When Pebbles the Possum looks up from her screen, she sees the moon shining brightly outside her window. She decides to stop looking up faraway places on her tablet, and visit them in real life instead. But to finish her rocket ship and get to the moon, she'll need some help from her family. If only they could LOOK UP from their screens long enough to help her!
Managing screen time is an issue many families are facing, from an increasingly young age. 34% of parents with preschool children are concerned about online/internet addiction* while 52% of parents think their kid is spending too much time online**.
There are even concerns about how much time parents are spending online! 52% of parents said they spend too much time on mobile devices and 39% of kids agree***!
The Little Possum Who Looked Up is an entertaining, relatable and age-appropriate approach to educate the whole family about the importance to spending time together without any screens.
Praise for The Little Possum who Looked Up
I am a huge fan of Kim Maslin's cyber safety stories! The Little Possum Who Looked Up is another fabulous title to add to my technology themed children's book list. This story is very relatable for kids and adults alike, as it addresses monitoring screen time and learning to be present by spending quality time with the people you love. The rhythmic rhyme of the words make this story flow beautifully! - Julie Smith, The Techie Teacher
"We are living in a technological world that allows us to connect, learn and be entertained in unprecedented ways. In this beautiful children's book, Pebbles the Possum gently reminds us that our use of technology needs to be balanced and not displace face to face connection, communication, relationships and experiences. The Little Possum Who Looked Up provides us all with an opportunity to reflect on our use of technology and the wonderful experiences we can share together online and offline." - Kayelene Kerr - Cyber Safety and Digital Wellness Specialist, WA Child Safety Services
The easy-to-use classroom resource
The Little Possum who Looked Up is the perfect classroom resource for teaching primary school students about cybersafety and digital citizenship. Reflection questions at the end of the book mean it is literally a "grab-n-go" set of lessons for you and your class to enjoy!
The book is well suited for children aged 4 - 7, and meets the following curriculum:
- Digital Technologies
- English
- Science
- Health
- Humanities & Social Sciences
There are also a range of lesson activities which can be downloaded to accompany the book via: www.kimmaslin.com
References
* Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 2018. "Parenting in the digital age" report
** Office of the eSafety Commissioner, 2018. Digital Parenting: managing screen time
*** Common Sense Media, 2019. Screens and Sleep
Maslin, Kim: - Kim Maslin is a passionate educator and author living in Esperance, Western Australia. She has taught learners aged 5 to 95 how to use digital technologies. Kim is a former primary and secondary school teacher, who specialised in Technologies, Media and STEM. In 2017, she published The Tweeting Galah children's book series. This collection of illustrated books are designed to educate children about growing up safe, happy and healthy in a digital world. The books are available worldwide in both paperback and eBook format, with supporting lesson activities and resources. She is currently undertaking research through the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, exploring young children's creativity with STEM activities in online learning environments.
