What I Saw at Target

  Yesterday we stopped into Target, because Ivy is addicted to Target...ok, and we needed a few things. I had a look at the toy department. I with Ken had had his phone on him, because I saw several things I wanted to talk to you about,and I couldn't take any pictures. So I'm still going to talk, (because that's what I do!), but I'll have to use stock photos.
  First of all, even though the dolls are still available on the Target website, there wasn't even a section for Creatable World stuff any more. I had my eye on some of those clothes, so that's disappointing.
  There were still some Lori dolls and things,but the faces look different on some of them. I'm not sure if they are using a new sculpt, or just painting them differently. This girl had a cute outfit, and SOCKS!

  I finally saw a couple of the Cave Club dolls.

They were jointed, and kind of cute, but too bright and colourful for me.
  I had never seen the Na!Na!Na! Surprise dolls in person either. I love the faces.

This one was really cute,but with platform shoes. The other one they had was wearing black fishnet hose. Here we go again with the provocatively dressed play dolls.
   There are some different face sculpts in the Our Generation dolls now,besides the pointy little face. They've had them for a while,but I think there are more of them now.

There were  a couple of bendy dolls too. They can bend their arms and legs,and even sit cross legged. My favourite was a red haired one that had the older style face. She came with crutches. On the OG website the doll with crutches was blonde.
  They had some really wonderful accessory sets for the OG dolls too! I want most of them! My favourites were the set of little 'records' with a record tote...

... and the little record player with records...

 (I'm not sure they really 'play' anything, and I'm not sure why kids these days would want records. They don't even know what they are. They probably think they're weird CDs.).
And my absolute favourite favourite: the 'Take A Letter' typewriter set! I got so excited about this thing! I only wish it were Tammy World's size!

The best of the larger sets for the OG dolls was the movie theatre! This thing is fantastic!

The Barbie Fashionista #132, that comes with a wheelchair and ramp, and has the Made To Move body was marked down to $15.19.

  That's my Target story for this time. I didn't buy anything, because I didn't have the money/don't have the room, or a kid to buy for, or play with. I need to borrow somebody's kid to play with. But they have to buy the toys too. You know, all this money/space situation could be solved if more people bought stuff from the sales page. I did recently add a bunch of dolls and things, and for great prices too. Some of this stuff needs to move. I really need the room. So check out the sales page by clicking the link in the top right of the page,or ask about a doll that's been featured on the blog. I might be willing to let it go.

Review Time! Lottie Dolls' Kid Activist Doll

  Finally! This review is finished. (Some of you may have seen it when it was accidentally posted before it was finished. Well, it's back, and it's done this time!) It seems like there has been something preventing me from finishing every day, not least of all my lack of a computer, and our constantly faltering internet. I'm still using Ken's computer, and it's still complete crap.
  Today we're looking at another doll I recently received from Arklu/Lottie Dolls. She's the Kid Activist doll.

She's a  'kid activist', based on Amariyanna 'Mari' Copeny, an activist from Flint, Michegan.

Mari with the Kid Activist doll.

Mari became known as 'Little Miss Flint' when she began campaigning for clean water in Flint, after their water crisis.

At eight years old, Mari wrote to President Obama, inviting him to come and see what was happening in Flint for himself.

   First I want to menton the change from the last time I received items from Arklu, back in 2017. Back then, the doll and carded outfit arrived in a box that was way too big, and stuffed with gigantic wads of paper. This time the dolls, Kid Activist and Fossil Hunter Lottie, arrived in a just the right size box, and a bubble envelope. I think the box was a better idea.  Much more environmental than the last time. (They were shipped separately because they were in the midst of being restocked and I think they arrived at the warehouse at different times.)
  The Kid Activist doll is part of the Gold Collection.

I'm still not sure what that entails.  Her box also has the Lottie motto, "Be bold, be brave, be you". As I said before, good advice.

Apparently she's actually named Meg.

  Her box has little windows on the sides so she can be clearly seen.

