What do you think?
Rate this book
Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus
Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus takes place inside a strange, little-known world: a personal computer, the perfect setting for a fast-paced, funny, one-minute-long story.
Zuto, a smart, sneaky computer virus, leads a happy life in his secret hiding place: the Recycle Bin. There, among heaps of junk full of surprising treasures, he plans his tricks. Everything changes when a far more malicious program invades the computer . . . and threatens to end all life in it. Together with his Recycle Bin friends—outdated, buggy programs—Zuto sets off to save his world.
Readers curious about the truth behind this rollicking adventure story will find it in the Zutopedia appendix, which explains concepts such as computer viruses, IP addresses, and binary numbers.
Zuto was first published in Israel, where it was recommended by the Israeli Ministry of Education and voted in the top ten favorite books by children in grades 4-6 nationwide.
Zuto, a smart, sneaky computer virus, leads a happy life in his secret hiding place: the Recycle Bin. There, among heaps of junk full of surprising treasures, he plans his tricks. Everything changes when a far more malicious program invades the computer . . . and threatens to end all life in it. Together with his Recycle Bin friends—outdated, buggy programs—Zuto sets off to save his world.
Readers curious about the truth behind this rollicking adventure story will find it in the Zutopedia appendix, which explains concepts such as computer viruses, IP addresses, and binary numbers.
Zuto was first published in Israel, where it was recommended by the Israeli Ministry of Education and voted in the top ten favorite books by children in grades 4-6 nationwide.
- GenresScience Fiction
182 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2012
4 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Udi Aharoni
1 book8 followersUdi Aharoni is a software engineer and Maching Learning expert
with IBM Research. He holds an M.A. in Computer Science.
He published short, original scientific videos on his YouTube
channel “udiprod,” which has over a million views, before writing his
acclaimed children’s book Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus
(Rimonim, August 2009).
Aharoni’s debut published first in Hebrew and was voted one of the
nation’s favorite books for ages 9-12 in the Israeli Ministry of
Education’s “Book Parade.” The English version followed in August
The computer whiz visits classrooms – both in person and via webcam – for discussions and
lessons surrounding his educational book.
with IBM Research. He holds an M.A. in Computer Science.
He published short, original scientific videos on his YouTube
channel “udiprod,” which has over a million views, before writing his
acclaimed children’s book Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus
(Rimonim, August 2009).
Aharoni’s debut published first in Hebrew and was voted one of the
nation’s favorite books for ages 9-12 in the Israeli Ministry of
Education’s “Book Parade.” The English version followed in August
The computer whiz visits classrooms – both in person and via webcam – for discussions and
lessons surrounding his educational book.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2012
My 8 year old son and I read this book together. We both really enjoyed it and it kept our interest. Very nicely done! Solid 4 star rating with high recommendations!
My rating system is as follows:
5 stars - Excellent, Worth Every Penny, Made It Into My Personal Library!
4 stars - Great book, but not a classic.
3 stars - Good overall, generally well written.
2 stars - Would not recommend based on personal criteria.
1 star - Difficult to read, hard to finish, or didn't finish. Wouldn't recommend purchasing or reading.
In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book I review was provided to me by the publisher, media group or the author for free and no financial payments were received, unless specified otherwise.
My rating system is as follows:
5 stars - Excellent, Worth Every Penny, Made It Into My Personal Library!
4 stars - Great book, but not a classic.
3 stars - Good overall, generally well written.
2 stars - Would not recommend based on personal criteria.
1 star - Difficult to read, hard to finish, or didn't finish. Wouldn't recommend purchasing or reading.
In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book I review was provided to me by the publisher, media group or the author for free and no financial payments were received, unless specified otherwise.
October 25, 2012
A good story for kids who like computers (what kid doesn't?) The 'live' computer characters reminded me somewhat of the old "Tron" movie. A quick read that kids will enjoy.
I received my copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
I received my copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
November 16, 2012
Zuto is intended as an allegory about the workings of computer software and viruses. The story takes place primarily within a minute or so of time in our world, which of course represents many clock cycles in a computer world. We meet Zuto, a virus, as the story opens and Zuto steals a motorcycle for a joyride. His antics are disruptive, but rarely destructive. For example, his joyride disrupts the normal workings of the computer and some bits are misplaced which results in a picture on the computer looking slightly odd.
Along the way, Zuto meets Silver Shield, the antivirus program, and some old, deleted programs in the Recycle Bin (Newton and Super Media 2.0) who form our team of protagonists. This is where the allegory falls a little short to me. The main point of any sort of deleted app or file is that it isn’t supposed to be active again. The characterizations are still interesting, but the comparison still felt a little odd in seeing deleted programs running around having adventures. The characterizations of them are entertaining, though. For example, Super Media 2.0 was deleted because “she” has a stuttering problem.
Zuto and his companions go off to see the great Firewall at Port 80 and are impressed until the Firewall comes down and worms come into their lives. Zuto plays the hero to defeat one of the worms, but the other goes away to protect itself and grow into something that will bring down the computer.
