Book Review
A short overview of this book
Once Upon a Time… online by David Bedford and Rosie Reeve is a book for younger children that is useful for starting conversations about online safety, focusing on asking for permission before going online.
Online safety is a conversation that parents must have with children from a young age. Ideally, the sooner you start having these conversations the better. As you can start to shape your child into being a responsible user, before letting them loose in the online world.
This book has one message – children must ask for permission before going online. It tells the story of some fairytale children (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, 3 pigs, Bad Wolf, Jack from the Beanstalk and Rapunzel) who find a laptop and start to do what kids like to do – play games, watch videos on how to style hair, online shopping, apps to make life easier etc. Eventually, the glamour of being online wears off and the reality arrives ie paying the bill no one to play with, bored when device breaks etc. The Fairy Godmother flies in, tells them they must ask a grown-up before going online, and shows them some better ways to go online ie share devices, make a movie together.
This is one of the many books that are available on online safety. It covers one small part of the conversation and does not cover everything. So you would still need some other books to read as well, as it alone will not keep your child safe online.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 4 to 8 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of Once Upon a Time… online by David Bedford from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! I’m Cath Hak from Sex Ed Rescue, where we dive into all things related to sex education. Today, I want to talk about a book called Once Upon a Time Online by David Benford and Rosie Reeves. It came out in 2016, so it’s pretty recent.
Now, there are a ton of books out there about online safety, and I think they’re great because as parents, we have so many conversations to have with our kids about staying safe. The thing is, our parents didn’t have these conversations with us because the Internet wasn’t around back then. I mean, if there were computers, they weren’t connected to the Internet. Crazy, right? My little brother, who is 16 years younger than me, got his first taste of the Internet when he was about 13 or 14. And let me tell you, it was expensive!
So, this book is a tool you can use to start those conversations about staying safe online. Let me show you what it’s all about. Now, I’ll be honest, it’s not my personal favorite in terms of how it flows. It’s a bit jumpy, you know? But hey, it’s a book, and sometimes educational books aren’t as fun as the hilarious storybooks we love.
But this one has a cool twist. It ties in with nursery rhymes and stories that kids already know. It starts off with Jack climbing the beanstalk and finding a laptop in a parcel that fell from the sky. Then Cinderella gets in on the action and starts doing some online shopping for the ball. The three little pigs and Little Red Riding Hood join in too, buying bricks and new cloaks using their phones. And of course, the Big Bad Wolf wants to do some gaming.
So, it starts off with the fun stuff you can do online, like shopping and gaming. But then, it takes a turn and shows some of the downsides. Cinderella gets a long bill, the three little pigs get bored, Little Red Riding Hood falls into some brambles because she’s too busy looking at her screen, and Rapunzel’s tablet stops working. It’s a bit clunky in this part, I’ll admit.
But don’t worry, it all gets resolved. The fairy godmother comes back and teaches them some important lessons. She tells them to ask a grown-up before going online, pays their bills, and shows them all the fun stuff they can do online. They all live happily ever after.
Now, this book isn’t perfect. It has a few holes and gaps, in my opinion. But it’s a great starting point for having a conversation about being safe online. You can borrow it from the library and read it a couple of times, return it, and then pull it out again later when you want to have that conversation.
These conversations are so important because being online is the future. It’s what everyone does, and it’s what kids are growing up with. But we need to make sure they behave responsibly online because, let’s face it, there are some negatives too. As parents, we need to prepare our children to be responsible and help them understand that there’s more to life than just being online.
Now, this book is definitely geared towards younger children. My nine-year-old would find it a bit lame, to be honest. But you might have a laugh reading it together and use it as a conversation starter. And here’s a little tip for parents with older kids: get them to read this book to their younger siblings. It’s a sneaky way to start the conversation and get their perspective too.
So, all in all, Once Upon a Time Online is a book that can help you start a conversation about staying safe online and understanding the positives and negatives of being online. Give it a try and see how it goes!
Hope that helps. Cheers!
