App Review: The Very Hungry Bear - A Cute Story About A Bear Helping A Lost Polar Bear Find A Place to Stay

Reviewed by Elena – I’m a SAHM who is trying to homeschool my 18 month old. I have a BA in Computer Science and Information Systems. My professional background is in quantitative analytics.

Details

This is the second story about Bear from author and illustrator Nick Bland. The first book in the series was The Cranky Bear. In this story Bear befriends a lost polar bear and helps him find a place to stay. There are many interactive elements throughout the book and the story is simple enough to be enjoyed by kids of all ages.

There are two ways to enjoy the story, Read to Me and Read Myself. As a bonus, the latter mode gives you an option to record audio on each page. The recorded audio plays automatically the next time the page is accessed in Read Myself mode.

There is a bonus feature that is unlocked when six hidden fishes are found within the story. The Igloo Builder lets kids create their own igloo with different ice shapes.

There are some external links and there is the ability to send snapshots of the igloos to social media sites.

What Elena Liked

The illustrations and sound effects were very well-done. There is a Guide page with instructions, but the app is very easy to navigate. The ability to record your own audio is a great feature. The kids loved the bonus feature and liked to create outlandish igloos. They also really loved the fishing action scenes with all the reeling sounds.

Suggested Enhancement

It would be good if karaoke highlighting was available where words were highlighted when spoken. Younger readers would be able to follow along more easily.

Overall

This is a cute story about a bear helping a lost polar bear find a place to stay. It is well-animated with many interactive elements that kids will enjoy.