How to buy the books? (Pong-Koi-Im Computing Science Textbooks for Primary Schools)

Highlights:

• Information (in English) on how to buy the books.
• Updated: around June 2021
• Information for Thailand’s Computing Science Textbooks for Primary Schools. The first cartoon-based textbooks in Thailand that teaches coding, along with other aspects of the National Computing Science Core Curriculum.
• Written by Mock (Panuakdet Suwannatat), one of the authors. I’ll explain how you can get the books from many sources. Important note: this website does not sell the books (or anything at all). I am also NOT selling the books here or anywhere. Since these are national textbooks owned by a government agency (IPST), the authors were paid a fixed fee and do not receive a cut from the sales. That being said, every time someone buys and reads the book, I feel so happy!

Physical Books

Algorithm #1: From the official store: Suksapan Panit

Suksapan Panit is the official distributor of the books. (Just a note: I don’t work for them. I’m not a shareholder. I don’t get paid by them to promote their business.)

Just click here to see the books: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=หนังสือเรียนรายวิชาพื้นฐาน+วิทยาศาสตร์+เทคโนโลยี+&category_id=0&page=3

Check if you see these beautiful covers.

If you see them, go ahead and buy them. Add to cart using the little 🛒 icon when you hover the mouse. Then go to the Shopping Cart and Checkout. The interface is mostly in English. The whole thing should cost 553 baht + shipping.

If you don’t see them. That means Suksapan has changed the interface. Sorry. Out of my control. But here’s an alternative way. Click the following link to go directly to the listing of each of the 6 books. Add each of them to the cart and checkout.

1. Book for Grade 1: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4848
2. Book for Grade 2: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4854
3. Book for Grade 3: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4869
4. Book for Grade 4: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4859
5. Book for Grade 5: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4863
6. Book for Grade 6: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4874

The shopping cart should look like this:

The two right columns show the prices in Thai baht (บาท). One full set containing all 6 books should cost 553 baht + shipping. It’s approximately 165 baht to ship to my home in Chiang Mai for 1 set (9.12 kg). So they cost about 553+165 = 718 baht for me to buy a set.

The “Estimate Shipping & Taxes” section below the table allows you to enter an international address. Unfortunately they don’t seem to ship outside Thailand at the moment. (I tried Singapore, USA, and Australia. No luck.) So, for my international friends, if you want the books, you will have to ship them to your contact in Thailand who can forward them to you.

Payment: You can pay by Bank Transfer. It’s a semi-automatic system where you need to read their instruction (given in Thai, unfortunately). Transfer the specific amount to a bank account using your mobile banking app, the web, or the ATM. Get a picture of the slip/receipt. Send them an email or a message through the LINE app (a popular chat app in Thailand), explaining the details of your purchase like your full name and the amount, attaching the picture of the transfer slip. Wait 1-2 business days for them to read and confirm your payment. Sounds complicated?! huh! But It’s not that difficult if you live in Thailand and you have a Thai bank account. Thai people are used to this. So, make use of your Thai friend. 😆

Algorithm #2: From other popular online shopping sites (unofficial)

Search for the following terms on your favorite online shopping app/website. Like Shopee or Lazada. (Note: I don’t own any of these websites, or any stores on these websites.)

วิทยาการคำนวณ สสวท

the search term for the books.

Be careful! The cover must have a read patch near the top. Like this:

But if they have a white patch like these (below), they are the practice books. Still great. But not the main books. Get them if you want, but you probably want to get the main books first!

Buying things online has its own risks (and fun). So, be careful and have fun.

I don’t want to post any links because it can be seen as an endorsement.

Algorithm #3: E-Book

A Thai e-book platform called Ookbee has all these books for sale on its platform. They’re beautiful and colorful, too! (Note: I don’t own, or work for, or get paid by Ookbee.)

Download the free Ookbee app on your mobile device / tablet, then search for the term: “เทคโนโลยี ป.1” Look for the right cover. Then search again, changing the number from 1 to 2, 4, 5, and 6.

These e-books are cheaper than paper books. They also let you see free sample pages ( >10 pages, which is quite generous.) But note that the reading experience on screen VS paper will be very different.

Algorithm #4: Go to the physical bookstore

Find a local school bookshop in Thailand. Or visit a branch of Suksapan Panich. They currently have 7 branch in Bangkok and 1 branch in Uttaradit. Here they are: https://www.suksapanpanit.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=24

I’ve got most of my books from the ท้องฟ้าจำลอง (Bangkok planetarium) branch. You can call them and arrange a delivery for a bulk order.

FAQs

Q	A
Is there an English version? If not, will there be one?	No. But I hope there’s one. I really want to have it. Let IPST know how much you want it and maybe we’ll get one. 🙂
Mock, can I just buy the books from you?	No. I don’t sell the books. But see the next question. 😉
Mock, can you order the books for me and ship to me? And I’ll pay you back!	I’ve done this for many of my friends and colleagues. If we know each other, please contact me on a personal channel. Note that it will take longer to wait for me than to do it directly from the stores. But sometimes, there are reasons to do it. E.g. shipping internationally.
Can I get the books for free? I’ll help promote it.	No. Sorry. I’m not the “owner” of the books. I receive 1 free copy as an author. Apart from that, I have to buy all the books myself. (And I bought A LOT of them. Haha!) I have some books to give away to teachers in rural areas in Thailand. The money comes from a personal charity funded by my close friends and myself.