Connor Stratton

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, North Star Editions (Focus Readers) for this DRC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own.

Cybersecurity and staying safe online are topics that are imperative for children to learn about. As they increasingly spend time online and are exposed to more sophisticated systems, it's important for them to be aware of targeted attacks that wish to do them harm in their digital spaces. In clear show more language, with short chapters and attached definitions, the text explains not only the "why" but also the "what" of phishing. showing young readers how it works and why it is dangerous. There's a good selection of phishing scenarios in here, some of which young readers may have encountered already in their digital lives. The suggestions for further reading in the back are very recent and accessible. I would have liked to see more examples throughout the book of phishing emails, texts and so forth for reference. There is one small diagram in here but I think the book could benefit from others to give readers a fuller scope of what phishing looks like across different platforms. I'm glad to see that this is part of a series and am curious to read about how other cyber threats are discussed.

The listed price point is steep for one volume, considering the overall book size. I can understand that librarians and educators would likely purchase the whole six book set, but even so, I do think that it could be lowered some. this is intended for an upper elementary audience, this can easily be used for teens and even adults, such as in an introductory computer course, and particularly for those who are not tech-savvy but want to learn more. I would use this, for example, with a group of seniors who are looking to expand their knowledge and understand how to protect themselves and their sensitive information, and to spot scams. I visited the publisher website and downloaded both the lesson plans and the quizzes, which were insightful and easily adaptable for classrooms and small groups. show less