10 Best JavaScript Books UK 2023 | Beginner to Advanced With Illustrations and Examples

This first book from Kyle Simpson generally provides the necessary background of all things JavaScript. It's for those with a limited understanding of the general building blocks of programming. So if you're new, start here. Though, the magnificent thing is that in this series there is a book for everyone. If you have a solid foundation with which to build, then you can also check out the later titles.

These books come in a small and concise format and are written in a coherent manner, which gives you a much needed psychological boost when taking on something as gargantuan and complex as learning a new coding language. Taking all this into account, this title and those that follow have to take the top spot!

At over 600 pages, this definitive guide to JavaScript is sure to appeal to those who love to know everything about everything. With a focus on getting you truly up to scratch and a publication date of mid-2020, this is an encyclopedic tomb of knowledge.

Inside you are treated to countless examples of code and even new, additional chapters ranging from classes to async/await. This book will help you go from complete beginner to master - a complete second spot worthy choice.

Before you pick up this book I urge you to go on Amazon and check out the reviews. What you'll soon find is that people love this book. Like really, love it. Someone even wants to marry it. This is all down to the way it's written, simplifying things when it can and outlining principles efficiently.

It's a great book for beginners because it is for those who have never programmed before, but it will soon have you learn what you want to, the way you want to. All with a couple of hearty laughs along the way! 

If you are looking for an academic yet highly readable book, have we got a treat for you. For the intermediates, this book will provide you with a treasure trove of knowledge. For the more advanced readers, there is plenty of stuff in here that will have you questioning why you've been doing it the hard way for so long! 

This book is going to provide you with a deep and practical understanding of the language, there are to be no shortcuts here! But once you come out the other side you will have felt like you have studied with a master of the craft. 

What's the most difficult part about learning something? Remembering it! That's where this book sets itself apart. Once you have read one of the swift chapters (approximately 10-15 mins long) you log on to the website and use the many exercises provided that make sure you remember and understand what you have just been taught!

If you're looking for a way to retain the knowledge you've learned from other books and sources, this is a great way to supplement your learning with refresher content. A very unique way to learn, but an effective one.

This book teaches the essentials before working its way up to the more complicated aspects, although its target audience is still very much beginners. It will patiently walk you through the programming essentials providing you with step-by-step examples as well as illustrations. 

Creating functions like simple bouncing balls and animated racing cars you will learn the basics, but it is to be noted that this book has a starting age range of 9+ so be warned that some aspects may seem a little childish. 

If you are looking to build your own social media empire or create websites with efficient user interfaces then you are no doubt going to use ReactJS. This book is not too long, swiftly teaching you the fundamentals and core concepts with many examples to test them out for yourself. 

The downside is that this book focuses solely on one aspect, so if you were looking for something that gives you an overall insight into how the whole language of JavaScript works this is not the place to get it. 

This book from Jon Duckett is simply a treat for the eyes. It is beautifully designed, concisely laid out, and is jam-packed with illustrations and samples. This book will take you on a journey from beginner to leading-edge in an organised, yet attractive and engaging way. 

But, coming in at over 600+ pages this is our biggest book on the list, therefore, you may struggle to get through a couple of pages on your morning commute but is perfect for those looking for something more thorough!

This book is all about functionality. Which makes sense, because JavaScript is a programme that runs on dynamic and flexible functions. In this book, you will learn, exactly, how things work so that when problems arise you will know why they are happening and what you have to do to solve them. 

Unfortunately, this book is only available for those of you who have a kindle or are comfortable reading an ebook on a tablet as it hasn't been published in either paperback or hardback. Secondly, it is the oldest book on our list.

By far the standout feature of this book is its heavy use of samples. It is going to provide you with so many opportunities to learn via a hands-on approach, which will hopefully help you retain the knowledge in the long run. 

However, you will require at least a small understanding of JavaScript before you even start this book as the concepts can be quite difficult to understand. Also, many reviewers have commented on how the book has been known to fall apart relatively quickly so it may be worth purchasing the kindle version if that is an option for you.