Random House Children's Books Releases First Interactive Coloring & Activity Barbie™ App, Barbie™ Color, Sparkle And Style

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Random House Children's Books (www.randomhouse.com/kids) announces that Barbie™ Color, Sparkle and Style for iPad^®, its first original coloring and activity app with Mattel, is now available in the App Store™ (www.itunes.com/appstore). The app retails for $4.99, and is on sale now for a special introductory launch price of $1.99.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121115/NY14197 )

This ultimate Barbie coloring app invites fans to play with color in a brand-new way. Packed with never-before-seen art tools, special effects, and pages of fabulous Barbie artwork, girls will be captivated for hours as they color, decorate, design, dress-up, and create on the go with their best friend, Barbie.

The Barbie™ Color, Sparkle and Style app includes 2 coloring books for a total of 16 pages. Kids can select from a multitude of art tools to create with:

• Barbie Bubble Wand: Blow and pop Barbie bubbles to decorate
• Glitterizer: Magically add sparkly glitter in a fabulous array of colors
• Fabric Fill: Tap to fill artwork with stylish patterns, prints, and textures
• Magic Wand: Add a splash of animated sparkles to every page
• Pattern Roller:  Decorate with bows, gems, hearts, and sequins
• 2 Watercolor Paintbrushes: The prettiest way to paint
• Stickers: Stylish stickers featuring Barbie, her friends, and her pets
• Paint Bucket: Simply tap to fill in the images with color
• Crayons, Paint Brushes, and Eraser

The Design Shop within the app offers additional coloring books and art supplies for sale. When kids have finished designing, their coloring book pages can be shared through email, Facebook or Twitter. Parental controls can also disable sharing and in-app purchases.

The app follows the release of the interactive storybook apps, Barbie™ The Princess & the Popstar in September, and Barbie™ Princess Charm School. To celebrate the launch of Barbie™ Color, Sparkle and Style, these Barbie™ apps will also be on sale for $1.99 for two weeks.

Visit www.rhkidsapps.com to learn more about additional apps available from Random House Children's Books.

Random House Children's Books is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, eBooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. The company's website, Kids @ Random (Randomhouse.com/kids) offers an array of activities, games and resources for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann, a leading international media company.

Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco R/C®, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Thomas & Friends®, Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. In 2012, Mattel was named as one of FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the fifth year in a row. Mattel also is ranked among Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs approximately 28,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. At Mattel, we are Creating the Future of Play. Visit us at www.mattel.com, www.facebook.com/mattel or www.twitter.com/mattel.

Smashing Ideas, founded in 1996, has become one of the leading digital media agencies for the youth market by creating immersive, interactive content that transforms consumer-driven brand experiences in a digital world. Cartoon Network, Disney, GE, Hasbro, Nickelodeon, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Verizon Wireless, and more have called upon the company to develop engaging, online, ITV, and mobile experiences for their audiences. In May 2011, Bertelsmann AG acquired Smashing Ideas, Inc. for its Random House, Inc. division. Smashing Ideas is based in Seattle, with offices in Portland and in the U.K.

BARBIE and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel, Inc. © 2012 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

iPod, iPod touch, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc.

SOURCE Random House Children's Books