A FEW OF THEIR FAVORITE THINGS :: Julia Roberts and Dakota Fanning are featured in this week’s Life Magazine, where they chat about why great friends, good books, and beloved pets matter — especially during the holidays. Here’s an excerpt:

LIFE: Have the twins seen you on the screen at all?
ROBERTS: I think my son saw me on TV once for a split second and said “Mommy!” But when Hazel sees any mom figure in a book, she says “Mommy.”

LIFE: You’re both Georgia-born girls who knit. Are either of you knitting anything for Christmas?
ROBERTS: I’m currently knitting an orange sweater for myself.
FANNING: I’m really bad, because I haven’t even knit my sister [Elle, 8] a scarf.
ROBERTS: You should get on it. Get yourself some big needles. You know what’s fun is knitting a poncho.

Charlotte’s Web opened last weekend, racking in $11.45 million.

Check out the video below of Dakota Fanning’s appearance on The View from this Friday. Dakota explains what “Chain Day” is, chats up her 8-year-old sister Elle Fanning, and her new dog — a schnoodle named Lewellen. She carried herself very well and was I was very impressed with her professionalism. Rosie also gives Dakota a dog walker as a Christmas gift.

Pictures include Dakota Fanning, 12, at the Los Angeles premiere of her new film Charlotte’s Web, which was held earlier today at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

Dakota Fanning was shot as fairy-tale characters Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood by photographer/fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair. Here’s a little story that Dakota shared on shooting as Rapunzel: “Karl was like, ‘Put your finger on the spindle,’ and I was like, ‘O.K., I’ll put my finger on the spindle.’ And he was like, ‘We need some blood,’ because she pricks her finger on the spindle, and I was like, ‘O.K.’ So we had this red cheek gel–blush. So we put the ‘blood’ on my finger, and I was on this chaise, and it was so fun. It was nice and relaxed.” Read the full article by clicking the thumbnails below! Here’s the introduction of the article:

She’s the kind of actress who gets thrown a surprise birthday party by Robert De Niro, loves killing time with the grips and can’t wait for the next Harry Potter book. As Dakota Fanning brings to life Fern Arable, heroine of the children’s classic Charlotte’s Web, Karl Lagerfeld puts the 12-year-old star in fairy-tale perspective, while Jim Windolf hears her modern-day Cinderella Jr. story.

• Britney Spears Loving The Single Life
• Jessica Alba Would Make Algebra Way Hotter
• Clay Aiken:Not The Only Want Wanting To Shut Kelly Ripa Up
• At Least Sienna Miller Will Look Good
• Gwen Stefani Goes Bald and Beautiful
• Tia Carrere: The Original Queen Of “Schwing!” Is Back!
• Keira Knightley is Engaged to Rupert Friend
• K-Fed’s Attorney Denies Sex Tape
• Michael Richards Doesn’t Like Jews Either

• John Mayer told Ryan Seacrest that he’s not dating Jessica Simpson, but that he’s “having a lot of fun in [his] life.”
• Taye Diggs was spotted “cheek to cheek” with Ashlee Simpson at G-Spa last week. The two downed tequila shots and were whispering and intertwining arms for a half hour. Ashlee’s rep says the two are “just friends.”
• First daughter Barbara Bush had her purse stolen on the first night of a two-week trip to Argentina with her sister, Jenna. The Secret Service declined to comment and the First Lady’s office would not say why the girls are in South America.
• Steven Spielberg is said to be in hot pursuit of the movie rights to “Jersey Boys,” the musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Harvey Weinstein and Tom Hanks, as well as execs from Disney and Warner Bros. are interested too.
• Madonna: The Confessions Tour - Live From London will appear on NBC tonight at 8pm.
• At the premiere of his new film “Déjà Vu,” Denzel Washington said that of all the actresses he’d worked with, the hottest was, “Dakota [Fanning], by far she’s the hottest of the bunch!”
• And to all you Americans out there, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!! GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!

Perky brunette Kelly Clarkson showed off her short new tresses at last night’s Country Music Television’s “CMT Giants” event honoring her own “American Idol,” country singer Reba McEntire (Kelly grew up listening to Reba).

Kelly, 24, dedicated a duet with country songbird Martina McBride to Reba at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. The concert which will air nationwide on Saturday, Nov. 18 on CMT. Pictured below: actress Dakota Fanning.

POLL :: What do you think of Kelly’s new ‘do and outfits?