Her box is sealed with two little tape circles. When they are peeled, her insert slides out easily.

She's attached to plastic pieces that are only taped in back.

Here she is, free of her insert and plastic thingies.

She has a great mass of hair. Beautiful!

I can just imagine what would happen f I tried to comb it though! Disaster! Lottie dolls don't come with a comb or brush, so maybe that will discourage kids from brushing her hair.

  Her jacket has an iron on that says "Stand up".

And the jacket is a great, thin fabric that is very in scale. It allows the jacket to lay naturally. Lottie dolls have wonderful fabrics that are almost always to scale.

 Her shorts have stitched 'pockets', (not real ones), and a real button that's just for looks.

Her shirt says "Kids Voices Matter".

I always taught my kids to stand up for what's right, and told them that doing what's right isn't always doing what's easy.That came up when the kids at school made fun of them for being vegetarian.
 The Kid Activist also has white tennis shoes.

They're cute little shoes with realistic tread on the bottoms.

They slip on and of easily, but stay on well.
 She wears some elastics on her wrist that I think are supposed to be like friendship bracelets.

 For her hair, she has a tiara, like the one worn by Mari.

She comes with a bullhorn, for speaking out at public events.

It has a handle her hand fits in.

She also has a sign, which, unfortunately is only made of cardboard.

It has a cut out in the handle so she can hold it.

But I didn't use it.

Since this is a toy for kids, I think it would have been a good idea to have made the sign from something a little more sturdy. Now that I think about it, it would have been a pretty great idea to have included a few blank signs to, so the kids could make their own signs, for things they feel strongly about. Of course,you can make your own signs out of cardboard too, but something more lasting would be nice.
 The paper included with the doll tells a little about Mari and some of the things she has managed to accomplish so far in her young life.

 Very inspiring. You're never too young to stand up for what you believe in. Next I want a Greta Thunberg doll!
Like other Lottie dolls, this doll is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips, and has bendable knees.

The arms can move out from the body, and the legs can move out from the hips, as well as back and forth, as you can se in the photos of Meg with her accessories, above.

Her arms don't bend.
  Meg has a different head sculpt than Lottie,as you can see from this picture of her next to Fossil Hunter Lottie, which I reviewed recently.

She has a broader face, a more pointy chin,and more of  smile. She also has quite a set of eyebrows!  I think she has the same head sculpt as Junior Reporter Sammi, which I reviewed a while back.

  She has the same body as Lottie though.

  I love that Lottie dolls are more than just hair play and princesses. It's kids like Mari that should be inspiring kids. I love the sweet faces on the Lottie dolls. They have great clothing that is well made. They usually come with interesting accessories that relate to their character. I was a little disappointed that Meg only came with a megaphone and a cardboard sign. I'm not sure what else I would have had her come with that would have suited her. Maybe a bottle of water? Surely there's something else. I'll tell you how much the Lottie dolls appeal to me: I have trouble deciding which I like most. The Fossil Hunter appealed to me because I was always interested in fossils myself, and I would have bought that doll for little Fuzz, because Fuzzy always answered the 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' question with, "A paleontologist."  I was interested in Meg because I thought the 'kid activist' doll was a wonderful idea. The Lottie dolls are a bit high priced for what they are,but, as I have said before, the interesting and unique subject matter is worth a little extra. There are princess dolls all over the place. But how many Fossil Hunters or Kid Activists are there?
  Mari is now 13 years old, and still an activist. She has raised money to help underprivileged children, providing school supplies, Easter baskets, Christmas toys, movie screenings, and books, and has managed to give out over a million bottles of water  You can go to Mari's page HERE. You can read a recent interview with Mari HERE.
  You can find Kid Activist Meg on the Lottie website,(Click there for the website, and  HERE .for the Kid Activist doll. Click HERE to join Club Lottie for free printables, offers, and news. Click HERE to read the Lottie blogs, with some good insight on why more childlike and diverse dolls are healthy for kids.