Lalaloopsy Littles: Specs Reads-A-Lot (guest review)

Jaime is a teacher, wife and mom to two little gals who are three and five. She loves photography and she’s super-crafty. Seriously, if you live within a reasonable drive of Courtice and you love all those cute little hair clips, bows and crocheted hats, this is your gal and I’m happy to put you in touch.

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My two little princesses, Miss K and Miss E, love to play make-believe. They will fashion diaper boxes into pirate ships, talk to each other as the stuffed animals that they’re holding and put diapers and clothes on every stuffy that they own.  They love to integrate all of their toys into the stories that they come up with.  For example, we often hear that Cinderella is on a quest for treasure with Jake and the Neverland Pirates, or that Minnie and Mickey Mouse have come for tea at the Barbie house.

I love to hear their little stories, and can’t help but smile as their imaginative play fills my house with laughter and takes them running from room to room with shouts like “Watch out for the birds, Tinkerbell!” or “Rainbow Dash!  Fly faster!”  So when I was asked to review Lalaloopsy Littles’ Specs Reads-A-Lot (from MGA Entertainment), I figured that she would fit right in with my little princesses and that they would include her in their make-believe world.

THE GOOD

When we brought Specs Reads-A-Lot into the house and Miss E and Miss K saw it, the first question out of each of their mouths was “Mommy, is that for me?”  When I answered that it was theirs to share, I was ready for a war; however, they looked at the package and Miss E said “I would like the worm” and Miss K said that she would like the doll.  Crisis averted!  I was even somewhat surprised to discover that they each knew that the doll was a Lalaloopsy, given that they have never played with one to my knowledge.

Specs Reads-A-Lot was thrust into my girls’ imaginary play with a game of hide-and-seek.  Miss E ran to hide with the worm, and Specs Reads-A-Lot and Miss K looked for them.  This game lasted for more than an hour.  A good start for a new toy!

Specs Reads-A-Lot is a cute doll, and although her head is very disproportionate to her body, she is able to sit on her own, which is key to the make-believe school circle time in which she found herself.  Her arms and legs are able to move to different positions, as they rotate at the shoulders and hips.

THE GAFFE

While the girls were thrilled that Specs Reads-A-Lot was able to sit in their circle time, they were less than impressed that she was unable to stand on her own.  Her gigantic head caused her to topple over as soon as she was let go.

It was nice that she came with some accessories.  The worm is good; however, more accessories like a book or an apple that the worm could go into would have added to the imaginary play.  One of the first observations my three year old made was “Mommy the worm has no mouth, how is he supposed to eat?”  About a minute later there was another call from Miss E: “Mommy, Pinky (her new name) has no nose!” Even kids understand anatomical correctness.

Now, any doll that enters my house manages to get her clothes changed within a couple of hours, and Specs Reads-A-Lot met the same fate.  The girls went to their bin of clothes and managed to find some tiny clothes from a baby Build-A-Bear that fit Specs. They tried for five minutes to take her shoes off before coming to me for help.  The shoe/sock combo that comes with Specs does have a slit up the back that indicates that the shoes come off, however, it took me a good couple of minutes to actually remove them.  It was hard for me and impossible for Miss E and Miss K.  Shoes that are easier to take off would allow the girls to change her shoes on their own.  Specs also comes with glasses, however they are not able to be removed, which the girls wanted to do.

THE GEARS

4/5

So…where can you buy it?

• Canadian Tire