Unplugged: Ella Gets Her Family Back

by Laura Pedersen, Penny Weber (Illustrator)

Overview

*Mom's Choice GOLD Award*
*Moonbeam Bronze Medal*
*Skipping Stones Honor Book*

Ella is really frustrated. Lately it seems like the whole family has forgotten how to be together. Instead of playing Hangman and making waffles, everyone is talking on cell phones, playing video games, and using the computer. What’s a girl to do?

When Ella finally makes her move, it gets everyone’s attention. At first there is some confusion—could Ella just want a cell phone of her own?  But Ella makes clear that what she really wants is her family back. Will they all agree that it’s time to make some changes? And what word do you think Ella will use the next time she plays Hangman with her brother Carlos? This is a lively book about the issue of managing technology so that it can become more family friendly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884483373
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	10/10/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Laura Pedersen was the youngest columnist for the New York Times. Prior to that she was the youngest person to have a seat on the floor of the American Stock Exchange and wrote her first book, Play Money, about that experience. President Clinton honored Laura as one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans, and she has gone on to write award-winning short stories, nonfiction, and novels. Laura was a shy only child, and as a seventh grader realized that telling funny stories and jokes was a good way to make friends. As an adult, she has performed stand-up comedy and writes material for several well-known comedians. Laura lives in New York City and teaches at the Booker T. Washington Learning Center in East Harlem.

Penny Weber is a mother, wife, cat and dog lover, and artist who loves good books, hockey, and action movies. Her books include On My Way to School, Amazingly Wonderful Things, One of Us, Unplugged, Always Mom-Forever Dad, and Ava's Adventure.

What People are Saying About This

Anne K. Fishel

Laura Pedersen's Unplugged is a delightful book about the importance of face-to-face family time. Parents today need to model a balanced approach to technology use, but our children, like Ella in this timely story, know how essential it is to have a chance to talk, play games, and eat together.
—Anne K. Fishel Ph.D. (co-author of "The Digital Family," PsychologyToday.com, and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School)

Ellen Galinsky

Being tethered to our screens 24/7 is of huge societal concern to children, families and teachers. It seems insolvable but it isn’t! In an inspired and inspiring example of ‘taking on challenges,’ Laura Pedersen’s UNPLUGGED shows how a child comes up with a solution that gives her and her family what our studies show they want most—time to be together and have fun.
— Ellen Galinsky (President, Families and Work Institute, and author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills That Every Child Needs)

Eileen Doyle

Busy families may forget the value of just spending time together—a chance to talk, connect, play games, and enjoy one other. Laura Pedersen's Unplugged shows how easily a family can be derailed from that special time together and suggests a solution that is a good fit for everyone.
—Eileen Doyle (Vice President of Program, Girl Scouts of the USA)

Editorial Reviews

"This book is fantastic! It makes me feel like I’m not crazy for not letting my son get plugged in yet to television, apps, or cell phones.This is a great book for all families and is a gentle request for families to unplug and remember to spend time with each other.... It’s a fantastic book that is entertaining and gently asks you to assess being constantly plugged in and the toll that it can take on your family, We highly, highly recommend this book."

The Picture Book Review

"Being tethered to our screens 24/7 is of huge societal concern to children, families and teachers. It seems insolvable but it isn’t! In an inspired and inspiring example of ‘taking on challenges,’ Laura Pedersen’s UNPLUGGED shows how a child comes up with a solution that gives her and her family what our studies show they want most—time to be together and have fun. Ellen Galinsky, President, Families and Work Institute, and author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills That Every Child Needs"

Ellen Galinsky

"A must-have book for go-gogo-thumb-thumbtap families. We LOVE the illustrations, the story, the characters, and the critical message about being mindful to spend time WITH each other. Great book!"

Reach & Teach

"I love the message of this book! It is well-told in the story. I like Ella’s cleverness and creativity. She probably has it because she is not plugged in! All families should read this book and learn from the message given in it—spend more time with each other!"

This Kid Reviews Books

"Laura Pedersen's Unplugged is a delightful book about the importance of face-to-face family time. Parents today need to model a balanced approach to technology use, but our children, like Ella in this timely story, know how essential it is to have a chance to talk, play games, and eat together."

Anne K. Fishel

Gr 1–3—Ella's brother has no time for their game of hangman, her mother forgets to make a special breakfast, her sister is too busy to braid Ella's hair, and her father is glued to his laptop. Frustrated by her family's lack of together time due to excessive use of electronic devices, Ella gets mad, and then hatches a plan. She collects all the chargers and small electronic devices she can find. When her family members come looking for them, she tries to explain how she misses the time they used to spend together. They are not impressed. Her parents think she wants a cell phone and her siblings just want their stuff back. Ella tries again by telling her parents, "I just want my family back. I want things to be like they were before you all got so plugged in." Ella is surprised the next morning by a family breakfast sans electronics and a new plan for the Whitman-Diaz clan to be unplugged Saturday mornings and Sunday nights. Weber's illustrations clearly depict everyone's emotions and actions while accurately representing the text. The clever placement of unfinished hangman games throughout the book is a nice touch. The facile ending can be overlooked as the author addresses an important issue for today's families. This book is a good starting point to spark discussion and perhaps create change.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

School Library Journal

In a flavorless alternative to Matthew Cordell's Hello! Hello! (2012), young Ella concocts a scheme to wean her distracted family from their digital devices. Ella comes down the stairs expecting promised blueberry waffles for breakfast, some fancy braiding from older sister Maya and a brisk round of Hangman from brother Carlos. None of this is forthcoming, as Mom is on the cell and hurrying off to work, Maya is texting friends as she dashes out, and Carlos is absorbed in a video game. Even Dad, hunched over his laptop, is only good for a vague two-fingered wave. All right, then: After school that afternoon, Ella determinedly scours the house for chargers and power cords and proceeds to hold them hostage--explaining "I just want my family back. I want things to be like they were before you all got so plugged in." In instant and unlikely capitulation, everyone smilingly agrees to breakfast together every morning from then on and regular "unplugged" time on weekends. Depicting a blandly smiling, biracial family in a comfortable suburban setting, Weber endows Ella with an appealingly shiny face and wildly curly hair, but other figures have frozen, sometimes off-kilter features. A timely premise, but young readers who think that Ella's strategy will work for them are in for an unpleasant surprise. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews