📘 ABCs of Safe Web Surfing: Essential Online Safety Tips for Your Child’s First Device by C.D. Richardson

Overall, this was a great read! I loved seeing characters of color because representation matters. The subject matter is so fitting for this day and age. The cover art is warm and vibrant, making it inviting, and the ABC structure gives it a familiar, approachable feel for both kids and adults.

Each letter of the alphabet introduces a vocabulary word or concept related to online safety. I appreciated how the book included both foundational terms like “Digital Footprint” and deeper concepts like “Empathy” and “Digital Manners.” It’s well-rounded and covers a lot—maybe too much. At times it felt like the book tried to do a little too much by including technical terms like “malware,” “QR codes,” and “networks,” which felt slightly out of place compared to the rest.

This would be a great read-aloud for a classroom or for parents to explore with their child. Because of the scope, it lends itself better to discussion in small bites rather than reading straight through. I definitely see its value as a resource in any elementary classroom or home with kids—and to be honest, a few of the lessons could be helpful for adults too 😅

⭐️ 4/5 stars – Informative and valuable, just a bit ambitious in scope..

It’s a good message for sure. The disconnect for me is between the art and wording. The illustrations seem geared towards younger kids, while the info is for kids old enough to use the internet.

ABCs of Safe Web Surfing is such a thoughtful and timely book for young kids stepping into the digital world for the first time. Through the friendly guidance of AROC the robot and his pals, children learn how to stay safe online in a way that’s easy to understand and fun to follow. I really appreciated how it turned a big, serious topic into something light and approachable without losing its importance. As a parent, I found this book both helpful and reassuring.

The alphabet book takes on computer savvy in this informative book about staying safe and using technology wisely. This would be a perfect series to share with a primary technology class, or to review a challenging concept (e.g. cybersecurity or zero trust) with older students.

I highly recommend this book for families, schools, and libraries.

Hold onto your mousepads, folks—ABCs of Safe Web Surfing is the online safety crash course every kid (and let’s be honest, some grown-ups) need in their life! 📱💥 AROC the robot is the real MVP, making internet smarts as fun as Saturday morning cartoons. I laughed, I learned, and I definitely double-checked my own privacy settings. If your kid’s got a device, they NEED this book. Period. End of URL. 😎✨🔐

I don't have any kids but this brought back memories of my childhood! These are definitely things everyone needs to learn!

ABCs of Safe Web Surfing is the must-have, kid-approved starter kit for raising smart, safe little surfers—because handing over a device without this book is like giving them car keys with no brakes!

A nicely done, colorful guide for both parents and children. While the illustrations are definitely kid friendly with their colorful graphics, the words are obviously meant to be read by both the child and parents. I liked that concept, actually. Each term addressed is pertinent, with fun drawings to illustrate meaning, two pages per letter.

I'm pretty certain there are some excellent reminders in here for even long time web surfers, too. It's easy to become careless and complacent as we click about at random, something this reminds us isn't always good form. I won't detail the contents but will share a few. My favorite perhaps was early one as the author urges "balance", a balance between time on and offline. As much fun and addictive as endless surfing the net can be, we're remind that time away from the screen is important, too. Cyberbullies are also addressed with the advice being direct, "Don't be one".

The idea of "empathy", remembering that there's a real human (well, maybe) on the other end of the posting is emphasized, as is that one should never give away their "password". Nor should you click mindlessly. When in doubt, the book urges young uses to turn to trusted adults for guidance. As many learn to their sorrow, not all links are harmless and can, in fact, lead to major headaches. You're also reminded that every post you make, every comment you share, is most likely forever engraved in a digital footprint somewhere. I guess in the cloud? Not that this book even attempts to explain the cloud. Grin.

Bottom line, a nicely done guide with fun graphics to help guide newcomers through the basics of the web. In addition, various activities are suggested at the end, including an encouraging way to get parent and child to talk out use and create guidelines. Internet sources are also given at the end. Thanks for this peek at this handy, sadly much needed guide, #IndependentlyPublished. As noted, I lean toward thinking the idea of "balance" between screen and away time is something just about any of us who find themselves seemingly glued to the screen can use.