Yes, that goes exactly in the way I thought of it myself. It's about problem solving skills, which are not only useful for programming but for interacting with a digital world in general.

Actually Mistborn and also Patrick Rothfuß The Name of the Wind already go in this direction.

And I'm just thinking: what if kids grow up with those type of books? Imagine a whole generation who grew up with a version of Harry Potter, in which magic works like programming. I'm sure good programmers would come out of this.

Although I'm sure it could also have some drawbacks ...