Saturday, February 24, 2018

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.

14 comments:

  1. What a lovely set! I didn't know it yet. The coordinated hair styles are so cute, and so are the accessories :-).
    I'm sure your mentoring will help girls to get interested in STEM professions, it's a great thing you do!
    Besides, math is fascinating! At least, I thought so when I went to school, I really enjoyed the classes :-).

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    1. Thank you MillicentAndFriends! I'd love to see more girls show an interest in STEM professions! Children are exposed to such a wide range of technology at such young ages these days that I'm sure the tide is turning.

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  2. What a cute set this is! I have the Grace and Courtney set. I do wish Mattel still made these! I miss the quality of the clothes from that time!

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    1. Thanks Phyllis! All of the sets were cute, and I do appreciate the quality of the clothing. All of the little accessories are so cute, too!

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  3. I missed most of the SIS heyday, but I did manage to find the Trichelle version on clearance. I never did see the other two sets in person. They did a great job on these!

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    1. Thanks Muff! I'm glad that you were able to pick up the Trichelle version. I remember being pretty excited to get this one years ago.

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  4. I wish we had the SIS dolls over here! When you mentioned STEM I remembered a movie I saw last year about three ladies who worked at NASA in the sixties, I think it was called "Hidden figures". I loved it so much! My favourite was Dorothy the head programmer.

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    1. I loved the movie Hidden Figures! I had to see that one opening weekend! I have such admiration for the ladies depicted in the film, and I really found it fascinating. I hope that you're able to get some of the SIS dolls one day!

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  5. I didn't purchase this set when the first came, I opted for the individual dolls. They really did a great job on these dolls.

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    1. Thank you, Brini! I'm glad that you were able to get the dolls individually. I agree that they did a great job with these dolls.

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  6. This is a great set and a great review. I purchased this one and the others when they were released including one with Chandra and Kiara as ballerinas.

    Best wishes to you on your mentoring endeavors. I know you'll do well to stimulate young girls' interest in STEM professions. No one can go wrong excelling in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

    dbg

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! Are your sets still in the boxes? I purchased a set of 4 SIS dolls that I thought I'd use for bodies for my other dolls, but never removed them from boxes. I think these are the only female SIS dolls that I've removed from the box.

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  7. Congratulations on getting the right S.i.S. doll duo. I had this set years ago. I still have the Kara doll. I have no musical aptitude - the world will be that much more relieved that I don't aspire to torture any eardrums - but I liked the earrings on Kara.

    Thanks for sharing.

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