Hooligan Bear Books and Kids' Characters on Social Media: A Parent's Guide

In 2012, a picture book called Hooligan Bear: A Special Day came with an unusual extra. Alongside the printed story, the characters had their own pages on Facebook and Twitter, so families could follow along between books. It was an early example of something that is now everywhere: children's characters living online, posting updates and inviting kids to engage.

This guide explains what the Hooligan Bear series was, and then looks at the bigger question it raised: how to let young kids enjoy characters online without signing them up for social media.

What the Hooligan Bear books are

The Hooligan Bear series was written by Ian Toynton, a television director and producer, and illustrated by Andrea Dietrich. The stories center on Hooligan Bear, his nephew Little Louie and a group of teddy bear friends. In A Special Day, published in November 2012, Hooligan Bear discovers that Little Louie has never celebrated a birthday, and he rounds up the other bears for a lively trip to a bakery and the mischief that follows.

The books were released in print and as e-books. We were not able to confirm whether the characters' social media accounts are still active, so treat any account you find under the name with care and check that it is genuine before sharing it with your child.

Why the idea caught attention

The appeal of the concept was simple: children who love a story want more of it, and waiting for the next book takes a long time. Short updates from a favorite character can keep the world of the book alive, encourage kids to talk about what the characters might do next, and give parents a reason to read and look at pictures together.

The concern, raised by plenty of parents at the time, was also simple: social networks are not designed for preschoolers. Following a character can become a first step into feeds, comments and recommendations that were built for adults.

Both views have merit. The difference usually comes down to who is holding the device.

Children's characters online in 2026

Today, most popular children's characters have an online presence, usually on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, and often run by large media companies. That creates some specific issues for young kids:

• Age limits. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X require users to be at least 13. Kids cannot follow characters on their own accounts there without breaking the rules.
• Recommendations. Watching one character's videos can lead to autoplay suggestions that look similar but come from unknown creators.
• Comments. Public comment sections on character pages are open to adults, and not all of them are friendly.
• Advertising. Character accounts often promote toys, apps and merchandise, sometimes in ways young children cannot recognize as ads.
• Imitation accounts. Fan or fake accounts can use a popular character's name and images.

Safer ways to enjoy characters online

1. Use your account, together. Look at a character's page on your phone or computer with your child beside you, rather than giving them their own login.
2. Prefer the author's or publisher's own website. Official sites often have activities, coloring pages and read-alouds without comments or feeds.
3. Use apps built for kids. For video, YouTube Kids gives parents more control than the main YouTube app. Our YouTube Kids app review explains the settings.
4. Turn off autoplay when watching read-alouds or character videos on regular YouTube.
5. Skip the comments. Scroll past or close comment sections before handing over the screen.
6. Talk about ads. Even preschoolers can start to learn that some videos are trying to sell them something.

Reading together on a screen

Many families now read picture books on tablets and e-readers as well as in print. Screens can work well for shared reading, especially when traveling, but a few habits keep the experience closer to a printed book:

• Turn off notifications before you start, so messages and alerts do not interrupt the story.
• Use airplane mode for downloaded books, so there are no links or pop-ups leading elsewhere.
• Read the same way you would on paper. Pause, point at pictures, ask what might happen next.
• Watch for "enhanced" features such as games and animations that can pull attention away from the story itself.

Extending a story without a screen

Some of the best ways to keep a beloved book going need no account at all:

• Ask your child to draw what happens next, or dictate a new adventure for the characters.
• Plan a small "special day" inspired by the book, like baking cupcakes for a stuffed animal's birthday.
• Visit the library to find more books by the same author or illustrator.
• Make simple puppets of the characters and act out favorite scenes.

If you are looking for more ways to encourage reading, our guide to getting kids reading with Kidsmomo and our list of kid-friendly social networking options have additional ideas.

A checklist before sharing any character's page with a young child

• Is the account official, or a fan or imitation account?
• Will your child be using your device and your account, with you nearby?
• Are comments visible, and can you avoid them?
• Does the page mainly sell products?
• Would an author website, library resource or offline activity do the same job?

The bottom line

Hooligan Bear was an early, gentle experiment in letting children follow book characters beyond the page. The idea still works best the way the original books framed it: as something a parent and child do together, on the parent's device, as a bridge back to reading rather than a first step into social media.