Unplugged: Ella Gets Her Family Back

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