"Please Look Up at Me" -A book review about Screen Time

Isn’t the title of this book more than enough to admit we, as a society, have put ourselves in a dead-end road by placing our children in front of screens? We all knew technology is a two-edged sword and we still allowed it to become a “normal” part of modern life.

Well, as part of that “normal” kind of life, children books are now targeting this subject. “Please Look Up at Me” by Denise D’Angelo Roland is a book that describes the daily family struggles of a child hooked on a device and a mother’s plea to stop. As I was reading the book, my mind went immediately to a parent’s lack of discipline for their child, since apparently, she would take the device everywhere and answer with an attitude when the issue was addressed. But, as I kept reading, the author presented the reader with a reality check. A scene in which most of us could sadly relate, a scene where dad ignores daughter at the dinner table because of the use of his personal device.

“A balance would be nice” are the words of a desperate mother who witnesses how her daughter is missing great parts of her life story because of devices, but also understands that in this modern world, we cannot prescind them either.

Andrea Shine, the book illustrator did a beautiful job matching the illustrations to the paragraphs being read and gave a nice flow to the story. The book also provides the reader guided questions to start conversations after a Read-Aloud, which makes it an excellent resource not just for parents but for teachers too. There is also a suggested family activity idea to create healthy boundaries with technology.

Denise D’Angelo Roland is also the founder of intentionallyunplugged.com in which she offered parents advice and resources to create healthy relationships with technology and therefore with your loved ones.

“Please Look Up at Me” is a book for every family regardless of their background and a great resource in Early Childhood to start creating awareness at a young age.

This is a formal book review and the opinions expressed are purely my own.