—like saving a berry patch from disaster.

At Tiny Tales, Big Ideas, we believe that playful narratives help make big coding concepts—like functions—stick. A Berry Good Output transforms this technical idea into a memorable adventure, showing kids that coding is about carefully crafting instructions that turn simple inputs into imaginative (and sometimes delicious!) outputs.

Questions that turn this tiny tale into a big idea

How did the friends use the Function Box to solve their berry problem in Whisker Woods?
Why was it so important for Bella, Ruby, and Finn to write their instructions precisely each time they used the box?
In what way is the box’s “input and output” idea similar to writing a function in coding?
What do you think might happen if the friends wrote unclear or wrong instructions for the box?
If you could have a magic “function” box in real life, what would you put inside—and what would you want it to produce?