Silver Shield is unable to vanquish the worm and a new antivirus enters the scene to attempt to remove the worm. It is unable to do so; therefore, Zuto teams up with Silver Shield to take out the worm. Their victory is short lived as the user issues a shutdown command which would eliminate Zuto because he is not permanently stored in the computer. Zuto leaves through Port 80 to survive and possibly turn to see his companions another day. Before he leaves, he receives the address for the computer in case he wants to return some day.
I appreciated the Zutopedia at the end of the book quite a bit. This puts the referenced computer terms into language that a child can understand. Udi has one particular illustration on bits and colors that I thought was particularly well done. He describes the on/off state of a bit and how many of those bits put together can be used to store colors. As more bits are added, the number of colors represented grows larger and larger. Of course, for more information, there’s an online Zutopedia at zutopedia.com. In the book, there’s a very basic explanation of binary and powers of two to help introduce the concepts.
Overall, Zuto is an entertaining story. It introduces some basic ideas about how computers might work if they were towns populated with different sorts of creatures. Some of those characterizations felt a little forced to me or perhaps a little unrealistic in their descriptions, but as this is intended for children, I think that the story works reasonably well for that level. Zuto is a short read and the included Zutopedia helps clarify some terms and concepts. If you want an entertaining story about the inside workings of computers for an Elementary aged child, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. I plan to give this to my elementary-aged kid for a read-through and review to get a kid’s opinion. I’ll try to update this review when that happens.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy of this story with no expectations on the part of the author or publisher. I was not compensated in any way for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.
Along the way, Zuto meets Silver Shield, the antivirus program, and some old, deleted programs in the Recycle Bin (Newton and Super Media 2.0) who form our team of protagonists. This is where the allegory falls a little short to me. The main point of any sort of deleted app or file is that it isn’t supposed to be active again. The characterizations are still interesting, but the comparison still felt a little odd in seeing deleted programs running around having adventures. The characterizations of them are entertaining, though. For example, Super Media 2.0 was deleted because “she” has a stuttering problem.
Zuto and his companions go off to see the great Firewall at Port 80 and are impressed until the Firewall comes down and worms come into their lives. Zuto plays the hero to defeat one of the worms, but the other goes away to protect itself and grow into something that will bring down the computer.
Silver Shield is unable to vanquish the worm and a new antivirus enters the scene to attempt to remove the worm. It is unable to do so; therefore, Zuto teams up with Silver Shield to take out the worm. Their victory is short lived as the user issues a shutdown command which would eliminate Zuto because he is not permanently stored in the computer. Zuto leaves through Port 80 to survive and possibly turn to see his companions another day. Before he leaves, he receives the address for the computer in case he wants to return some day.
I appreciated the Zutopedia at the end of the book quite a bit. This puts the referenced computer terms into language that a child can understand. Udi has one particular illustration on bits and colors that I thought was particularly well done. He describes the on/off state of a bit and how many of those bits put together can be used to store colors. As more bits are added, the number of colors represented grows larger and larger. Of course, for more information, there’s an online Zutopedia at zutopedia.com. In the book, there’s a very basic explanation of binary and powers of two to help introduce the concepts.
Overall, Zuto is an entertaining story. It introduces some basic ideas about how computers might work if they were towns populated with different sorts of creatures. Some of those characterizations felt a little forced to me or perhaps a little unrealistic in their descriptions, but as this is intended for children, I think that the story works reasonably well for that level. Zuto is a short read and the included Zutopedia helps clarify some terms and concepts. If you want an entertaining story about the inside workings of computers for an Elementary aged child, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. I plan to give this to my elementary-aged kid for a read-through and review to get a kid’s opinion. I’ll try to update this review when that happens.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a review copy of this story with no expectations on the part of the author or publisher. I was not compensated in any way for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.
January 20, 2016
This review was originally posted on Bibliophilia, Please.
Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus is the middle-grade debut novel of Udi Aharoni. The story is set inside of a boy named Tom's computer and follows a Zutrog-33 virus named Zuto.
