Doll-A-Day 166: Review of Hearts For Hearts Girls Dell

  Today's doll is a review. I debated reviewing Dell because she has been out so long. But then I figured there are still people out there who haven't decided to buy her yet who might appreciate it, so why not?
  It's the Hearts for Hearts Girls doll, Dell.

Here she is in her box. I've had her for a while but I hadn't opened her yet.

  All of the Hearts for Hearts Girls dolls come from a different part of the world.

The back of Dell's box. These are the first 6 dolls in the Hearts for Hearts line, unless I'm mistaken.

Dell is supposed to come from the Appalachian Mountains in the United States.The Appalachians are a huge range of mountains,extending almost 2000 miles, from Newfoundland in Canada, along the eastern seaboard of the United States and all the way to central Alabama.

Her box has a flap that opens to reveal a plastic window for viewing Dell in her box.There are a few tape circles that peel up easily and the insert slides right out.

Dell's accessories include her 'Dell' booklet, 'written' by her,a comb,a bracelet for her owner to wear,and a code that allows you to enter the Hearts for Hearts Girls website.

There are a couple of paper ties holding the plastic insert to the cardboard backing, but they untie very easily. No scissors needed!

Is it just me, or do these plastic things holding the string in place look like bunnies carrying something?

Once the plastic insert is free from the cardboard all you have to do is flip it over and remove more of the easily untied paper strings, and cut a thread in a couple of places. I had to be very careful not to cut any hair, so kids might require a bit of help here.

I was very pleased to see that these were twisted paper strings, rather than those stupid plastic ties. They were so much easier to remove, and, even better, less plastic!

She's so cute! I chose Dell because I love her fair skin tone, blush, and freckles.

Dell writes songs and plays the guitar. One of the other Dell dolls came with a doll sized guitar.

Dells  booklet and the bracelet were held in by  plastic straps, but were easy to remove.

Her shirt and shorts close in the back with Velcro. Her shoes slip on and off. I don't see her bracelets being easy to remove.

Out of her box Dell still has her hat attached to her head with thread. More careful cutting to avoid cutting her hair. Her earrings are made in two pieces, a peg, and the actual earring. They come out easily and aren't connected, so it's very easy to lose the peg. Also, little ones might swallow the tiny pieces, so that's something to think about when buying the doll  for a child.

Her inset eyes are a beautiful shade of blue, and I love her realistic mouth.

Once her hat was removed, Dell decided to try it on different ways.

The blush across her cheeks and nose makes it look like she has a slight sunburn.

   With the hat off Dell seems to have a very thin place in her hair.

Here's how she looked without her hat before I caved to the temptation to let her hair down:

It's very silky hair. It feels so smooth, and is a joy to comb. It doesn't seem to tangle easily either, which is great for a play doll, and very little fell out when it was combed. (And that could have just been because it was her first combing. There's always a little loose hair on a new doll.)

 I love her cute shoes. They look just like real ones you can buy for kids.

 
Dell  even tried the bracelet on as a necklace for a bit.Her choker necklace isn't removeable unless you cut it off.

I decided to remove her earrings to make her look more like an old fashioned little girl. She's a bit of a Tomboy.

Her head is a little big. It can tilt up and down or lean to the side.

She had fun just playing around the 'farm'.(Ok. It's my yard, and it's in town. Just pretend, can't you?!)

Hanging around the old barn...

She had a little trouble standing up without support. Her limbs seem a bit loose too. I'm not sure if this is normal, or just my doll.

Climbing trees...

Her arms can extend outward, as well as move up and down.

Although I love her skin tone and her flesh looking vinyl, it seemed to pick up dirt so easily. Just from touching this tree she had a mark on her fingers. It came off fairly easily, thank goodness.

walking a narrow beam...

Ok, it's a chair arm...Her legs can extend outward,like her arms.

They can also turn inward or outward, for cute poses like this.

...picking mulberries.Yum!

And the young walnuts smell sooo good!

Thanks Dell, but those pears aren't ripe yet.

I cheated here and held her hands together with a clear rubber band.

No thank you.

Noooo!!!

Using that rubber band again.

  I think these dolls would be great for little girls. They are so pretty,poseable,and teach their owners about people from other countries.And some of the profits from the sale of the dolls goes to World Vision, a charity that helps people all over the world. I think without the earrings she could be fine for younger kids. The clothes are cute, but simple, and easy to get on and off. Other outfits are available separately.(I bought Lillian's Belarus nightgown, even though I bought Dell, just because I liked it so much.) The price of the dolls is not bad. I paid $22 for my Dell at Meijer. I'm tempted to get more of these dolls, but our Target stores don't carry them anymore, and Meijer seems to be phasing them out too. My next choice would be Zelia, from Brazil. She has red hair and brown eyes,which is a hard to find combination, and of interest to me because Fuzz and I have the same combo.

  So, do I recommend her? Yes.

 UPDATE: You may want to check out my reviews of Hearts for Hearts dolls Zelia and Surjan.
Until next time...