Burst Your Bubble!: Outsmart the Algorithms and See What You’re Missing

by Joyce Grant, Jan Dolby (illustrator)

An engaging, accessible look at internet algorithms and the importance of bursting your information bubble


We are all in information bubbles, whether we realize it or not. The content that fills our bubble is the product of all the likes, clicks, and shares we make online. While we may enjoy what the algorithm pushes to us, we can gradually lose sight of perspectives and points of view that are different from our own.


In seven chapters, readers will learn what algorithms are, why they are used, and what influences someone’s information bubble both online and in real life. Sidebars offer additional context, and fun activities allow readers to understand concepts in real time.


Written in an approachable tone with fun, dynamic illustrations, Burst Your Bubble provides insight into the dangers of limited information and offers tangible suggestions on how to move beyond it.

Genres: Young Adult

48 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

Joyce Grant is a freelance journalist and professor at Humber College.
Her books:
* CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts (illus Kathleen Marcotte)
* SLIDING HOME and TAGGED OUT, fast-paced MG baseball novels
* GABBY picture book (illus Jan Dolby)
* GABBY: WONDER GIRL
* GABBY: DRAMA QUEEN
Joyce also publishes the internationally award-winning kid-friendly news website, TeachingKidsNews.com.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
This is well done and such a timely topic. Teachers who work with students on research and/or computer-based projects can easily read aloud a chapter at a time and pause to reflect and discuss after each one.

[miki larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book not just for kids, but for anyone to better understand the digital world and learn concepts about the internet and algorithms that many people never learned in school. This book holds imperative knowledge on how to access the internet in an intentional manner, and explains concepts in an easy to understand manner.

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I can’t see many students reading Burst Your Bubble cover to cover for fun, this book has well-presented information that students won’t be able to find anywhere else. Consisting of an introduction, seven chapters, and a conclusion, the text flows seamlessly from one topic to the next. Grant opens with an overview of algorithms, stating that there are both good and bad things about them, concluding “information bubbles [can] keep you from seeing or understanding people, places, or ideas that are unfamiliar to you.” In chapter one, readers learn what an online algorithm is and how it works. Readers are invited to “jump on an algorithm” by choosing either dogs or cats and going to a page in the book to learn something new about that animal at the bottom of the page…which then directs the reader to another page and another. If the reader reads the information about both dogs and cats, they are congratulated for “break[ing] out of your bubble!” Readers go on to learn who creates algorithms and why (chapter 2), how they ended up in a bubble (chapter 3), “what algorithms do for you” (chapter 4), and why they should burst free from that bubble (chapter 5). Readers will learn both the positives (your friends rise to the top!) and negatives (confirmation bias!) of information bubbles. The final two chapters are the most powerful – chapter 6 addresses artificial intelligence, as well as ways that other factors can reinforce bubbles such as limited accessibility, information bans, corporate monopolies, and lack of transparency. Chapter 7 gives tips on how to burst free from your bubble such as getting curious, learning about opposing points of view, thinking critically, going algorithm-free, improving your search techniques, and more. Side panels offer thought provoking questions and interesting information such as other names for information bubbles (echo chamber for example).

Cute, colorful illustrations show characters of diverse backgrounds looking at smartphones and considering information bubbles with both positive and negative effects. One of my favorite illustrations shows a kid stuck in a bubble floating over many different people who are accessing information. 

Highly recommended for all upper elementary and middle school collections. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received an unbound proof from the publisher.

This was a DENSE read, but it was well-written and extremely informative. A much-needed information literacy guide for middle-grade readers (and also a good primer for adults). This book focuses on algorithms, how they work, their effects on our understanding of the world around us, and how we can ensure we aren't stuck in an information bubble—cut off from the rest of the world.

It is broken up into small chapters, which is good because it is a lot of information to digest at once. There are little information bubbles within each chapter that have additional, interesting bits of information. There is a glossary at the end with technical terms followed by a tiny bibliography. The book also has beautiful, fun, highly diverse, and inclusive illustrations cleverly showcasing that everyone is subject to information biases.

This would make a great classroom reading requirement. Also recommended for parents to read with their kids so they can have further discussions. Not a bad read for adults either; I learned a few things myself!

[Diana Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I learned a lot about breaking out of my own bubble!

One note - it would have been nice to see the term "search" use in place of "google" - thus acknowledging that there's more than one search engine to use.

Another note - there's a sidebar that mentions "a puzzle block" that you rearrange the pieces to make the sides all one color. Why not call it what it is, a Rubik's Cube? And the correct term is to get each FACE a solid color.

Read ARC via Edelweiss, thanks to the publisher. Publication date November 11, 2025.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

Lots of good information, and fun illustrations. Probably won't buy just because it's really hard to get my students to pick up nonfiction about technology and social media.

Have to say that since I don't LIKE social media, I've been using the information I gathered from this books to make sure that my feed is even more narrow and shows me only books and the occasional sewing project, when instead I should be widening the ideas presented to me!

[Elaine Kachala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and Much Needed!
From helping kids understand how algorithms shape what they see online to encouraging them to explore different viewpoints, Joyce Grant’s ‘Burst Your Bubble’ makes a complex topic accessible and engaging. Paired with Jan Dolby’s lively illustrations, this book is a must have for any classroom, library, or home collection!

[Alison McGauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating new book that explains algorithms and the online “bubble”. The child friendly language along with the playful and captivating illustrations work together to explain this complicated topic in a way that kids can understand. Readers will learn how to ‘burst their bubble’ so that they might learn new perspectives and see what other incredible experiences await.

[Dianne Koebel-Pede · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have guide for children and adults to help learn about social media and how algorithms work. They keep us in a small bubble, and we don't see all of the information. The practical tips at the end of the book will help readers see more and be more aware of the information out there.

[Michael Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be read aloud, so everyone can hear it. The book we all need now (but great for kids :) ).