The Writing of Zuto really made reading the book a breeze. The style is definitely aimed at a younger audience with short chapters and cute illustrations every ten pages or so. There is also a "Zutopedia" in the back that defines some of the computer terms that are used in the course of the book. The characters are funny, and Zuto is charming enough to make a virus a sympathetic character. The only drawback that I saw with the novel is that it may be a little too simple for the age group it is aimed at, but this one is not a major concern because most children (like adults) like an occasional easy read, and Zuto sneaks a little educational material into the story. 3.5/5 Stars
Udi Aharoni's World-Weaving in Zuto is fantastic. The entire story takes place in less than a minute (though much longer for the characters), and it turns the inner-workings of a computer into a world that easy to imagine and that makes how a computer works more understandable. There is a "Firewall" that is by the port, that is described as being by the sea much like an actual port. The anti-virus program is similar to a police officer, and he patrols the Mathematical Co-Processor on a motorcycle. I personally am not a computer expert, so reading Zuto gave even me, an adult, a greater insight into the way computers operate. 4.5/5 Stars
The Pace of the novel is very fast and can easily keep a middle-grade reader on board. The events unfold quickly, and a lot happens in this very little book. The chapters are short, but they pack a lot of heat. 4/5 Stars
The Extra Magic of Zuto is the way Aharoni and Troitsa take a subject that many would find boring and present it in a way that is appealing. While computers are an essential part of my life, I've never had much interest in knowing how they work or why they do what they do. As long as I was able to get online and my research was kept safe, I did not need anything more from my computer. However, reading Zuto taught me a few things, but mostly it made concepts that went right over my head before a little more tangible and understandable. 4/5 Stars
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received the book from literary publicity firm, JKS Communications, in exchange for an honest review as a part of the book tour. This has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.
Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus is the middle-grade debut novel of Udi Aharoni. The story is set inside of a boy named Tom's computer and follows a Zutrog-33 virus named Zuto.
The Writing of Zuto really made reading the book a breeze. The style is definitely aimed at a younger audience with short chapters and cute illustrations every ten pages or so. There is also a "Zutopedia" in the back that defines some of the computer terms that are used in the course of the book. The characters are funny, and Zuto is charming enough to make a virus a sympathetic character. The only drawback that I saw with the novel is that it may be a little too simple for the age group it is aimed at, but this one is not a major concern because most children (like adults) like an occasional easy read, and Zuto sneaks a little educational material into the story. 3.5/5 Stars
Udi Aharoni's World-Weaving in Zuto is fantastic. The entire story takes place in less than a minute (though much longer for the characters), and it turns the inner-workings of a computer into a world that easy to imagine and that makes how a computer works more understandable. There is a "Firewall" that is by the port, that is described as being by the sea much like an actual port. The anti-virus program is similar to a police officer, and he patrols the Mathematical Co-Processor on a motorcycle. I personally am not a computer expert, so reading Zuto gave even me, an adult, a greater insight into the way computers operate. 4.5/5 Stars
The Pace of the novel is very fast and can easily keep a middle-grade reader on board. The events unfold quickly, and a lot happens in this very little book. The chapters are short, but they pack a lot of heat. 4/5 Stars
The Extra Magic of Zuto is the way Aharoni and Troitsa take a subject that many would find boring and present it in a way that is appealing. While computers are an essential part of my life, I've never had much interest in knowing how they work or why they do what they do. As long as I was able to get online and my research was kept safe, I did not need anything more from my computer. However, reading Zuto taught me a few things, but mostly it made concepts that went right over my head before a little more tangible and understandable. 4/5 Stars
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received the book from literary publicity firm, JKS Communications, in exchange for an honest review as a part of the book tour. This has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.
April 10, 2013
"Zuto: The Adventures of a Computer Virus" by Udi Aharoni is a fabulous, quirky and imaginative book for youngsters. Tommy’s computer has a virus - Zuto to be precise. But Zuto is a laid back, inoffensive one who rides a motorcycle. He is happy to hang around with his friend, an outdated media program, Super Media 2.0. There is a friendly but dodgy calculator program in Newton and also Silver Shield, a virus fighting program. This extremely likeable but less than promising group join together to fight the worm that has invaded Tommy’s computer and is causing all the trouble. As they do so, kids are introduced to various parts of the computer and they will get an understanding of how they work. For example, firewalls are depicted as curtains of flame that open and close to let safe info through. There are Central Processor Agents who keep everyone organised, much as you’d expect.
Udi Aharoni has a very readable style. He explains things clearly and it never gets complicated. There is plenty of fun in the story but also a very real look at loyalty and unity for the common good. There is a heroic quest going on and the friends work well together. They are a loyal, tight team and that is inspiring. The Zutopedia at the end is a nice touch and explains the technical terms that are used in the book. There are good quality illustrations and all in all, this is a very professionally presented, well-written and well-thought-out book. Both I and my eleven-year-old enjoyed it immensely and learned about the inner workings of computers.
Udi Aharoni has a very readable style. He explains things clearly and it never gets complicated. There is plenty of fun in the story but also a very real look at loyalty and unity for the common good. There is a heroic quest going on and the friends work well together. They are a loyal, tight team and that is inspiring. The Zutopedia at the end is a nice touch and explains the technical terms that are used in the book. There are good quality illustrations and all in all, this is a very professionally presented, well-written and well-thought-out book. Both I and my eleven-year-old enjoyed it immensely and learned about the inner workings of computers.
July 23, 2014
It's a great book
I love the adventurous characters and the theme it's about a nice virus and friends who live in a computer.I would recommend the book to someone who likes computers and adventure books.It's not educational and kids hate that
I love the adventurous characters and the theme it's about a nice virus and friends who live in a computer.I would recommend the book to someone who likes computers and adventure books.It's not educational and kids hate that
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews