SUPER WHY!

PBS Interactive Businesses

Now the hit preschool PBS KIDS series, SUPER WHY, has a wonderiffic app for iOS, Android, Kindle, Nook and Google Play — a collection of four games centered on the four main characters of the hit series, each teaching key preschool literacy skills.

Download on iTunes

Download for Android

Read the case study

Awards

International Academy of the Visual Arts: W3 Awards: Silver Award: Education (2010)

Silver Parents' Choice Award
Silver Parents’ Choice Award (Mobile Apps)

Top Charting Positions in iTunes App Store

#1 in Games / Educational
#2 in Games / Kids
#16 in ALL Games
#28 in ALL Apps

Top Charting Positions in the Amazon Appstore for Android

#1 in Paid Apps
#1 in Games
#2 in Free Game Apps
#3 in Free Apps

Customer Reviews

This was so worth the $. My 22 month old loves Super Why and loves loves loves this app. It is essentially like getting four fun, educational games for the price of one. I would highly recommend this app if your child likes Super Why.
— mags3333
My 5 year old (PreK) LOVES this app. I just downloaded it and she figured it out immediately! I had no idea that she could spell these simple words, but she can! She loves “earning” stickers with the game and has quite a collection! Great job!
— skirk2

Case Study

Challenges

SUPER WHY is already a smash hit for PBS KIDS on television, helping kids ages 3 to 6 with the critical skills that they need to learn (and love) to read! To expand the brand and give kids the fun of interacting with the show on the go, Bean Creative was tapped to create app games for iOS, Android, Kindle, Nook and Google Play based on the characters and literacy goals of the series.

Since there are four unique characters, each with a specific skill to teach letters, rhyming, spelling, writing and reading, the Bean Team had to come up with a fun and intuitive gameplay scenario that was true to the show and the game’s educational goals.

Solutions

Working closely with PBS KIDS and Out of the Blue (SUPER WHY’s producers), Bean Creative concepted and developed a connected game framework where each of the Super Readers has their own mini-game with a shared rewards system:

Alpha Pig’s Lickety Letter Hunt
Help Alpha Pig find his way home by identifying the letters he needs to follow the alphabet path.
Princess Presto’s Wands-Up Writing
Help Princess Presto make objects appear by identifying letter sounds, tracing letters on the touchscreen to write words.
Wonder Red’s Rhyming Time
Help Wonder Red find the rhyming words missing from her Wonder Words Basket.
Super Why’s Story Saver
Help Super Why save the day by selecting words to complete sentences that fit the story.

An “all play” option provides randomized play through all four games, and each game features learning rewards — virtual stickers for kids to collect and use to decorate a “sticker book” with over 75 items.

Watch a demo of the full app games, sticker books and features!

App press includes:
Steve Jobs presented the app in this video during the iPad2 press event in March 2011
(forward to 1:20 into the video)

A shout-out from the popular Gadgetwise blog from the New York Times.

SUPER WHY! is one of seven must-have apps for the iPad
— CBS (Chicago)

Results

Bean Creative was instrumental in devising innovative new uses of the smartphone touchscreen interface, including the functionality that allows kids to practice writing letters on the touchscreen.

In just two weeks after launch, the SUPER WHY app skyrocketed to the top of the iTunes App Store as the #1 educational game and #2 kids game.

Apple was so pleased with the game’s sales and gameplay success that was pushed to the “New and Notable” and “What’s Hot” promotional areas of the iTunes Store home page. The iPad app was one of a select few to launch on April 3, 2010, first day of the iPad release.

Silver Parents' Choice Award
Silver Parents’ Choice Award (Mobile Apps)

Top Charting Positions in iTunes App Store