As Told by Ginger (Nickelodeon)

On the "coolness" scale, 12-year-old Ginger Foutley (voiced by Melissa Disney) and her best friends Dodie Bishop (Aspen Miller) and Macie Lightfoot (Jackie Harris) teeter toward the nerdy end, making them the victims of some nasty teasing at school. But their constant desire to climb the popularity ladder is offset by their realization that self-acceptance and unconditional friendship matter more than the opinions of their peers. Produced by the creators of the Rugrats media franchise, AS TOLD BY GINGER is a multidimensional look at the life of a preteen girl pulled between being true to herself and succumbing to the demands of popularity.

The three main characters are intelligent, well-adjusted junior high girls who are comfortable with themselves. Ginger is helped along the way by her caring single mom, Lois (Laraine Newman), representing the foundation for Ginger's strong values. Viewers are privy to Ginger's insights through her chats with Dodie and Macie, as well as through the poetry she writes, such as "Someone once told me the grass is much greener on the other side... From where I'm standing, my grass is green." Lessons like that are worth learning, and they're exactly the kind of messages viewers will get from this show -- which makes it a winner for kids ages 7 and up.