Middle School Confidential 3: What's Up with My Family?
By Amanda Bindel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Great graphic novel helps tweens love the family they have.
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Middle School Confidential 3: What's Up with My Family?
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What’s It About?
MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL 3: WHAT'S UP WITH MY FAMILY is a graphic novel made up of eight short chapters, each focusing on a different tween's relationship with his or her family. Kids will read the graphic novel themselves, either page by page or panel by panel. Each chapter ends with a short quiz, recognizing the challenge of each family dynamic as well as its positive aspects. The quiz questions present real scenarios and ask tweens how they'd handle them, and then explain why that would be a good method or not. Kids can zoom in on panels to get a closer look (which sometimes activates background sound effects that fit in with the story line), and they can also easily skip the quizzes by swiping past the quiz title page.
Is It Any Good?
Tweens and teens will be drawn to the easy-to-read graphic-novel style, and most will find at least one family relationship relatable. The watercolor illustrations are lovely but "cool" enough to be inviting to a tween audience. There's no option to have the text read aloud, which may limit the enjoyment of kids with special needs, but sound effects add to the mood of the stories, giving insight into characters' feelings.
The takeaway message is that no one's perfect -- not certain family type, not parents, not kids -- but that we can all work on getting along better with those we love. The characters are diverse, as are the family types -- from single-parent families and blended families to large, extended families and two-parent families -- which may help kids accept their own families, whatever they may be like, as "normal."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about their own frustrations with one another. Do you identify with any of the characters?
Take the quizzes together and talk about the answers. Some of the scenarios have more than one "right" answer. Talk about those and encourage kids to try some of the techniques when they're in similar situations.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading: discussion, forming arguments, reading, Social Studies: cultural understanding
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: decision-making, problem solving, thinking critically, Self-Direction: personal growth, self-reflection, Emotional Development: developing resilience, empathy, identifying emotions, labeling feelings, moving beyond obstacles, perspective taking, self-awareness
- Pricing structure: Paid ($2.99)
- Release date: December 4, 2017
- Category: Books
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Publisher: Electric Eggplant
- Version: 2.0
- Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 8.0 or later.
- Last updated: December 7, 2018
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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