Review Detail

Picture Face Lizzy

Kids Fiction 51

Addressing Screen Addiction Early

November 11, 2024

Overall rating

3.5

Plot

3.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

3.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Eve has a comfortable home with her parents and two brothers, and plenty of STUFF, but she doesn't have a PictureFace Lizzy. This doll is a sort of starter cell phone that has proprietary filters, games, and videos that all of Eve's friends have access to because they often have more than one of the devices. Since Eve doesn't have one, she doesn't know the cool dances the girls at her dance class know, and can't share pictures with her friends. When there are sleepovers, the girls often are so absorbed with the devices that Eve feels left out. After she asks frequently, her parents finally give her a STEM version, and she's very happy. She plays with the filters, posts pictures, and learns all of the songs and dances she's been missing. Once the thrill is gone, however, she starts to notice that many of her friends spend a LOT of time with the device, and it doesn't make her happy. She finds that spending less time with Lizzy and more time interacting with her friends makes a lot more sense.

Good Points

Eve's plight will be one that many elementary students will feel deeply, whether they are longing for a real cell phone of their own, or for a similar device. It used to be Yo Yos or Cabbage Patch Dolls that were the hot gifts of the season; now it's mainly electronics. The idea that children are missing out on the things their friends have access to is a very valid fear, and while PictureFace Lizzy is not a real item, the emotions about the fear of missing out are quite real!

Kissi's illustrations are perfect for older elementary school students, and I've seen her work in Kelsey's Pippa Morgan's Diary, Romito's Fort Builders, and Watson's The Trouble at Table Five. While the trim size of this is similar to a picture book, there's a lot of text, and fourth and fifth graders would be a good audience for this. I'm unsure whether the celebrity author will be known to students and be an enticement to read this story.

It's hard to teach children that they don't need all of the same toys and gadgets that their friends might have, and the message about being so immersed in a phone like device is a good one for young readers to think about. Smith's You're Missing It addresses this, and there's a middle grade Babymouse title, Miss Communication, by the Holms that also covers this important topic. Another great book that shows the perils of overconsuming and the joy of not engaging in these behavior is Whipple and Wong's Enough Is.