Among the different animated stars found on Disney Junior there is Sofia the First, another Disney princess who has a few different claims to fame behind her name. Sofia isn’t quite like the other princesses because she’s not based on an existing fairy tale but if you’re a parent who has watched the series with their child you know that quite often the other Disney princesses will show up to lend her some assistance. Sofia also isn’t someone who is born of royalty and instead was merely a common villager until her mother married the king which trust her into royalty. Now she’s trying to learn just what being a member of royalty means. The popularity of the series has also led to quite a few different products and as usual, LeapPad isn’t going to let a character such as Sofia slip by them.
One of the many different books which are part of the LeapReader Junior library is Sofia the First: A Princess Thing. The book is actually based on the first episode of the series, Just One of the Princes. In the story Sofia wants to join flying derby team but is disappointed when Amber informs her that no matter how much she has her heart set on it, the derby is something which is only for the princes. Determined to show that she can be a member just like any boy, Sofia decides to find a horse but the only one left is Minimus, a rather small and uncertain Pegasus. Thanks to the Amulet of Avalor however, Sofia is able to work with Minimus to help him overcome his own self-doubt so the two of them can hopefully prove that the derby isn’t just a prince thing.
My daughter and her love of Sofia the First are often a fleeting thing. She wants to watch the series one week for a few days and afterwards she has little to no interest for weeks on end. She enjoy it, but it’s certainly not one of her top series to watch in the Disney Junior lineup so I haven’t actually seen the episode that the book is based on, at least not to my knowledge. I can assume however that like many of the other Disney releases which have come out and are based on their series that A Princess Thing stays as close to the original source material as it possibly can while taking the premise and editing it down into a much shorter version.
The overall theme that the story attempts to present children with teaches them that they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to. It’s the same thing that virtually every parent will convey to their child but sometimes it takes a fictional character such as Sofia to help get this point across. Sofia of course isn’t immediately successful which also teaches that often it’s practice and patience which are needed in the end. This is actually something that my daughter right now is trying to grasp. She’s convinced that when she first picks up something she will immediately be able to do it. Yes, she gets frustrated and I often here “I can’t do it” but in many ways it seems that perhaps the message of the book is starting to rub off on her and she has stated before that she needs to practice when it comes to something she’s recently attempted but wasn’t able to do such as riding her bicycle.
Just like all of the books that are available for the LeapReader Junior series, A Princess Thing allows your child to interact with the book. The LeapReader itself works on every page in the book and by using it on the text your child will have the story read to them which includes dialog by the actual voice cast from the series and there’s even a song included as well. By touching characters or various objects on the pages there is more dialog or sound effects. Occasionally your child will be asked questions which they will answer by touching the LeapReader to the appropriate character. This is designed to teach them how to identify the characters in the story as well as increase their listening skills. Those who are already familiar with the Sofia the First television series shouldn’t have too many problems as far as the identification portion. Most child will have fun hearing the different things which the book has to offer them.
Sofia the First: A Princess Thing is designed for children ages one to three but a few who are a bit above that age range probably will enjoy the book just as much as younger children will. While the book isn’t using actual images from the television series the reproduction of the characters and setting is accurate to what is seen in the series. I do feel that the book is a bit more for girls than boys but those blossoming princesses who have already been won over by the adventures of Sofia and her friends will delight in experiencing the story in a new way and along the way learn that they can overcome just about anything as long as they put their minds and hearts to it.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.
