"Hello!" says the talking screen. "What is your name?"
Ash is five, he likes his name a lot, and he is very, very loud. He nearly says it.
The story
Ash and Dad are playing a game on the tablet when the screen asks. Ash opens his mouth. Then he stops. "Hang on a minute! Why does a screen want MY name?"
Biscuit sniffs the screen, does not tell it his name either, and walks off.
"Dad! The talking screen wants my name!" says Ash. "Good spotting," says Dad. "We do not tell it. Your name and where you live are just for family."
Dad presses NO. And then the best bit happens.
The tell
The game plays anyway.
"It works without my name!" says Ash. Nothing was lost. Nothing was missed. That is the argument a five-year-old actually needs, and it beats a rule every time. Maya puts it plainly: a screen does not need your name to play.
Then the screen asks where he lives, and this time Ash is ready for it.
Reading it together
An early reader picture book made to be read aloud and shared. Sixteen spreads, short sentences and clear repetition that carry a beginner reader wanting to try it alone. Two minutes of words, longer once the questions start. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, or kindergarten and first grade.
Read it to a three or four-year-old and they will follow the pictures. Hand it to a six or seven-year-old and it is theirs.
For parents, carers and teachers
There is no live AI in this book and no data is collected from any reader. Every word was written and checked by people. For a book about online privacy, that felt like the minimum.
Nobody in the story does anything wrong and nothing bad happens. Ash finds out where the line is before it matters, and he is praised for spotting it. It is priced so a teacher buying out of their own pocket is not punished for it.
Good for
Internet safety for kids at the age when the habit is easiest to build. Cyber safety for kids without the fear. Online privacy for kids, explained in words a five-year-old already owns: your name is yours, your address is yours, and you get to keep them.
A first tablet, a first game with a chat box, or the week a child starts asking why an app wants to know things.
What your child will be able to do
Never tell a screen your name or where you live. Those words are just for family.
Curriculum
Mapped to the statutory online safety and digital literacy strands of the curricula of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: the National Curriculum for England (Computing, and statutory Relationships and Health Education), the Curriculum for Wales (Digital Competence Framework), Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence (Technologies, and Health and Wellbeing), and the Northern Ireland Curriculum (Using ICT, and Personal Development and Mutual Understanding). Not endorsed or accredited by any government body.
The series
Book 2 of 6 in Little Safety Spotters, for ages 5 to 7. The others are The Shark on the Screen, The Funny Feeling, Not My Photo, The Screen Got It Wrong and That Sounds Like Nan. All six together in Safety Spotters: Six Ash Stories.
Every book closes on the same two lines: Is it real? Let's ask! And: that is the big, strong move. What gets spotted changes each time.
Available as an ebook and a paperback.
More stories, free classroom resources and the grown-ups' guide at safetyspotters.com
Is it real? Let's ask.
