As someone relatively inexperienced with both Arduino and Mindstorms, how do you feel the learning curve differs between the two? Without a knowledgable parent

As someone relatively inexperienced with both Arduino and Mindstorms, how do you feel the learning curve differs between the two? Without a knowledgable parent like yourself, do you think most curious kids would have the wherewithal to bend the Arduino to their will as easily as could be done with Mindstorms? Maybe there are some great "Arduino for Kids" books out there that help solve this problem, because I expect a lot of the Arduino documentation might be a little dense for a middle school aged child.