Arklu Lottie review: "Muddy Puddles" and "Fossil Hunter"

WARNING:  THIS POST WILL BE EXTREMELY HEAVY ON TANGENTS.  BUCKLE UP.

Behold, the review that I blew off for a month due to heat exhaustion and assorted drama has arrived.  Seriously, it must've been eighty-six degrees inside my house without the AC working, and just looking at these dolls in their long sleeves made me sweat even more.  Regarding the assorted drama, Grandma is no worse and no better.  She resides in a strange sort of limbo between life and death and we're all waiting to see which way she'll go.  We thought last Wednesday that some a-hole was trying to take advantage of her infirmity, posing as a cousin who wanted her removed from a checking account.  This was a red flag since Grandma has only one living cousin, and he lives out in California and would've hollered if he were sending someone on his behalf.  As it turned out, my curmudgeonly great-aunt sent the suspect woman to Grandma...without telling any of us what she was up to!  So that little false alarm scared the living Jesus out of the whole family, and now we're all ready to lynch the great-aunt for being a sneaky old bat.

Long story short, this review and the ones that will be following have been put off multiple times, but now I'm ready for Lottie's moment in the spotlight, and so are the two Lottie dolls I've got.  I've seen a couple of Lottie reviews here, there, and elsewhere, but I hadn't bothered to get one for myself until...<pauses to look at her eBay history> March 12th.  I held back on getting a Lottie for two reasons.  One, I hadn't yet seen a Lottie that I just had to have.  Oh sure, they're all cute, but I wasn't chomping at the bit to get any of them until last spring, back when I was reviewing every Licca-chan doll that I could get my hands on.  Two and more importantly, I haven't seen a single Lottie doll available anywhere.  Granted, Malden only has Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart for searching, so I didn't have too many places to look.  Poplar Bluff's K-Mart gave up the ghost around the beginning of the year, and the only Toys R Us in the area closed as well (as did all TRUs everywhere).  I hear that Target DOES carry Lottie, but nearest Target is seventy miles away so that leaves me with the local Wal-Marts.  Wal-Mart is the same the world over, with the only difference being the layout of individual stores and the "Super" label on the ones that have grocery sections.  As far as I know Wally World doesn't carry Lottie so I have never even ONCE seen her in person before I bought one for myself.  Meet Muddy Puddles, the one that I liked the most.

I love the name "Lottie," by the way.  It's an old-fashioned name that doesn't show up often, which surprises me since "Lottie" is short for "Charlotte," a name that has experienced a revival in past years (it ranked seventh most popular in 2016).  For me the name "Charlotte" brings to mind images of spiders and cute little royal babies, while the name "Lottie" makes me think of two very different and interesting people.  There's Lottie Moon, a missionary of great importance to Southern Baptists like myself, and there's also Lottie Churchill, who poisoned her uncle's lover in Victorian-era Savannah, Georgia, only to learn that said lover was her birth mother.  Lottie Moon died in the field, doing what she was called to do, while Lottie Churchill had to be institutionalized after learning the full magnitude of her crime and subsequently died in said institution.  It's believed that she now quietly haunts Forsyth Park Inn, where she lived before being committed.  Lottie is reported by those who've seen her to be a rather shy specter, so if you were planning on visiting Savannah, don't let her presence deter you from swinging by Forsyth Park Inn. 

Now that that little tangent is over, here's a little info about my Lottie, neither missionary nor murderer nor ghost.  I had assumed due to this doll's absence from local stores that she wasn't catching on, but to my great surprise Lottie has been popular enough to earn a Wikipedia page, right along with Barbie, Jenny, Licca-chan, Momoko, and the Bratz.  According to the page (which has some nice links at the bottom), Lottie is the brainchild of British toy company Arklu Ltd's co-founders, who noticed that there was a niche market for parents who are concerned about overly-sexualized dolls.  Normally this is where I'd jump in and say "If you don't like it, don't buy it," but in this case parents have a point.  Barbie and the Monster High troupe are/were fairly mature looking, as are the Disney princesses and...well, just about any current or recent line I can name.  The only doll I can name that appears to be an honest-to-God little girl is the one and only Licca-chan, and as far as I know she's not widely available in the western world (correct me if I'm wrong).  Lottie's makers subsequently created a little girl doll that prefers little girl hobbies like enjoying the outdoors, going to the local fair, or playing make believe to more mainstream dolly pastimes like shopping and dating.  Arklu is also jumping on the "smart girl" bandwagon with a bootle of STEM-themed dolls like "Stargazer," "Fossil Hunter," and "Robot Girl."  Stargazer is evidence that the STEM emphasis is working to some extent, as she was designed by a six-year-old who loves astronomy.  Stargazer is also notable for one other achievement, having become the first doll that was ever taken to space.  I love this idea, the idea of gently encouraging little girls to enter STEM fields through play.  Nothing in-your-face, no coercing or nagging, just the raw materials that can create a lifelong passion.  I also love how many of these dolls come with little accessories that match their hobby of choice, like Fossil Hunter does.  In fact, I was so smitten by Fossil Hunter's accessories that I splurged and got her too.  Poor thing's vest is practically falling off in the box.

My reasoning behind choosing Muddy Puddles is a little more shallow:  she's blue and yellow all over, just like my favorite Ever After High character, Blondie Locks, and my favorite Poppy Parker doll, Day Tripper.  I love how blue and yellow look together, and I guess y'all could say I'm making up for the ones that got away.  I'll also get an opportunity to show y'all a dark Lottie and a light one, as Fossil Hunter proved to be of a darker complexion than Muddy Puddles.  In her stock photos Fossil Hunter merely looked fair-skinned with dark hair, but as y'all can see she's definitely not fair-skinned.

I think Lottieville Festival Lottie may be even darker than Fossil Hunter is, so there could be more skin tones than the two that I'm aware of.  I love how these two contrast, by the way.  They're clearly the same doll, but at the same time they're...not.  Nowadays I think the darker dolls have been remolded into a new character named Mia rather than Lottie herself, but my two are both Lottie dolls. EDIT:  Lottie has FIVE friends instead of three.  Mia and Sammi are of color, Finn is a brunette boy, Emily is a redhead, Sophia is blonde, and Lottie is apparently supposed to be a brunette from now on.  Does that mean that if my dolls were more up-to-date they'd be Sophia and Mia instead of Lottie and Lottie?  I love watching how young doll lines progress like this!

Lottie's packaging is interesting, so I'm going to take a gander at that first.  Both boxes are shaped a little like houses and are emblazoned with Lottie's slogan:  be bold, be brave, BE YOU!  Sounds a little like the Moxie Girlz slogan (be true, be you).  Anyway, the front of Muddy Puddles' box sports a lovely landscape of puddles, rain, and a rainbow, and the back has much of the same, all done in bright but soft colors that attract the eye but don't hurt it (LOL).  The back also has an illustration of the doll and some information.

Attached to the handle of each box is this paper "medal" declaring "WINNER" in huge letters.

Flip the medal over and we get told why Lottie is special.  It also reveals some things to do on Lottie's official site.

The back of the box has the backstory for this particular doll, and it reveals that Lottie is not one to hide inside when the weather is bad.  She loves mud and the simple pleasures that go with it, like duck spotting and the sound that her boots make when she walks through the mud.  She's even made up a game to play with her friends involving jumping mud puddles.

I knew ahead of time that Arklu is a British company, but the location that Lottie visits here screams "ENGLAND!!!"  The real Branksea, from what I could determine, is an archaic name for Brownsea Island.  The island is home to a castle, which goes by either Branksea OR Brownsea Castle, which was apparently built (or at least commissioned) by King Henry VIII to protect Dorset's Poole Harbor from the French.  I wondered if there were daffodils planted there and sure enough, the grounds have gardens with many flowers, including daffodils.  I don't know if Arklu is referring to Brownsea Island by its old name, or if this Branksea Island is completely made up, but I don't guess it matters. 

The last interesting thing about the back of this box is the lineup of other dolls.  

From left, these dolls are Forest Friend Lottie, good ol' Fossil Hunter, the Flower Power dress set, Lottie's friend Finn, and Autumn Leaves Lottie.  Finn reminds me a little of Licca-chan's beau Haruto-kun, particularly when he's wearing his fishing garb.  I'm glad to see Finn though, as well as new characters Mia and Sammi.  I had been wondering if Arklu would make friends for Lottie, and the world doesn't have enough boy dolls so Sammi and Finn are particularly welcome additions.  As an aside, I wonder if Finn and Sammi can share clothes with Usaggie?  That's an avenue that I unfortunately did not explore, but luckily I still can look at this idea since Lottie and her friends all have the same body.

Now, back to the dolls at hand.  Fossil Hunter Lottie's box is the same as AND different from Muddy Puddles's box at the same time, if that makes sense.  It too has eye-catching colors and patterns, but the colors are understandably different, being earth and sky shades.  The front is decorated with various types of prehistoric creatures that are only found now as fossils, and the back of the box looks like this.

The first thing that caught my eye was this, a square of information about the Trowel Blazers (a cute play on the word "trailblazer"). 

This particular backstory includes a reference to a site called Lincoln Cliff Beach.  As with the above Branksea I'm unsure if this site is real or if it's a fictitious place.  There IS a Lincoln Cliff in England, one that beggars a comparison to my beloved Crowley's Ridge here in the Bootheel due to both landforms being the only prominent spots in relatively flat areas.  But the real Lincoln Cliff does not appear to be anywhere near a beach; the surrounding area was mostly green, suggesting crops or just fallow countryside.  The cliff is comprised of Jurassic-era limestone, but I wasn't able to find anything about fossils so your guess is as good as mine as to whether Lincoln Cliff is good for fossil hunting.  Anywho, here's what the back of Fossil Hunter's box says.

This box includes illustrations of other existing Lottie products as well.  This time the items pictured are the aforementioned Stargazer, Flower Power again, a Lottie doll I haven't yet seen named Always Artsy, a rehash of Forest Friend, and my other doll, Muddy Puddles.

The handle of this box is again decked out with a "WINNER" medal, but this time it lists the reasons why Lottie herself is special.  According to the tag Lottie is special because she has a childlike body (developed by academics, no less) and she doesn't wear jewelry, makeup, or high heels.  The lack of jewelry baffled me somewhat since most little girls like gumball machine rings and other baubles of that stripe.  But then I remembered how jewelry tends to break or get lost during play, and how certain pieces can be hazards as well.  I almost hanged myself with a Mardi Gras necklace during playtime once, so I think I now understand Arklu's reasoning in omitting jewelry.

"Best of all," the box announces, Lottie "can stand on her own two feet--an invaluable life skill for all girls, big and small."  True, that is one of the first life skills that baby humans learn...but does Lottie deliver on that promise?  I tested them both.  Fossil Hunter passed the test, but Muddy Puddles did not.

In Muddy's defense, her packaging doesn't say that she can stand on her own.  Fossil Hunter's package is the one that makes that claim, and Fossil Hunter is the one who can stand, so I assumed this feature was only found on some Lottie dolls.  But then I remembered that I bent Muddy's knees as soon as I got her out of the package.  Wondering if this had anything to do with stability I straightened her knees and got positive results.

I solemnly swear that this doll is not being supported by the wall or anything else.  Y'all will just have to take my word for it that Lottie is standing on her own.  By the way, if any kids out there happen to read this, make sure your Lottie dolls' legs are completely straight before trying to stand them...and even then don't expect them to stand up without a little fiddling on your part.  My two do deliver on this promise, though.

Lottie is a small doll, measuring in at 7.5 inches; according to her website's FAQ, this height and Lottie's other measurements were based on the proportions of an average nine-year-old.  Thus this would probably mean that Lottie is supposed to be about nine years old herself.  She's similar in height to Usaggie, Lesney Ginny, and Penny Brite, though she's out of scale with Penny and Ginny.  Penny looks like she should be about six, and yet she's taller than Lottie.

When my rebodied Licca-chan stands up she's a lot taller than Lottie, but when she kneels they're the same height.

As I said above, Lottie comes in at least two skin tones and a wide variation of hair and eye colors.  By luck of the draw, Muddy Puddles happens to be your stereotypical blue-eyed blonde.  Indeed, to differentiate between the two dolls I'll be calling this one "Blonde Lottie" from now on.  Her hair is no special shade of blonde, just a nice golden color that children (and some adults) have.  Styles can also vary, but this particular Lottie wears her hair loose with a center part and bangs up front.

The fibers feel like saran, but I'm not sure.  They're soft, smooth, and shiny, but also a little gummy in places from hair gel.  I was able to brush that out without any problems.  It's an unusual length, not too long to play much with or tangle, but still long enough to look cute.  Unfortunately, this hair also has a kink left from the plastic that encircled Lottie's head in the package.

The rooting along the hairline is tight like hairline rooting should be, and the rest of the head is nicely rooted as well.  There are gaps between the rows, but they're well hidden.

Under the hair are Lottie's tiny little ears, and sure enough she has no earrings.  Not even little studs.

As to the face...well, it's a cute little girl's face, with blue side-glancing pie eyes and a pale pink mouth that's painted a bit askew.  Not a touch of makeup, just like the label says.

Either my camera's lighting is off or this Lottie has different lip color than Miss Emily's Autumn Leaves doll.  I don't care for this pale stuff at all, as it looks washed out at a distance.  Otherwise Lottie's paint is fine; her eyes are even and neither eyes nor lips are missing paint or smudged.  Under her bangs Lottie sports yellow eyebrows; these are a little too bright to match her hair, but they're painted evenly and give Lottie a sweet little expression.

The back of Lottie's neck is stamped with the words "Arklu Ltd."

This is a good thing, because I have a sneaking suspicion that Lottie may one day be mistaken for a Takara doll, given the fact that both Licca and Lottie have large side-glancing eyes with light clusters and sparsely made-up faces.

Lottie also bears a passing resemblance to Dasio's Elly-chan, though Lottie is superior in terms of quality.  Look how cute they are together!

The following paragraph is strictly hearsay, as I got the information from someone on Facebook, but here goes:  it turns out that there may be a good reason for the similarities between Lottie and Licca.   I belong to a group on FB that focuses strictly on Licca and Jenny, and last April I had a conversation with one lady about how similar Licca and Lottie are in appearance and concept.  A third woman broke in, made the claim that she was on the design team, and stated that Licca was in the back of everyone's mind when Lottie was being designed.  I unfortunately cannot prove this young lady's statement, but people on this group are for the most part pretty honest with each other.  Plus it doesn't seem like something a person would lie about.  So I tentatively believe this lady's claim, and I now wish I'd asked her for more information.

True to Arklu's word, Lottie has a little girl's body, albeit a very trim one.

First stop is the small of Lottie's back, with her copyright and production info.

Lottie's arms are ball-jointed and have the usual movement.  They rotate a full 360 degrees...

...and they spread out to the side.

Unfortunately Lottie can't bring her arms very close together.  This is as close as she can get to putting her hands together. 

That's too bad, because Lottie is the perfect size to make a good babysitter for my smaller dolls, as y'all probably don't remember from my second Li'l Outrageous Littles post.  Anyway, the arms are straight at the elbow and are simply molded, except for the fingers and the nails.  They are nicely formed.

Lottie's legs are slender and appropriately short, but they have a respectable amount of motion.  Lateral movement at the hips is not great, while front-to-back splits are better.  Lottie can also stand with her legs crossed, though she can't balance this way (I had to take that picture down because someone apparently thought it inappropriate).  Lottie's knees have click joints that click to three positions.  I've been told that leaving her knees bent for an extended period can leave dents or creases in the vinyl, so I'm careful about leaving these bent for very long.   They CAN bend, though.

Lottie's knees don't bend enough for her to kneel, but sitting positions look more comfortable.  I mean, who wants to sit on the edge of something with their legs sticking straight out???  I certainly don't!

As a last little addendum before moving down, this is how Lottie's legs should look if you want her to stand.  They're hyperextended at the knee a little, the way that one SHOULD NOT stand unless they want to pass out.

Lastly, check out these feet!  They're small feet and completely flat as Arklu promised, but they've also got ten toes (with toenails) and an arch molded in.

Now to clothes.  All the Lottie dolls that I've seen online come with these colorful, age-appropriate outfits, and Muddy Puddles is no exception.  She's wearing an outfit perfect for a jaunt in inclement weather.

The main piece of this outfit is the raincoat, and that's where I'll begin.  Once upon a time all raincoats came in bright yellow vinyl, and some of them were stylish enough for Twiggy to model.  LOL, gotta love Twiggy!  Anyway, here's the exterior of Lottie's coat.  It's shiny canary yellow vinyl.

It comes with a nice big hood, big enough to accommodate Lottie's head.  Not all raincoats come with hoods, so this is a welcome sight.  Seriously, I owned a raincoat myself once that didn't have a hood.  I think that in order for a coat to be an effective raincoat it has to have a hood.  Anyway, the sleeves are trimmed with cuffs made from blue jersey fabric.  The cuffs are a little bulky but otherwise they look pretty good.

The coat is almost fully lined with blue and white striped fabric.  Only the sleeves are not lined, which is probably a good thing since lined sleeves would've added more bulk.

The hems and seams look pretty good, but there are unfortunately a few loose threads hanging here and there.  Not a bunch, but enough to annoy me.

Good thing loose ends are easily snipped off. 

I assumed that Lottie would be wearing a T-shirt underneath that coat since long sleeves are notoriously difficult to stuff into other long sleeves (this is true for both doll and human).  This is what I get for assuming!

Lottie's shirt has a white bodice and long, tan sleeves, creating the illusion of a white shell and a tan blouse.  The fabrics are the same except for color, both being jersey fabric.  The neck is a rounded crew neck and is hemmed, though I predict the hem may one day become the type that likes to turn inside out.  A rainbow decal decorates the front of this shirt.  It's nicely applied, free of rips and wrinkles.

The back closes with Velcro, the modern kind that loses its stick with time.

Now, bottoms.  Lottie wears two bottoms, a pair of shorts and a pair of tights.

The shorts are Bermuda-length and are made of one of my favorite fabrics, corduroy.  They have nice thick hems at the knees and are decorated in front with two little pink buttons.

I like the buttons, but they don't match a thing that Lottie has on so go figure there.  No, they don't even match the pink stripe in the rainbow patch on her shirt.  Anywho, the back closes with Velcro, just like the shirt does, and the interior seams are impeccable.

Under her shorts Lottie wears knitted blue and white tights that cover everything from waist to toe.  Yep, these bad boys have feet!  Not all dolly tights do.

On her feet Lottie wears that footwear so common to those who go out in the rain, the rain boot or "wellie."  Lottie's wellies are made of yellow vinyl and have white polka dots.

The backs are trimmed with white molded bows, but the slits in the backs make these bows look a little goofy.  The soles are smooth.  I was disappointed to see that there was no detail here, but can't have everything!

This is a cute, well-made, kid-friendly and kid-appropriate outfit, though just looking at all those layers makes me sweat, hot as it is right now.  I love the colors though, and I love the materials used.  If I were to voice any concerns they would primarily focus on the raincoat, which is made of vinyl.  Vinyl fabric, as I've said in the past, does not age well, and I hope I can keep this coat nice as it ages.  This Lottie is a nice doll though.

But is she as nice as Fossil Hunter, a.k.a. "Brunette Lottie"?  Let's have a look.

While Blonde Lottie is more little girly, Brunette Lottie delves into one of the more unusual hobbies that a little girl can have, though more and more little girls are getting into fossils and geology and the like.  For example, back in May this young lady found a nice trilobite during a fishing trip.  My sister and I were also fossil hunters, a hobby that our parents enthusiastically encouraged.  My old house here in Malden had a gravel alley running in the back and an unpaved rock driveway in the front, and we kids spent many an afternoon picking through the rocks, looking for fossils.  Since the center of North America was the site of a huge prehistoric sea we found quite a few nice things, stuff like seashells, snails, sea worms, and fragments of larger things like trilobites and crinoids.  Daddy and Mama often joined in and found some nice things of their own, with Daddy once landing a small sand dollar.  The crinoids were always my favorites because they're Missouri's state fossil, but I'm getting massively off the subject as usual.  Fossil hunting is an unusual hobby for a little girl to have, but it's definitely not unheard of, and thus it makes perfect sense to me for Lottie to partake in said hobby.  Anyway, Brunette Lottie's hair is the same as Blonde Lottie's except for color:  same style, same length, same fiber.

Again, simple, kid-friendly hair, but since this Lottie's occupation of choice involves a fair amount of walking and movement I would've preferred a shorter style.  I remember back to my college geology class, where we would sometimes spend two hours pouring over rock specimens in preparation for a test.  I spent the bulk of these two hours hunched over with my head at a sharp angle, and what little hair I had at the time liked to flop in my face, too short to tie back and still long enough to be annoying!  Lottie has this same problem; her hair is too long to stay neat, but a ponytail looks goofy.

Brunette Lottie's face is the same as Blonde Lottie's face except for eye and lip color, so I'm just going to skim this.

This Lottie sports eyes that are the color of one of my favorite drinks, chocolate milk.  Her lips are painted on straighter than Blonde Lottie's, and appropriately they're a darker shade of pink.  Again I'm not sure if the problem is my camera or what, but Miss Emily's darker Lottie (Lottieville Festival) appears to have prettier lips than my doll does.  My Brunette Lottie still has prettier lips than Blonde Lottie does, though.

True to Arklu's word, Brunette Lottie sports no jewelry either, and her body is the same as Blonde Lottie's body so on to clothes we go.  Like Muddy Puddles, Fossil Hunter is dressed in layers of age-appropriate clothing, but thankfully she is wearing something perfect for tromping around in heat.  Seriously, Lottieville Festival is supposed to be attending a summer carnival, and yet she's wearing long sleeves, a fur vest, and full-length tights under shorts.  Brunette Lottie is more appropriately dressed for a fossil dig, right down (up?) to her hat.

This is your basic khaki ball cap with a bill and some nice shaping.  The seams and the hem look great.

Oddly, the bill of the hat likes to flop down in Lottie's face, so I have to turn it around backwards.  I loathe this manner of wearing a ball cap, be it on a doll OR a human, but it's either wear it backwards or obscure Lottie's cute little smile.

The vest...my bad, Lottie is British, so this would probably be a waistcoat.  Either way, this has two layers just like Muddy's raincoat does.  The exterior is one of my LEAST favorite colors, olive drab...

...and the inside is green-yellow with cream-colored polka dots.

The vest doesn't fasten anywhere and thus fits Lottie very loosely.  It flops open and sometimes likes to slide off her shoulders.  I wish it had something to hold it together.

Lottie's shirt is short-sleeved and pale blue, with two little flaps at the collar that simulate a button-down area.  One of the flaps is pink.

Like Muddy's shirt, Fossil's has an ironed-on patch in the shape of an ammonite fossil.

Once upon a time the designs on Lottie's shirts were held on with patches of Velcro and thus were switchable or removable, but now they're permanently attached.  I'm unsure why this change came about, though I assume it was because those removable felt patches were easily lost or swallowed, and easily lost or swallowed doesn't jive well with kid-friendly.  Either way, Miss Emily's two Lottie dolls can share their patches back and forth, but mine can't.  Y'all will find dolls of either sort out there.  Anyway, there's not much to say about this shirt other than it's well constructed like the other items that I've looked at.  It fastens in the back with Velcro, which is in turn hidden by the vest.

In keeping with the earth-toned theme of this outfit Lottie wears brown cargo shorts.

These come to the knee and have nice, deep pockets.  They're deep enough that Lottie could put her hand in there if she were flexible enough.

Dig those seams!  This is a well-made little pair of drawers.

As for footwear, Lottie once again sports stripes, though thankfully not in the form of full-length tights.  Nope, this dolly wears orange and white ankle socks underneath brown hiking shoes.

In a stark contrast to Blonde Lottie's boots, Brunette Lottie's shoes have quite a bit of molded detail, on the sides, the front, AND the soles.

I do wish these details were painted, but that would've been a lot of detail to paint in!  In short the Fossil Hunter outfit isn't as eye-catching as the Muddy Puddles outfit, but it's perfectly suited for fossil hunting.  I especially like the little shorts, as I would've happily worn a pair like these when I was a kid.

Now to the accessories, which was part of the reason why I wanted this particular Lottie.  Not all Lottie dolls come with accessories as y'all saw with Muddy Puddles, but this one has them and there's a lot of learning potential present.  First off is this delightful backpack.

This is made of tan felt-like material with brown velour straps.  It has a flap that closes with Velcro...

...two side pockets...

...and it's hollow inside so that it can carry Lottie's tools.

Yes, tools.  Lottie has three of them.

I think geologists carry more tools than just this, but that would've been a lot for a backpack this size to carry!  Lottie's tools consist of a magnifying glass, used to look for tiny fossils and other details, a geologist's hammer, used to collect specimens, and a trowel, used for digging.  The magnifying glass really works, though it's impossible to detect small details of anything through such a dinky lens.

All of these items have small handles, so Lottie can tentatively hold them.

It doesn't take a lot of jostling for the tools to fall out of Lottie's hands, so I advise leaving them in the backpack during hardcore play.

The next items are a set of trading cards based on British female geologist Mary Anning.  When I first saw these in the package I hoped there'd be several different historical geology figures, but it's all about Mary.  I can dig that, since Lottie and Mary are both British and both fossil lovers.

Relatively little is known about Mary Anning's life, but these cards give it the old college try.  Since that picture is pretty crummy, here's a list of what they all say, complete with typos.
*Cover card has Mary's name and a drawing, plus illustrations of some of the fossils she discovered.
*Card #1:  Mary Anning was a fossil hunter who lived in England more than 200 years ago.
*Card #2:  When she was a baby she was struck by lightning.
*Card #3:  Mary's Dad died when she was little, so Mary earned money by selling fossils she found by the sea.
*Card #4:  Mary studied the fossils herself and made many new scientific discoveries.
*Card #5:  She discovered incredible underwater creatures and became famous all over the world.
*Card #6:  Mary found:  sea monsters called plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, ammonites, belemnites and fossil pool.
*Card #7:  Ammonite fossils are the shells of a creature that may have looked like this:  <includes illustration of a nautilus-like creature>
*Card #8:  Mary discovered that the mysterious bezoar stones were actually fossil pool.
*Card #9:  Belemnite fossils are the inside part of an animal that may have look alike this:  <includes illustration of a squid-like creature>

I'd never heard of belemnites so this doll taught me something.  Proof that these dolls can be educational for adults as well as children!  I was hoping for an explanation on fossil pool but the card provided none, so time to hop on Google.  <pauses to browse Google>  I...uh...learned nothing!  I got a lot of blather about ecosystems and swimming pools, but nothing about fossil pool.  Maybe Googling "bezoar stones" will help.  <pauses to search>  This search proved easier.  It turns out that bezoar stones are coprolite, a fossil my father once used as a gag gift for First Uncle (and thus a favorite fossil of mine).  What is coprolite, you ask?  Well, it's...uh...well, it's a fossilized turd!  And wouldn't y'all know, I got that information from a brief online description on who?  Mary Anning!  So I learned something again.  I knew that coprolite was the proper term for fossilized manure, but I didn't know that they were also bezoar stones and apparently fossil pool as well.  The bezoars I was thinking of are quite different from the bezoars that Mary found, and that contributed to my confusion some.  Mary's bezoars were masses of crap found inside the guts of ichthyosaurs, while the bezoars I was picturing were the things one swallowed to offset poison (they don't work, despite what Harry Potter might tell you).  Another modern definition for a bezoar can be found here; they are often found in the stomachs of humans suffering from pica or trichophagia, and they occasionally have proven fatal.

How's that for a tangent???  Back to Lottie's accessories now.  The trading cards included a reference to ammonites, and that proved to be a good thing because look what Lottie has for us!

Four little ammonites, relatives of today's octopi, squid, and cuttlefish, and more distantly related to the nautilus that they resemble.  This distant relation to the nautilus surprised me given the fact that nautilus and ammonites look so similar.  These ammonites have a sparkly finish, meaning that they are possibly pyritized.  This in turn means that the particular rock making this fossil up is pyrite.  Ammonites can also be made out of opal or shale or...well, whatever rock you could think of!  This phenomenon is not super-common, so this must've been a fantastic find for Lottie.  The molding on these is great, by the way.  They look very much like real little fossils.  These particular ammonites are fairly big, especially if they're in scale with a little hand like Lottie's.

I reiterate:  what a special fossil for a little girl to find!  I'll bet Lottie was pleased as Punch when she dug these up.  Regarding the size of these fossils, these are an impressive but not unrealistic size for a girl like Lottie to find on a dig.  Some ammonites are even bigger than the ones Lottie unearthed, and some are small enough to be worn as jewelry.  So this little addition pleases me, particularly since ammonites (being sea creatures) are not thunderously hard to find here in Missouri.  Indeed, my sister found a small one during one of our family fossil hunts.  I do sort of wish there were a little more variety with Lottie's fossils though, as there are a great many types of fossil (tangent alert).  It would have been neat if there were four types of fossil along with a brief description of each one, maybe something like a belemnite or a trilobite or a megalodon tooth or a tully monster.  The tully monster (NOT to be confused with Telly Monster) is another personal favorite of mine and would've been a particularly educational little accessory.  I was eleven when I first learned of such a creature, and back then it was commonly believed that the tully monster was some sort of sea worm.  Now some believe that the tully monster was possibly a vertebrate, though debates are still ongoing about that bit.  Thus that would've been an interesting, educational fossil for Lottie to have.  But then again, tully monsters have so far only found in Illinois (thus why they're Illinois' state fossil), so it would make sense for Lottie to NOT have one.  Besides, ammonites tie in with the Mary Anning cards and tully monsters do not, but the other fossils I listed do.  So I wish Arklu had made a little more variety with their fossils, but I'm pleased that Lottie came with fossils at all, particularly when Paleontologist Barbie didn't come with anything of the sort.  Take that back...the FIRST Paleontologist Barbie I saw didn't come with anything of the sort, but this second one that I saw about a week ago came with a small hand tool and a big chunk of rock that has an ammonite clearly visible.  Or rather, it's clearly visible when you see the doll in person.  This is a craptastic cell phone pic and thus does not pick up the details well, but she does have an ammonite fossil.

Here's a linked image since my picture is about five levels of suck.  This Barbie is not bad, but compared to Lottie's accessories Barbie's fall a little flat.  Well okay, they fall a lot flat compared to what Lottie has, though Barbie at least had the presence of mind to tie her hair back.  Barbie's fossil does open up some discussion though, as her ammonite is indented into the rock like this fossil is.  Remember that Lottie's fossils are three-dimensional like this fossil is.  The difference between the two fossils could potentially provide some good discussion about why the two are shaped differently.  The explanation for this is simple but wordy, so I'm leaving that to y'all for research.  As another aside, remember when I told y'all about Beekeeper Barbie?  Well...maybe not, but she represents what Paleontologist Barbie could've been, with her oodles of little add-ons that are good for play and also offer a chance to learn about bees.

All of Lottie's accessories are welcome additions, and all have some learning potential.  Oh yes, and all of them can fit in that backpack of Lottie's.  The Mary Anning cards and the ammonites can fit inside the bag itself...

...and the tools can fit in the side pockets, though I don't know if they're supposed to be sticking up like that.

Maybe the handles should be pointing up instead for the ease of grabbing.

When I'm not actively playing or displaying these dolls I store the tools inside the backpack with the cards and the ammonites.  They fit nicely there too, though in real life you'd NEVER do this to a magnifying glass lest it get scratched or broken.

Blonde Lottie and I were both impressed to discover that Brunette Lottie can still stand up with her fully loaded backpack in place.  I do have to play with the position of her legs a little since her center of gravity has shifted, but she CAN stand like this.

The straps do like to slide down Lottie's arms and look goofy though, and Lottie's hair doesn't fit nicely over the backpack either.

Too bad this Lottie didn't get a cute bob like her Always Artsy self does, or a ponytail like Rockabilly Lottie.  Remember how goofy Brunette Lottie looked with her hair tied back?  Rockabilly manages a ponytail with ZERO fuss!!!  I wonder if her root job is any different?  There may have to be a follow-up to this post, particularly since I think Rockabilly Lottie is cute anyway.

Before wrapping this post up I want to touch on the Trowel Blazers pamphlet, the one accessory that Lottie can't fit into her backpack.  True to their word on the box, the pamphlet includes information about six...well, actually seven notable female paleontologists.

 

I knew ahead of time that the world's best example of a Tyrannosaurus rex ("Sue") was discovered by a female, so imagine my delight when she turned out to be the first entry on the pamphlet.

 The rest of these ladies I've never heard of.  There's Marie Charmichael Stopes...

...Mary Leakey, who made some interesting discoveries about early humans...

...Dorothea Bate, who found tiny elephant ancestors and other critters...

...Helena Walcott and her daughter Helen, who played with rocks in an era when such behavior was probably considered "unladylike"...

...and Beth Shapiro, who is still relatively young and still active in the field.

The back of the pamphlet includes some basic information on why fossils and paleontology are important.

Interestingly, the pamphlet also includes a list of rules, or "thou-shalt-not's," as I jokingly call rules.  These rules are largely common sense rules that encourage girls to have fun but stay safe and be responsible.

I'll be sure to keep this slip in a safe place so it doesn't get lost.  Even old biddies like myself can find information like this useful, particularly as fossil-heavy as the Bootheel is.  Now my final words on this doll line are as follows:

BAD
*I'm not in love with the length of Brunette Lottie's hair.  It's too short to tie back, but it's also too long to fit nicely over her backpack.  I wish this particular doll's hair was styled differently.
*I also wish that Brunette Lottie's vest fastened, and Blonde Lottie's coat too, for that matter.
*Some find Lottie's squarish face a bit off-putting, though this does not bother me.
*Small accessories that accompany Brunette Lottie can be a choking hazard.  Keep this particular doll away from very small children, per the box's recommendation.
*Maybe some more joints, or more flexible arms?  That might drive up the cost, though.

GOOD
*Uh...EVERYTHING???

No joke, I really like Lottie.  She fills a void that desperately needed to be filled in the doll world, and she does it without being obnoxious or preachy.  She's just a little kid that likes to do kid things and wear cute kid clothes, but at the same time she also likes to engage in hobbies that not everyone does.  By doing this I think Lottie is saying in her own way "It's okay to be a little different from other kids.  Study rocks or look at stars if you want.  It doesn't hurt to have a hobby."  These little dolls are also extremely well made, both in body and in clothes.  Their hair is very unlikely to tangle, but its still long enough to look attractive.  Regarding my two dolls specifically, Fossil Hunter is not the perfect toy if you've got small children or pets who like to swallow small items, and her backpack doesn't always stay on, and her hair sometimes gets in the way, but those are just little things, easily ignored or rectified.  On the positive side Fossil Hunter provides a good tool for some basic education on fossils, as well as being super-cute.  Muddy Puddles lacks the educational aspect, but she still makes a fabulous little play companion, perfect for forays into the backyard or into a dollhouse.  She also fits in well nicely with my Licca dolls.  See?

When I don't take Freya and Usaggie and Calypso this is what my workstation looks like:  Licca, Lottie, Lottie, Dulcie.  That's a pretty cozy little arrangement, I must admit, but I'd still feel better if they had something to sit on.  Stay tuned for that; I'll be attempting the Kleenex box couch craft fairly soon and I'll let y'all know how it goes.  But for now, I recommend Lottie to anyone who loves cute, small dolls or to anyone who has young girls.  Not super-young girls; I think Lottie's box says the traditional "ages 3 and up," and I have to concur based on Brunette Lottie's small accessories.  Otherwise these are delightful little dolls, perfect for children and collectors alike.

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987