15 Best Books for JavaScript Beginners [2024]

There is a common saying “It’s Better Late Than Never”. If you have not got a chance to learn pure JavaScript yet and jumped directly into jQuery or other frameworks, you might want to gain some basic knowledge on JavaScript in order to improve your advanced coding capabilities.

For me, books are always much better than some blogs or online course. But that’s my personal opinion. In this post, I have listed down 15 best books for JavaScript beginners that I would recommend every . Although most of these books do not include the latest ES6 features, still it is a lot fun to learn how old timers used to discover hacks to deal with simple problems like using array on algorithms.

1. JavaScript Programmer’s Reference

Written by Alexei White, this book is a combination of reference and tutorial guide which will help to learn the proper procedures of utilizing the core features of JavaScript, including regular expressions, operators, syntax, types, objects and how to work with object and function.

2. Beginning JavaScript And CSS Development with jQuery

Richard York wrote this book that will help any front-end developer who is new to the JavaScript framework get started with how to utilize the framework. Apart from learning JavaScript through the system of highlighting code syntax this book also consists interesting information about jQuery like testing the code, handling the array, installation etc.

3. Learn JavaScript

This is a free downloadable e-book for beginners, covering the very basics. The format of this book is simple and easy to read, consisting a short passage on every subject, an example and an exercise. This book is maybe one of the best free resource to get yourself familiar with the language.

4. Eloquent Javascript

The 2nd edition of Eloquent JavaScript will teach you the art of writing precise and practical code. Starting off with the basics, it will slowly dive deeper into high order functions and object-oriented JavaScript. An icing on the cake is that, at the end, the book will teach you how to develop a game in HTML.

5. Javascript For Cats

With a creative illustration and title, Max Ogden, the author wants you to know that learning JavaScript is very easy. The 17-page book can teach you the very basic concepts of JavaScript within a very short time. The book is free for download and available on GitHub.

6. Thinking in Javascript

This book is the perfect choice for readers who do not like introduction, preface etc. It directly gets you started with coding along with explanations and screenshots. The book is of 31 pages which will not take up much of your time while getting you familiarized with the basics of JavaScript.

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7. JavaScript in Ten Minutes

The title is a bit hyped and in order to read this book, you will need to have clear understanding of the basic concepts of JavaScript. Spencer Tipping, the author, gives you a brief intro towards the advanced features of JavaScript like lazy scooping, use of iterators, behavior of variables etc.

8. You Don’t Know JS (series)

Kyle Simpson wrote this series of books to guide a developer from beginner to advanced level. This is for readers who are willing to have a deep understanding of JavaScript. Each book in the series brings forward a well explained material on every subject of JavaScript. You will be explained in a detailed manner regarding how everything works behind the browser.

9. JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook

This book is written by Danny Goodman and after finishing the first edition, the reader must dive into the second edition where the writer explains simple solutions to complicated scripting problems commonly faced by web developers. Each chapter contains a specific code or solution which the reader can directly use in their application.

10. JavaScript: The Definitive Guide

This is a series of books written by David Flanagan. The first book covers all the basic programming concepts, functions, objects, etc. The second book mainly covers core JavaScript concepts. In the third book, you will get an overview of server-side scripting along with functions related to W3C DOM.

11. JavaScript Goodies

Joe Burns and Andree Growney help the readers to master the core fundamentals of JavaScript and guides them to program their websites according to the way they want it to work.

12. Effective JavaScript: 68 Specific Ways to Harness the Power of JavaScript

David Herman will take you on a guided tour and will introduce you to some advanced scripting quirks in this book. You will get a chance to explore the best practices to follow while working with objects, arrays, libraries, function and API design. No matter what your skill level is, you will learn something new.

13. Beginning JavaScript

Jeremy McPeak and Paul Wilton aim to teach you the basics before you start experimenting with scripting. Starting from basic syntax, you will soon level up and become an expert in creating complex web applications.

14. JavaScript Step by Step

Steve Suehring makes it sure that without any experience in programming, the reader learns the fundamentals of JavaScript step by step with exercises that are easy to follow, codes and examples.

15. Human JavaScript

Written by Henrik Joreteg, this book covers the proper recipe for cooking simple and easy to maintain code with the right amount of ingredients like event handling, templates, views and finally garnishing with configuration and testing. This is a must read if you are willing to cook a bug free recipe with your team.

Knowledge is endless and in order to learn more, one needs to dive deeper in the sea of books. The above-mentioned JavaScript books will help programmers of any level get a clear understanding of how scripting works. Some of them are free for download and the others can be purchased at a decent price online. Have fun reading.

There are other online learning resources where you can get detailed insights into JavaScript and other programming languages. Some of the free learning resources come from platforms like LambdaTest, including their YouTube channel, blog, and learning hub. These platforms not only offer JavaScript tutorials but also provide knowledge on various emerging technologies.

LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that lets you run manual and automated tests at scale with over 3000+ real devices, browsers, and OS combinations.

It offers a variety of learning resources designed to programming languages and automation testing courses:

• LambdaTest Blog: This blog is a valuable source of information, covering real-world testing and development issues with practical use cases and solutions.



• LambdaTest Learning Hub: The Learning Hub provides tutorials that cover all aspects of web and mobile development. It includes in-depth guides for automation testing using tools like Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Appium, and more.



• LambdaTest YouTube Channel: The YouTube channel features a variety of video tutorials and use-case scenarios for automation testing. These resources are designed to help developers and testers speed up their testing processes.

These resources are essential for anyone looking to improve their skills in programming languages like Java, JavaScript, and automation.

Arnab Roy Chowdhury

Arnab Roy Chowdhury is a UI developer by profession and a blogging enthusiast. He has been writing content for about 5 years and has strong expertise in technical blogs, travelogues, and content in the latest programming languages.

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