Toy Review: Pinkie Cooper and the Jet Set Pets

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When I asked my daughter if she wanted to review the new Pinkie Cooper fashion doll I got an immediate Yes! She was very excited when we received a parcel containing Pinkie Cooper in Paris (RRP £24.99):

plus an extra dog called Sprinkles (RRP £9.99):

The dolls are an unusual combination of Spaniel and human that actually does work even though it sounds freaky:

The doll herself has removable clothing and her hair pieces can also be swapped out. At the moment we only have the one outfit so there isn't too much scope for changing (unless you put the puppies ears on her!) but she has a swanky Parisien sophistication with her little beret:

Having spent some time in Paris this summer this was the perfect one of the range for my daughter! There are also Beverley Hills and London versions with their own local fashions.

The Jet Set versions each come with their own puppy and there also separate puppies to buy. Having 2 meant that my daughter could swap over their outfits and try different ears on each one. They are pretty cute:

Fashion dolls are a highly competitive market so these have been designed to appeal to girls who love both animals and dolls. Some dolls on the market are ones that I won't give house room to but I actually quite like these. Every time I think my daughter has grown out of dolls she surprises me by enjoying them so I am sure these will be much loved. Just wonder whether she will ask for any of the additional outfits etc that you can buy to allow for a change of clothing!

Monday Review: Notalie Doll

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I was asked to review the new Notalie doll which is aimed at tween age girls like my daughter. This is what the blurb that comes with the doll says:

Who is Notalie?

Notalie is a new concept in dolls, ‘the companion doll’. Standing head and shoulders above other dolls, she measures 1 metre tall. She has a unique appearance, with the look of a bored ‘tween’. Her long arms and legs have large ‘knotty’ elbows and knees. She is a soft, plush toy which means she loves to be hugged.

Notalie lets girls be girls for longer

The sexualisation of children is very much in the news today and a phenomenon known as ‘age compression’ means that girls are growing up too fast. They are rejecting conventional dolls as early as seven years of age. Dolls are seen as babyish whilst computer games are ‘cool’. This means that girls are missing out on essential creative play which enables them to remain children for longer and to develop at a proper rate.

This is where Notalie comes in. She is carefully designed to look like the girls who will play with her and because she is so tall, she is immediately embraced as one of the gang. She’s feisty and funny and can share jewellery, hair accessories and be part of a girl’s life, whatever she is doing. She’s a true best friend.

With an 8 year old daughter who fluctuates between being a little girl and trying to be a teenager Notalie sounded perfect. I have to say my daughter was very excited to see Notalie sitting waiting for her when she came home. She was intrigued to find a doll with knots tied in her arms and legs who was almost as tall as she is.

For the first outing my daughter managed to tie Notalie round her waist and hold her in place with her jacket so that they could go scooting with her:

Monday Review: A Girl For All Time

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I was sent a press release last week that shocked me about the number of secondary school aged girls who are ignorant about historical events and people such as Henry the VIIIth. Now maybe my family are unusual but I was brought up with a love of history - visiting castles etc., watching documentaries and reading history both fact and fiction. I have passed this on to my children and they took up medieval re-enactment as babies:

The founder of A Girl For All Time has decided to do her bit to turn this statistic around with the launch of a range of dolls, novels and keepsake books for girls aged 8 and over. I was lucky enough to be sent one of these to review with my daughter who has just turned 8. Her reaction when she looked in the box was ecstatic (think this is her favourite review product so far!):

With the doll having an RRP of £89.99 this a gift that I hope will be passed down the generations! The attentions to detail are incredible and when you read the book (Matilda's Secret £6.99) you can match the description of her outfit:

All of her clothes can be removed and my daughter was amazed at how many layers there were. It is also possible to buy her additional outfits to go with the story (let's just say Santa has a list of all of these from my daughter!).

We have been reading the story together at bedtime. It is written as a secret journal of Matilda Marchmont sent to court by her uncle the Duke of Norfolk to help engineer the marriage of her cousin Katherine Howard to Henry the VIIIth. It is full of little details of life at court and Tudor times such as men peeing in the fireplaces and the daily routine of the Queen's maids of honour. As a history buff I know how it all ends in tragedy but hearing it from the point of view of an innocent 13 year old caught up in it all makes for gripping reading. My daughter keeps asking for "one more section" at bed time! 

I can see why this has won awards this year. As a fabulous change from a high tech Christmas this would make a marvellous gift. Just make sure your child is beyond the stage of drawing on her dolls! Yes it comes with a large price tag but if looked after well it will be a family treasure for generations to come.

There are more dolls to come in the series (Elizabethan, Restoration, Georgian, Victorian, WW2) as Matilda's descendants tell their own stories. An amazing collection for girls 8 plus or even grown ups!

Haba Toys: Charlotte Doll

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I am delighted that my family has been selected as one of the UK Ambassadors for Haba Toys which are made in Germany. They have traditionally made wooden toys and furniture but are now also working in textiles and porcelain. I have been sent a parcel of toys for the family to try out and review and this is the first of them:

The first thing I liked was the minimal packaging the doll came in. So many toys have such excess packaging its pretty off putting. She was a very attractive doll and my 7 year old instantly wanted to claim her for herself and play with her. On the box it says for age 1 1/2 years upwards so it is intended as a starter level doll.

The doll was nice and soft to hold but nice and firm to play with. She is very made with an embroided face. Her clothes are removable which was an instant attraction to my daughter:

When everything was removed my daughter discovered that Charlotte has a stitched belly button which she found very cute. One problem we found was that it was hard for my daughter to put the skirt back on as it was pretty tight across the doll's bottom - this should ease as the doll is played with for a while. The shoes proved impossible for her to do herself and I had to do them. With a younger child they would need plenty of help to put the doll's clothes back on.


Her clothes are beautifully made and the hat looks like its hand knitted. Details such as pockets on the waistcoat are a nice touch. The clothes supplied allow for a couple of different looks. Looking at the web site there are a couple more outfits you could purchase if you wanted to.


This doll is definitely high quality and feels like it would have a long life as a child's toy. Judging by my daughter's reaction it could bring many years of pleasure. The only downsides we could find was the trickiness of putting some of the clothes/shoes on but this may well get easier with time.


I have a couple more toys to review from this initial bundle over the rest of the week so watch this space!