Stickybear is a fictional character created by Richard Hefter and an edutainment series starring the character headed by Optimum Resource. The character was a mascot of Weekly Reader Software, a division of Xerox Education Publications. Software of the series has been released since the early 1980s. software programs originated on the Apple II and were released for IBM PC, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. As of 2008, the most recent Stickybear software was developed for Windows XP/Windows Vista and Mac OS X.

Books with Stickybear

Software with Stickybear

The earliest software programs included picture books in colors and posters.

Reception

II Computing listed Stickybear tenth on the magazine's list of top Apple II educational software as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data. Peter Mucha of the Houston Chronicle reviewed IBM versions of Stickybear in 1990; Stickybear Opposites received a B−, Stickybear Math received a B, Stickybear Math 2 received a B, Stickybear Alphabet received an A−, and Stickybear Reading received a C. The New Talking StickyBear Alphabet won the Best Early Education Program 1989 Excellence in Software Award from the Software and Information Industry Association. Leslie Eiser of Compute! magazine said in a 1992 review that StickyBear Town Builder was dated compared to other games of its time. Computer Gaming World in 1993 said of Stickybear's Early Learning Activities, "In the world of early learning software, it's difficult to find anyone who does it better."