Cyberama: A Children's Book on Internet Safety and Cybersecurity

by Arthi Vasudevan, Jasmin Davis (Illustrator)

Overview

In this action-packed cybersecurity book for kids, Maya, an Indian-American seventh grader, fights cyber criminals with the help of her best friend, Dave, and six artificially intelligent (AI) animal robot pals.

Help your kids be safe on the internet and start talking cybersecurity with this action-packed video game-like middle-grade adventure book!

Are you worried about your child's digital safety-but don't know where to begin?

The internet is the driving force in today's society and a huge part of our daily lives. Most children use the internet from the moment they wake up till the moment they fall asleep.

More importantly, most children (and many adults!) don't know they need protection while surfing the web …. until it's too late.

Cyberama starts the cybersecurity conversation for you, simplifying the best ways to protect ourselves in the exciting and ever-changing world of the internet.

Cyberama brings serious fun to complex computer science and cybersecurity subjects, like:

• Password Strength
• Social Engineering
• Malware
• Phishing
• Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
• Internet Security
• Cyberbullying

Cyberama is designed to be your biggest tool in the defense against cyber threats, big and small! This middle grade adventure book is ideal for beginner internet users.

Don't forget to check out the book website for free resources such as a web-based game for kids to test their cybersecurity knowledge, comics and printables!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634896344
Publisher:	Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	156
Sales rank:	677,700
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

Arthi Vasudevan is a senior cybersecurity product manager with 15 years of experience in engineering and cybersecurity. She is also a mom of two young children who have recently started using the internet. Originally from India, she currently lives in Texas. She is passionate about promoting STEM and cyber safety in young children through interactive workshops and games. She also speaks at various industry conferences, and has organized multiple events on career development for professionals.

Arthi holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Rice University. She also serves on the board of a non-profit organization to provide leadership coaching for refugee and immigrant students in Texas. She has been featured in the book "Everyday Superheroes, Women in Energy" as a trailblazer. She is also the recipient of multiple awards including the Houston Business Journal's "Women Who Mean Business" award, and ALLY Energy's GRIT award.

Jasmin Davis is a talented digital artist. She has been creating artwork since
childhood including digital painting, illustration, character and lighting design,
concept art, and traditional art. As an artist, she loves exploring all styles and mediums, but her style of drawing is classified as "stylized semi-realism." Her recent interest has been to study artwork around cinematic photography.

Editorial Reviews

10/23/2023

In this thrilling, fast-paced middle grade adventure, young Maya Iyer and her close friend, Dave, find themselves under cyber attack in a new virtual reality game. With the aid of her new cyberbots, six “mini animal robots” created by her scientist parents to help keep her safe in the VR world, Maya and Dave work together to beat the levels of the virtual game, Cyberama. But the more they explore, the more personal information the game prompts them for— especially information pertaining to Maya and her parents’ new secret government project.

A senior cybersecurity project manager of 15 years, author Vasudevan draws on her experience to craft a story and characters to educate middle graders on the covert tactics of cyber hackers. Throughout, Maya and Dave discover the meanings of terms like "bad actors," "firewall," and "phishing,” sometimes from their cyberbots, who each boast special skills and powers, including an owl with supersonic speed and a unicorn who can shoot flames from her mouth. Maya and Dave catch on that something’s not right when the game asks, “Now, guess how many miles your home is from the Empire State Building”—an attempt to hone in on her home address. As they unlock new levels, Maya and Dave come to the terrifying realization that the game knows personal details Maya hasn't disclosed. Fearful that her parents will revoke her gaming and internet privileges, Maya makes it her mission to stop the cybercriminals and protect her family with the help of her friends and their special set of cyber-skills.

Vasudevan does a stellar job of creating relatable, interesting characters and an exciting world full of puzzles and challenges, all while emphasizing crucial concepts of cybersecurity. Equal parts adventurous and educational, Cyberama is a perfect introduction to the perils of cyberstalking and hacking. Filled with colorful illustrations, this is the perfect read for students and children delving into gaming and learning social interactions online.

Takeaway: An educational adventure for young readers about cybersecurity.

Comparable Titles: Amber DeVilbiss’s The Little Cyber Engineer, Lyron Foster’s The Adventures of Snacker The Hacker.

Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: A Editing: A Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews