A Doll Even a Mother Can Love: Go! Go! Sports Girls Doll Review

Please say hello and welcome Shannon to The Shopping Mama team! Shannon is a fellow Air Force wife and mother of two. She is my 365 deployment buddy as her husband is also away for the year. Lucky for all of you, Shannon is quite crafty and, in addition to writing product reviews, she will share her arts and crafts adventures and tutorials. – Kate

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EEEEEK! Beware! Caution! Yes, Halloween is over, but these are the sounds and words that went through my brain only days ago as my preschool daughter and I browsed our local “big box” store and I heard:

“Mommy, can we go pweeze go down dat aisle? Dat’s da Barbie aisle!”

I LOVE Barbies. When I was in fourth grade, I had the record number of Barbies on my block (I still brag about that, can you tell?). But can’t my barely four-year-old like dolls and toys of a different variety for a little while longer, or at least until she can fully enunciate her words?

The folks at The Dream Big Toy Company asked the same question and have come up with a line of plush dolls that appeal to the interests of preschool girls. The Go! Go! Sports Girls line of dolls includes something for enthusiasts of all kinds: golf, running, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, swimming, tennis and dancing. The line has also won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio “Best Toy” Award and the Creative Child Magazine 2009 Seal of Excellence.

About Dream Big Toy Company

On their website, Dream Big Toy Company describes their mission:

Dream Big Toy Company created Go! Go! Sports Girls as a fun and educational way to promote self-appreciation and the benefits of daily exercise, healthy eating and sleeping habits, self-esteem and overall healthy life-skills among youths 3-12 years, regardless of race and socioeconomic class.

Go! Go! Sports Girls are age and size appropriate. They do not encourage an older or overly mature image. The image is innocent with a subtle yet strong message appreciate and be true to yourself! They are made from high quality cloth which is safe and durable. They are soft, comfortable and light to carry, easy for a child to take with her to play or sleep.

Go! Go! Sports Girls: Meet M.C. Dancer Girl

First thing, trying to remove clothes. Thwarted!

We received our M.C. Dancer Girl in the mail and, upon opening the package, my daughter couldn’t wait to start playing with her. M.C. came equipped with clothes, leg warmers, and a backpack. My daughter later discovered a towel in the backpack and it was like Christmas morning. I don’t know about other young girls, but the first thing my cherub does is try to remove the clothes on every doll she encounters. She had no luck with M.C. Yes, moms, the clothes are sewn on! This new doll will not mean another naked doll tooshie or another random piece of doll clothing you MUST find so that said doll can go with you to library story time. Whew!

Once the tags were off M.C., my daughter went to put on matching dancing clothes and asked me to put on “ballerina music.” In my house, we know that means classical. Preschool girl danced with her doll for more than an hour and decided to name her “Margaret.” Margaret just happens to be the name of of my daughter’s real life best friend, who attends ballet class with her. I’m certain doll was a hit.

She danced for an hour or better with "Margaret." The perfect antidote to this rainy afternoon.

Later, I was informed that Margaret was tired and needed to take a rest, so preschool girl wrapped her in her good “woobie” (blanket – from “Mr. Mom”) and let her get some sleep. Hours later, she and Margaret were still playing. Tonight, they are both snoozing away in my daughter’s room.

The Go! Go! Sports Girl accomplished her goal - wearing out my four-year-old.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… Both my daughter and I were impressed with our Go! Go! Sports Girls doll, but for very different reasons. Preschool girl loved getting a plush doll with her same interests with which she could twirl and dance. She adored the backpack that looked much like her own ballet backpack. (I’m certain it now has small tokens other than the original towel tucked inside.)

You can get M.C. "Margaret's" garment down far enough to see the company's logo embroidered on the doll's belly. This also prompted lots of discussion for me and my daughter about her dreams. Quite an insightful conversation!

You can get “Margaret’s” garment down far enough to see the company’s logo embroidered on the doll’s belly. This also prompted lots of discussion for me and my daughter about her dreams. Quite an insightful conversation!
She liked the size of the doll; I saw her hugging it quite frequently, as the size is “just right” for that. Finally, and most importantly, she liked the discussion that ensued when we found the “Dream Big – Move & Grove” logo on the doll’s belly. We talked about dreams and living a long life with lots of healthy eating and exercise.

I liked M.C. Dancer Girl because, as the maker’s mission states, even on this very rainy day, my daughter was up and about in our house getting exercise she might not have otherwise. Dancer Girl engaged my daughter in a physical manner while still letting her use her imagination. Most toys engage one or the other. I also liked the simplicity of the doll, while still maintaining attention to detail. The doll is very well constructed with quality finishes that will endure (and I’m sure my daughter will test that!). Finally, as I mentioned above, the clothes are. sewn. on.

Or Not to Buy… These dolls have been developed for a variety of interests, but only a few are available in a variety of skin tones. That will certainly impact some buying decisions as the dolls relate on a personal level with young girls.

Shop! Go! Go! Sports Girls dolls are only $19.99 and available for purchase at online retailers, including Amazon.

Thanks to Go! Go! Sports Girls for providing a sample doll for the purpose of this review.