Care Bears & Amigos in NYC, a Dual Language App for PreSchoolers, Boosts Downloads by 81,000%

Downloads of Care Bears & Amigo’s in NYC, which is an app for Apple and Android phones that teaches English to pre-school Spanish language learners as well as Spanish to preschool English speaking children, rose by 81,000% between late August and October ‘17.  The app was created in partnership with American Greetings Entertainment, the intellectual property and outbound licensing division of American Greetings.  Its explosive growth is credited to its inclusion on the App Store’s front page under the “New Apps We Love” heading on the September 9 Care Bears holiday, “Share Your Care Day.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled that both Spanish and English-speaking parents are discovering the wonderful language learning benefits that Care Bears & Amigos can bring to their children,” says Deborah Castillero, Founder and CEO of Bilingual Children’s Enterprises (BCE) and the creator of Care Bears & Amigos.  “The earlier youngsters start exploring second languages, the more prepared they’ll be to excel in school, broaden their communication abilities, and – if they choose – eventually learn additional languages. Care Bears & Amigos makes it fun for pre-schoolers to begin developing these valuable skills.”

BCE has been recognized with a number of accolades, including the Facebook Start & Social Good Award (2015 – 2017), the Social Capital Markets Scholarship Award (2015), and the Microsoft Biz Spark Award (2015).  In 2017, Castillero was selected to be a part of the Pipeline to Inclusive Innovation, a program of the Rutgers University Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development that supports minority tech entrepreneurs.

The app allows children to explore five “worlds” in New York City, each of which has three educational games.  The worlds are as follows:

• The Zoo – includes animal sound/picture matching, animal opposites matching, and a memory game about making pairs.
• The Statue of Liberty – includes geometry, vocabulary, and fine motor skills games.
• The Subway – includes games that focus on counting, telling time, and determining more-or-less comparisons.
• Washington Heights – includes games that focus on phonics, letter recognition, and associating sounds with objects.
• Care-a-lot – includes games about social and emotional learning, identifying one’s feelings, and animated videos from the Care Bears.

Care Bears & Amigos also includes a free and interactive e-book called “Tipi & Tom Visit NYC,” which helps kids understand how to prepare for a trip and why the Tipi and Tom characters have been asked to help the Care Bears find the Star Buddies. Between its games and the e-book, children can spend up to one hour learning and having fun with the app in each play period.

“Students who are monolingual in any language can enjoy Cares Bears & Amigos and learn new words and concepts,” says Sandra Esparza, a bilingual teacher in the Houston Independent School district who is one of the co-creators of the app’s educational roadmap.  “The app’s clear and easy-to-follow content also teaches and reinforces math and pre-reading skills.”

On October 6, Care Bears & Amigos was a featured selection on Google Play.

About the Care Bears

First introduced by American Greetings in 1982 through consumer products, greeting cards, and later an animated CGI television show, Care Bears has become one of the world’s most popular and endearing children’s properties. Today, fans of all ages around the world are falling in love with these huggable bears who help kids have fun while sharing and caring, and they enjoy a robust portfolio of thousands of Care Bears licensed products at retailers globally. The Care Bears are no strangers to television screens. They first appeared in their own television specials in 1983 and 1984, and then made the leap to the big screen in 1985-87 with “The Care Bears Movie” trilogy. They also had their own television series from 1985 to 1988 which is currently available to watch on Netflix. In November, AGP announced a new original kids series starring the whole huggable gang with a new show titled, “Care Bears & Cousins.” “Care Bears & Cousins” is co-produced by Netflix and will premiere around the world in fall 2015. The brand also has a robust social media following, has more than 34 million views of new and classic videos on YouTube, and has a portfolio of popular apps for mobile devices. Their wholesome messages of caring and sharing resonate with parents who are familiar with the brand and feel comfortable introducing Care Bears to their own children.

About American Greetings Entertainment

American Greetings Entertainment is the intellectual property, entertainment and outbound licensing division of American Greetings Corporation, which was built upon the successful re-launch of Care Bears™ and other iconic kids’ entertainment brands, including Holly Hobbie™ and Madballs™, as well as Boofle™, Packages from Planet X™, Twisted Whiskers™, and its newest IP, Buddy Thunderstruck™. American Greetings Entertainment develops multi-platform entertainment franchises across all media channels, and extensive consumer merchandising programs that immerse children and adults in brands they love. Experience American Greetings Entertainment online at www.agkidzone.com.

• Keep up with the latest on Care Bears:  www.CareBears.com
• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/CareBears
• Twitter and Instagram: @CareBears
• YouTube: www.YouTube.com/CareBears
• Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/CareBearsAGP

About Bilingual Children’s Enterprises (BCE)

BCE is a mobile learning and entertainment platform that helps pre-schoolers to learn English, Spanish, and other languages through a science-based methodology which is proven to stimulate language learning.

Tipitom© is a multicultural and character-driven property that helps kids, families, and schools, with school readiness, STEM learning, and emergent literacy skills in two languages.

Our IP celebrates multicultural education and authentic storytelling, allowing the fastest growing demographics in the U.S. to see themselves in a multimedia platform.