Author: Ben Halpert
Publisher: Smith Publicity
Rating: WORTHY!
DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration for this review. The chance to read a new book is reward aplenty!
The cyber savvy kids have a series of adventures (this is only one of them), all aimed at showing children that their life is far more enriched by pursing a variety of interests than ever it is by dedicatedly staring in entrancement at a video screen forever. It’s also healthier to move around often instead of adopting the inverse shape of a chair for several hours in a row.
This particular adventure features the two kids starting to wonder how they will go on with life after their video game time-limit is reached. Interacting with mom, they start making lists, one for indoor activities in case the weather is bad, and one for outdoors. They soon have a host of things they could do.
I loved this book for a number of reasons. The first is how presentable and engaging it is. It’s no-nonsense, straight-forward story telling, with attractive and colorful illustrations, and it’s also educational, which is always a big plus with me, children's books or not.
In addition to this, the family is draw in such a way that they could legitimately be any one of several races, which is always a good way to be inclusive. I love the way their mom is engaged (no word on what dad is up to!), which is a really important thing that's lost when kids depart to the video screen, and parents depart to whatever the heck it is with which they occupy themselves - perhaps even their own video screen.
None of that here. Mom is right there and interacting all the time with these two kids, talking with them, asking questions, sitting down with them, making suggestions, sharing in their worries and triumphs. Can't fault that at all. I did have a problem with the stereotyping of the girl as a princess in pink and the boy in blue as a superhero. I thought we'd grown out of that phase.
Other than that, I think this is a solid start to suggesting alternatives to video to your children, and to helping keep them safe and competently occupied. Be sure to visit the website at http://savvycyberkids.org/
