Apps That Put Girls Center Stage: Magic Belles, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina, and Disney Fairies Fly

Your kids will love these four fun, creative, and inspiring apps. While these apps aren’t just for girls, they star female characters and have an overall feminine quality that leans toward the female side of the equation. There’s something for every age group here, from preschool to preteen. Each has an aura of specialness that makes it a perfect holiday gift. And speaking of gifts, we're giving away three copies of Magic Belles AND three copies of Thumbelina. Just leave a comment to this story with a way to reach you (email preferred) by 5pm EST on Monday, November 19th, 2012. And good luck!

Why Can’t We Be “Friends”?

Do you love your Friends? In honor of Warner Bros. new release of the Friends Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set, Warner Bros. will give one Media Darlings reader a Limited Edition Friends prize pack with two oversized cappuccino mugs and a picture frame just like the one on Monica’s door! All you need to do to enter is to sign up to officially follow this site, then leave a comment to this story with a way to reach you (email preferred) below. Already follow us? Great! Then just leave the comment and you’re entered. The contest ends 5pm EST on November 30, 2012. And good luck!

Picture Books We Love: “The Reader”

Review and Author and Illustrator Interviews
The Reader is an adorable picture book written by Amy Hest and illustrated by Lauren Castillo and published by Amazon Children’s Publishing. It’s also the lead character of the book. The "Reader" is a small boy with a dog, a sled, and a suitcase. The boy and his dog play in the snow and climb to the top of a tall hill where the suitcase is opened and they share a surprise. The Reader is about the quiet of nature. It’s also about being able to hear yourself think. And of course, it’s about the special bond between child and dog. The illustrations are gorgeous, created in a sure-handed minimalism that makes you step back in awe. Beautiful moments of fun in the snow make this a perfect holiday gift. And it celebrates a love of reading and of books. It’s a small piece of perfection

Late to the Game: Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph”

Disney’s Fifty-Second Animated Feature – 2012
I was literally in the dark when this film opened last week, put in the dark by Hurricane Sandy. Now that our lights are back on, I was itching to get to the theater to see Disney’s latest feature. Wreck-It Ralph is the first feature film for tv director Rich Moore (Drawn Together, Futurama, and The Simpsons, to name a few) and writers Phil Johnston (a few tv movies and shorts) and Jennifer Lee (her first film), which surprised me. Disney is willing to bet the candy store on a group of newbies? Will this be revolutionary? No spoiler here: no. Wreck-It Ralph delivers great entertainment value, but it’s more dependable than original.

Vocabulary Building Apps We Love: “The Opposites” and “Word Cracker”

Lights are back on after a weeklong blackout at my house and it feels great to be getting a story up. During the blackout, I could recharge my laptop and iPad at the local library, so I spent some time with a pair of wonderful, slightly addictive apps that love words as much as I do.

Stand Tall!

New York Times Bestselling illustrator Tom Lichtenheld (Duck Rabbit!, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site) was inspired by last night’s election and the response to Hurricane Sandy to create this charming and inspirational image.

In his words, “Despite the storm, despite the money, despite the mud-slinging … this thing basically worked. So let's put the elephants and donkeys out to pasture and come up with a new mascot.” – Tom Lichtenheld

Or as Lara Starr from Chronicle Books told me, “Today, there are no Elephants. There are no Donkeys. We are all Giraffes!”

To Serve Animals: Disney’s “The Lion King”

Disney’s Thirty-Second Animated Feature - 1994 (original release) 2011 (3D release)
I have a confession to make: I’ve never been a huge fan of The Lion King. While it’s impossible not to get swept up in its beautiful animation, top-notch voice performances, and exciting story, the essential phoniness of animal life along with its celebration of adherence to royal bloodlines and “proper” succession to the throne has always irked me. A much earlier Disney classic about animals in nature, Bambi, was set in a world where animals speak and the owl is a friend to a rabbit; but on the whole, the story of Bambi set the deer in a recognizable, realistic world. The Lion King, on the other hand, is more a movie about a European royal family (pre-Renaissance) than it is about any group of animals.