MrsP.com
Encyclopedia
MrsP.com is a free children's entertainment website. It stars actress Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P, a redheaded Irishwoman who reads classic children's stories from her "Magic Library." The target audience for the website is kids between the ages of 3-12, and its goal is to "encourage a lifetime love of reading." It has no advertising and no subscription fees. The site is produced by Mrs P Enterprises, LLC and was created by Kinney, who played Mimi on The Drew Carey Show
, TV writer and producer Clay Graham
, and former entertainment and New Media executive Dana Plautz.
Stories read by Mrs. P on the website include Jack and the Beanstalk
, Little Red Riding Hood
, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
and Sleeping Beauty
. New stories are added every few weeks.
The site also features an animated game in which a stuffed dog, Spyri, comes to life, as well as a "window" in which various visitors appear, including actor Robert Blanche (World Trade Center
, Ghost Whisperer
) as a singing policeman trying to woo Mrs. P. .
, who had been the head writer and an executive producer of The Drew Carey Show
, first had the idea of creating a "storytelling" website. Dana Plautz, who had been a marketing executive at Hanna-Barbera
, joined soon after as a partner and co-president, and they approached Kathy Kinney
, who was their "first -- and only -- choice" to play Mrs. P. Kinney also is co-president and co-creator of the website.
The site launched at midnight on November 10, 2008. Its production offices are in Portland, Oregon
and Los Angeles
. Powell's Books
, the world's largest independent bookstore
, supports the site with a "Mrs. P Aisle" on it website, www.powells.com, and with other promotional activities.
Mrs. P made her first national TV appearance on Dec. 6, 2008 in a live broadcast from the Manhattan FAO Schwarz Toy Store for the CBS
Early Show. She recommended her favorite children's books for the holiday season and read The Princess and the Pea
to an audience of children.
On December 9, 2008, MrsP.com began offering videos from its library for purchase and download on the iTunes Store
. Ten percent of all MrsP.com's after-tax profits will be donated by Mrs P Enterprises, LLC to literacy organizations.
Mrs. P made an appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the nation's largest book fair, on April 25, 2009. She read to a crowd of several hundred children and parents from the Target-sponsored Children's Stage.
On April 27, 2009, MrsP.com won the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. In its review, the Center called the website "beautifully conceived" and "beautifully rendered," adding that "the site felt extremely genuine in its desire to help children develop a love of reading and did so by creating a fun environment for them" in which to be read to.
TeachersFirst.com, a website resource "by teacher, for teachers" reviewed MrsP.com in May, 2009, stating "You almost want to toast marshmallows on the open fire as you cyber-curl under Mrs. P's feet by the fireplace." The teacher's website also said MrsP.com "will thrill your eager readers for hours" - although warning "do not even try this one on a slow connection."
On May 27, 2009, MrsP.com was chosen by the American Library Association as one of its "Great Web Sites for Kids."
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, TV writer and producer Clay Graham
Clay Graham
Clay Graham is an American comedy writer, television producer and website creator, best known for his work on The Drew Carey Show.- Early years :...
, and former entertainment and New Media executive Dana Plautz.
Content
The primary content offered on MrsP.com is a library of streaming video episodes. The episodes range in length from 5–30 minutes and feature the Mrs. P character seated near a fire in her "Magic Library." She offers a short, often humorous introduction, usually based on one of her youthful adventures and related in some way to the story she is about to read. She then reads the story directly to the camera. The videos include illustrations or photographs, but focus primarily on the emotive performances of the storyteller "in the hope that viewers will use their imaginations."Stories read by Mrs. P on the website include Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
, Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he is chased about the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother who puts him to bed after dosing him with camomile tea...
and Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
. New stories are added every few weeks.
The site also features an animated game in which a stuffed dog, Spyri, comes to life, as well as a "window" in which various visitors appear, including actor Robert Blanche (World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
) as a singing policeman trying to woo Mrs. P. .
History
Development of MrsP.com began in April 2007, when Clay GrahamClay Graham
Clay Graham is an American comedy writer, television producer and website creator, best known for his work on The Drew Carey Show.- Early years :...
, who had been the head writer and an executive producer of The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
, first had the idea of creating a "storytelling" website. Dana Plautz, who had been a marketing executive at Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, joined soon after as a partner and co-president, and they approached Kathy Kinney
Kathy Kinney
Kathy Kinney is an American actress and comedian. She gained considerable popularity in the late 1990s for playing Mimi Bobeck, the outrageously made-up, flamboyantly vulgar, and vindictive nemesis of Drew Carey on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show...
, who was their "first -- and only -- choice" to play Mrs. P. Kinney also is co-president and co-creator of the website.
The site launched at midnight on November 10, 2008. Its production offices are in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Powell's Books
Powell's Books
Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Oregon's Portland metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City of Books is located in the Pearl District on the edge of downtown and...
, the world's largest independent bookstore
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
, supports the site with a "Mrs. P Aisle" on it website, www.powells.com, and with other promotional activities.
Mrs. P made her first national TV appearance on Dec. 6, 2008 in a live broadcast from the Manhattan FAO Schwarz Toy Store for the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Early Show. She recommended her favorite children's books for the holiday season and read The Princess and the Pea
The Princess and the Pea
"The Princess and the Pea" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in an inexpensive booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C.A...
to an audience of children.
On December 9, 2008, MrsP.com began offering videos from its library for purchase and download on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Ten percent of all MrsP.com's after-tax profits will be donated by Mrs P Enterprises, LLC to literacy organizations.
Mrs. P made an appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the nation's largest book fair, on April 25, 2009. She read to a crowd of several hundred children and parents from the Target-sponsored Children's Stage.
On April 27, 2009, MrsP.com won the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. In its review, the Center called the website "beautifully conceived" and "beautifully rendered," adding that "the site felt extremely genuine in its desire to help children develop a love of reading and did so by creating a fun environment for them" in which to be read to.
TeachersFirst.com, a website resource "by teacher, for teachers" reviewed MrsP.com in May, 2009, stating "You almost want to toast marshmallows on the open fire as you cyber-curl under Mrs. P's feet by the fireplace." The teacher's website also said MrsP.com "will thrill your eager readers for hours" - although warning "do not even try this one on a slow connection."
On May 27, 2009, MrsP.com was chosen by the American Library Association as one of its "Great Web Sites for Kids."