"Sesame Street" turns 45 this season and to sustain its digital relevance, PBS Kids and Sesame Workshop are debuting their first app, Cookie Monster's Challenge, geared to 3- to-5-year-old kids. "Sesame Street" has long utilized TV to help children build educational skills.
Available at the App Store on iPad Sept. 15, the Cookie Monster app is designed to teach self-control, focus and problem-solving.
There are 10 mini-games and nine levels, plus a feature that creates profiles for each player, so they can progress at their own pace.
“We’ve created a series of fun brain-building games designed to challenge and engage young children and to help Cookie get what he desires the most—a cookie!” stated Scott Chambers, senior vice president, Worldwide Media Distribution, Sesame Workshop. “As children play, they practice important skills that are essential for school readiness.”
Cookie Monster’s Challenge promotes the same school skills as the TV show, which is adding new installments of “Cookie’s Crumby Pictures,” a five-minute segment in which Cookie Monster helps kids learn various coping strategies. The new season will also include new “Elmo the Musical” and “Super Grover 2.0” segments.
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A half-hour “Sesame Street” will complement the regular series on weekends and weekday afternoons. Abby’s Sandbox Search, a new game that focuses on letters, letter sounds and alliteration, kicks off on pbskids.org/sesame this fall.
"Sesame Street" reaches 156 million children in over 150 countries.