Kara and Kianna

What do you do when you want to create a new blog post, but you don't want to take photos, etc.? You look at your saved drafts and pick one! I have no idea why I've had this saved as a draft for so long because I took these photos years ago. At any rate, here are my Barbie So In Style (S.I.S.) Kara and Kianna dolls.

This set spoke to my heart because of the musical aspect. So this was an easy choice over the other sets that were released at the same time (pictured on the back of the box above).

The set comes with a Kara doll, a Kianna doll, a violin, a flute, a karaoke machine with two permanently attached mics, a carrying case, a CD, and sheet music.

Kara has cute musical accessories - violin earrings and a treble clef necklace.

The dolls are dressed somewhat alike and are super cute together!

Kara has arms that are articulated at the elbow, so she can handle the instruments more easily. It is a challenge for Kianna to play the instruments, but she is learning.

It would have been nice if the mics on the karaoke machine were detachable. But, I have another karaoke machine that came with another set and a bunch of mics around here. Hmmmm, I may have to host a doll karaoke party one of these days...

I read in the description that both Kara and Kianna also love math, and that also speaks to my heart since I am a STEM chick (science, technology, engineering and math) and have been asked to mentor young ladies and try to inspire more of them to take an interest in STEM professions, since women tend to be underrepresented in these professions. Did you know that studies show a correlation between music and mathematical abilities?

But let's face it, the music is just more fun. I can't really see myself having these dolls doing calculus. I can see them having fun playing with their instruments, though!

My overall impression is that I love this set! It is good for collectors as well as children. The set displays beautifully in the box, and is also fun to play with. It does come with tiny pieces, so it is not appropriate for very small children. I love the mentorship theme of these dolls, and love that there is a focus on both music and math with these particular dolls. One of the reasons that I've been asked to consider mentoring young ladies is so that other young ladies (Black young ladies in particular) will see the STEM professions as a possibility for themselves. I hope that seeing these Black math-loving dolls has inspired girls worldwide. Even if math is not the primary focus, maybe it sank in subliminally.