Product Overview
The Berenstain Bears have been a real fixture in many families' homes — the storybooks are filled with important lessons to be learned, and children can easily identify with the adventures, and often misadventures, of this famous bear family. I would even venture to say that parents can learn a few things from the realistic problems — and solutions — presented in the Berenstain Bears books. These lovable bears have recently made the leap to a video series and a feature-length direct-to-video movie is in the works.
Now kids can interact with their favorite characters in this series of computer games entitled "Life's Little Lessons". Although the Berenstain Bears have been represented in the form of interactive storybooks (Living Books) on the computer, this new series has a more interactive "feel" to it. Each title in the series features 4 short stories, a related activity (taking the form of a thinking puzzle, arcade-style game, sorting puzzle, and art activity), and a summary that helps kids understand the important life lesson associated with each story/activity.
In this version, Sister Bear and Brother Bear have a big problem and through 4 short stories and activities, the little bears discover ways to help their hometown and the environment stay clean. The four short stories each have a related activity, as follows:
- Kids learn about littering in Sister Bear's activity. Everyone has been throwing their trash all over the park, and kids must guide Sister to pick up the litter and then dump it in the trash cans. Kids need to direct Sister to the people who are walking around the park so that she can tell them where the trash cans are, otherwise they will just keep throwing more trash on the ground.
- Brother Bear's activity helps kids be aware of the value of recycling. Sister is throwing recyclable items out of the treehouse, and players must direct Brother's wagon of recycling bins under the falling objects. Kids must sort the items into plastic, paper, and aluminum.
- Mama Bear tells a story about the importance of conserving water, and her activity involves helping the farmer water his fields. Players must use the differently shaped pipes to get the water to the right fields, steering clear of obstacles. Pipes sometimes need to be rotated to fit properly.
- Players make a big poster for Papa, according to his instructions, in a creative craft activity. These signs will help remind others about keeping the environment clean. Depending on the difficulty level, kids must work with 3 to 5 options (the title, border, background, picture, and subheading). Once some posters have been made to Papa's specifications, kids can make their own printable posters.
The activities include adjustable levels of difficulty and have two-player options. Each mini-story is hosted by a member of the bear family and starts with an introductory poem (much like the Berenstain Bears storybooks). After watching the story (optional), the associated activity is presented. Once successfully completed, kids earn a reward certificate that can be printed in color or in a format that allows for children to use crayons or markers to decorate it away from the computer.
The characters are very encouraging and say things like "Don't worry about making a mistake". Kid testers thoroughly enjoyed playing the game, but found it to be much too short! A 5 year-old tester finished the 4 activities set at difficulty level 2 in only 20 minutes. However, the game can be replayed as often as desired and at different difficulty levels (3 levels altogether).
Technically Speaking
Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, a Pentium 133 (Pentium 200 recommended), 24 Mb RAM (32 Mb recommended), and 4X CD ROM. Mac users require a Power PC with 32 Mb RAM, System 7.5.3 (7.6.1 recommended) or higher, and at least 4X CD ROM (8X recommended). A color printer is recommended as well. It takes up 10 Mb of hard drive space, and is easy to install and load.
Skills Covered
thinking skills, arcade skills, creativity, sorting, teamwork, recycling, conservation, community responsibility
Educational Value
This title doesn't have a whole lot to offer in terms of traditional academic learning. However, children can learn some basic social skills from the stories. The "lessons" to be learned are positive. Some thinking skills are developed — particularly directional skills. However, verbal feedback when kids direct characters up, down, left, and right would have helped to boost educational value in these activities.
Entertainment Value
The characters and basic activities were immediately appealing to the kid testers.
Design
For the most part, the program is designed in such a way that using it is quite straightforward for even the youngest testers (aged 3). A difficulty level is selected at sign-in, but can also be adjusted during the activities. Help is always available.
Replayability
Kid testers enjoyed playing the program, but we do wonder about its long-term appeal, mainly because there is not a whole lot of content to the program. Children generally wanted more activities, or at least longer ones. The brief activities may appeal to children with shorter attention spans.
Dollar Value
The program sells for $19.95 US.
Released: 1999
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