A wonderful book teaching children about digital community and presence and how to be a responsible digital citizen. The art is beautiful, expressive and colorful. I really like how the story is paced, not too short, not too long, to deliver it's message. The text is simple to follow too. I'd love to see more books like these to teach kids from a young age.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book resonated more to my 7 yr old than my 4 yr old. She has started using Chromebooks in class and understood the technical terms used. The book introduces the importance of online kindness, to which my 7 yr old also said that its important to be kind offline too.

#SoniaSpeaksUp #NetGalley

The combination of the cover and book’s title are interesting. As a parent of child range 5th to 7th years old, this book is really recommended to read together with them. A lot of lesson learnt from this book such as how to be brave to speak up, speaking and writing etiquette both in real life or in the social media, and how to prevent bullying packed lightly and make it easier to be learnt and understand by child at that range of age.
At last part of the book, there are some recommendation of reflection questions for reflecting together both parents and their child about what they have learnt.
Hope there are more books looks like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Excellent book!!! Creatively introduces ISTE standards with lifelike scenarios. Wonderful combination of digital citizenship and classroom community.

5 out of 5 stars and my respect to the author and illustrator.

What a sweet and timely story! As a technology teacher responsible for introducing digital citizenship to early learners, I found Sonia Speaks Up to be a perfect addition to the curriculum—especially for kindergarten and first-grade students.

Since its release, Sonia’s Digital World has been a favorite read-aloud in my tech classes, so I was thrilled to dive into Sonia’s next digital adventure. I love that the familiar characters return in this early chapter book, and the story continues to highlight real classroom situations in a way that’s both relatable and age-appropriate.

This book gently introduces important topics like online kindness, the power of encouragement, and how to respond when you’re afraid to speak up. I especially appreciate how it models digital citizenship through Sonia’s story—and how it opens the door for meaningful conversations with young readers.

The vibrant illustrations are engaging and colorful, which helps hold attention while reinforcing the emotions and themes in the story. I can see this book being enjoyed both as an independent read and as a class read-aloud.

Highly recommend for any primary classroom, school library, or tech teacher’s shelf. I’m so excited this book (and others in the new ISTE Digital Explorers series) will be available just in time for back-to-school!

Huge thanks to Shannon McClintock Miller, NetGalley, and Capstone for the chance to read this book ahead of its release

As an elementary librarian tasked with teaching digital citizenship lessons to all students, this would be a great read aloud to do prior to starting our district-required lessons. It could help provide real-life examples while also giving the kids an engaging story to listen to. 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone for providing me with an ARC of Sonia Speaks Up. This delightful story is a must-read for young readers, especially those in elementary school, as it effectively teaches the importance of kindness online and the lasting impact of our digital footprint.

The book follows Sonia, a young student who learns valuable lessons about how to speak up, be kind, and make responsible choices in the digital world. The story is engaging, with vibrant and captivating illustrations that help bring the message to life in an accessible and relatable way.

Sonia Speaks Up is a perfect resource for teachers and parents looking to introduce concepts of digital citizenship to children.

I love this book for early elementary students about how to comment thoughtfully on their classmates art/projects/words. This is such a good lesson that I think all children and adults should learn.

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone for the chance to read an ARC of Sonia Speaks Up by Shannon McClintock Miller.

As a teacher of digital citizenship to our youngest learners, I am always looking for ways to make this work engaging and relatable. We have Sonia's Digital World in our collection and it is provides great foundational understanding for these ideas. What I really love about this title, Sonia Speaks Up, is it tackles *one* aspect of digital citizenship (digital footprint/being kind online) and explains it in an extremely kid friendly way. Everyone little could relate to feeling uncomfortable reading mean comments and then being worried and insecure about your own work. I especially love, too, how the author included practical action steps for the reader in their own lives (TAG strategy and creating a digital contract) and the end of the book. A must have for anyone elementary educator responsible for teaching digital citizenship!

Sonia is the perfect example of how to be a great peer and stick up for others. I would recommend this book to parents/guardians that are trying to explain how words can harm people even on the internet.

This is an excellent read on being a good digital citizen and for opening a conversation up with children on staying safe online and what could potentially happen. When you upload a post, there is always a potential for there to be hate or people being unkind, and I do not think this topic gets discussed enough. Usually the topic is on severe online bullying, but not the day-to-day instances that need to be addressed. This book is wonderful and I highly recommend it. The art is also fantastic.

I received this wonderful book for free as an eARC from the publisher. I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

A quick read on the importance of internet commentary! The illustrations were adorable and I felt this was perfect for a k-2 introduction on being a good digital citizen. Can we please send copies to all the adults who leave these comments on all the various social media platforms as well?!

Thanks #NetGalley for the ARC!

Cute and Quick read for my 5 year old daughter. Lessons of respect, positivity and the openness for imagination. Great book for teaching life lessons for children,

'Sonia Speaks Up' is a great introduction for young children into the digital world. This is what makes the book so relevant; with the technological advances we're currently experiencing and the dangers for children, I found the content so important. It was cautionary and educational but still diverse and engaging, which is a great combination for teaching children these necessary lessons without scaring or boring them. I do think that there could have been more discussion about parents, as even some adults lack digital literacy, so it would be nice to introduce children to the idea that even everyday digital citizens can struggle, but this is why they should be open to learning all the time. I also felt the title was slightly misleading, seeming like a book about bullying. Whilst this was an aspect of the story, it wasn't the main plot. Nevertheless, I felt the book was a great resource for children and could easily be implemented into school IT lessons.

In today’s digital age, young people need to understand the importance of treating others with respect and compassion. This book is a great reminder of that. It’s shocking to read how kids can say mean things without realizing it’s hurtful. It’s a good wake-up call to think about how our words affect others.

Thank you to Capstone for the ARC preview. I will be sharing more of the digital explorers with my little one.

This was a very cute story with an important message. I loved the illustrations and the topics it addresses of cyber bullying, leaving your digital footprint, and empathy. I also liked how it was very current by including the use of tablets and a digital art gallery, making it relevant to children growing up in this time. I also enjoyed the resources provided at the end of the book. It did seem a little bit short and as if the conflict was quickly resolved when that may not actually be the case in these situations

A simple but important story about being a good digital citizen. When Sonia and her class are given the opportunity to share their artwork online, everyone's excited -- that is, until their classmate Max leaves rude, hurtful comments on several posts. But with an open dialogue and a fresh digital start, the class learns how to communicate in a more helpful and kind way.

The illustrations are adorable, and I also really love the back pages that encourage the reader to reflect on what they've learned and how they can apply it. This is a particularly crucial read for any kiddos navigating digital/online spaces! (And listen...we all know an adult or two who could learn from this book, too.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful little reader about how important it is to be kind to others online. Sonia's classmate doesn't realize the effect his words have on his friends, and the teacher addresses it directly. The world is full of people being mean, making it even more important for kids to learn how to be kind. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

A short and sweet exploration of how the words we say in person and online can affect others. Sonia is a great proxy for allowing us to speak up to bullies, hold others and ourselves accountable, and share our stories even when there's a risk of someone else saying something unkind.

A thoughtful book for ages 5-7 about digital footprints and how online comments last forever. It teaches kids the importance of kindness online—even in something as small as a class art gallery. The message is valuable: it's never funny to make rude remarks about someone’s work.

While I appreciate the idea, I didn’t love the book’s structure and style—my son even noted that the first page felt like it was written by a first grader, while the rest was much more logical and engaging.
Still, the topic is important, and this book can be a useful tool for sparking discussions with young readers.