A distressed looking lion cub in the rain

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The Cub's Cold

Name: The Cub's Cold
Availability: InStock
Author: Wanderly

When the wildlife rescuers at Wanderly Station receive an urgent call about a sick lion cub, they spring into action. You'll help name the cub, learn about African lions, discover wildlife rescue techniques, and ultimately help reunite the cub with its family in the savanna.

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About This Story

What your child will experience

Your child becomes a wildlife rescuer responding to an emergency call about a sick lion cub. They'll name the cub, make hands-on decisions about treatment and care, and help reunite the cub with its family in the African savanna. Along the way, they'll learn real facts about lion behavior, habitat, and social structure.

Why this approach helps

This story blends factual learning with empathy-building choices. By putting your child in the rescuer role, it teaches observation skills, gentle problem-solving, and respect for wild animals. The focus on reunion—not keeping the cub—reinforces that true care means honoring animals' needs and natural families.

What to notice as a parent

Listen for how your child approaches care decisions. Do they choose gentle, patient options or want quick fixes? Their choices reveal how they think about helping others and solving problems under pressure. The cub's name might show what qualities matter to them (strength, sweetness, bravery). If they hesitate about the reunion, it's a great opening to talk about love meaning letting go when it's best for someone else.

Story Questions

Questions your child may be asked while creating this story:

What would you like to name the little lion cub?
How should the main character carry the main character back to the jeep?
What should the main character do to help the cub?
How should we try to find the cub's family?
What's the best way to reunite the cub with their pride?

Loved by Families

Join thousands of happy families who've empowered their children with personalized, interactive stories.

“At first I thought it was one of those bedtime ploys to stay up later, but when the request came again first thing in the morning I realized it was just genuine excitement about Wanderly. My two kiddos - ages 7 and 8 - had a blast selecting their adventure pals (they have the cutest "pets" that go on the adventure with them) and choosing the direction of the story every step of the way. I turned up the reading level today and it was neat to see my son work through a few new words and stick with it because he was so excited about his story.”

— Taryn S

“My son couldn't put the story down!”

— Sebastian

“We've been using it every night for bedtime stories for our 3 year old.”

— Matt

“Ok, so I installed this yesterday, and I've already read 5 stories with my 4 year old. That's over an hours worth of time. Today he tried to negotiate to have me read 4 in a row... He's fully engaged, and takes his time over the choices - I think that and the funny moments in the stories are what have him hooked. He lost it when our cat (yes, you can include your pet in a story!) turned into a elephant. As a parent, it's whimsical and a welcome change from the regular books in rotation. I was initially unsure about using my phone to engage him during bedtime, but he entrallment quickly overcame that. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others.”

— Simon

“It's been fantastic for creating and sharing our stories with beautiful art. What a great keepsake!”

— Shayla

“My dyslexic 4th grader struggles with reading and comprehension. She is finally excited to read using Wanderly!”

— Bill

“As an lifelong educator, I give this app an enthusiastic 5 stars+. With opportunity to choose and name characters, type of story and plot ... what could be more creative? What could be a more productive use of screen time? I love that this app was created and is carefully monitored by a Mom of young kids. She also happens to have technical/AI chops ... she was a Google Product Manager in their Education Products sector. The graphics are quite lovely, the story lines are fun and age-appropriate.”

— Helen

“I'm very impressed with the ease with which I was able to write a fun (and colorful) story. I wrote one for my grandchild and can't wait to share it with her.”

— Bill

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