Common Sense Media Review
By Debra Alvarado
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Reimagined fairytales are more diverse and inclusive.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Listen
What's It About?
BEARILY BEAR STORIES offers retellings of stories and fairy tales with a twist, modeling values of compassion and empathy through strong, independent and willful lead characters. Each story takes the outdated stereotypes of older fairytales like the damsel in distress or helpless female lead, an reworks it to reflect reality. Characters are diverse and dynamic, having different cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds, while different family dynamics are modeled. Some episodes, (The Mask Maker), reflect pandemic-like situations that can help young children see themselves in characters who are also facing issues (like having to wear masks and stay 6-feet away from other people). Miral Sattar's clear, direct messages mixed with familiar stories and dynamic characters, make this a great listen for younger audiences.
Is It Any Good?
Miral Sattar's stories and reimagined fairytales aim to reflect kids of different backgrounds, experiences and families and the diverse world they live in. Bearily Bear Stories features retellings that shut down older fairytale stereotypes that paint female characters as damsels in distress and dependent on others. She's able to give these stories a more modern and realistic vision, while keeping the classic charm parents and kids love about these familiar fairytale stories.
The podcast models honest and respectful communication between kids and adults through interactions of characters, which can help caregivers navigate talking to their kids. This is a great listen for story time and also a nice wind down activity before bed time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Bearily Bear Stories reimagines fairytales. What were some major differences you noticed in these stories? What did you like about these differences?
Many of the stories teach compassion and empathy? Why are these important character strengths?
If you were to take your favorite story or fairytale and make it more relatable to you, what would you change?
How does listening to fairytales through audio only help you create your own vision of characters and scenery in the story? How does that change when you hear the story with visuals, like reading a book or watching a movie?
Podcast Details
- Release date : October 27, 2022
- Genre : Kids & Family
- Run time : 11 minutes
- Website : https://bearilybear.com
- Host : Miral Sattar
- Production Company and Network : Independent
- Pricing structure : Free
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales ) , Book Characters
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Empathy
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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