Paul and Rachel -- Dolls!

Don't tell my daughter, but this Christmas I'm giving her dolls based on two of my book characters, Paul Fester and Rachel Durham!  How did this happen?  Well, this Christmas, one of my favorite toy companies, Nova Natural, began selling their wonderful Evi dolls as dressable dolls! 

For years my children have been playing with these dolls, made of wool and cotton by a fair-trade labor cooperative, which are available in various fairy-tale characters, including knights and princesses.  But my girls kept trying to change the clothes on the dolls, which are sewn on the bodies.  I asked Nova Natural if they would consider carrying dressable dolls, and this Christmas season, they have them at last!

Click here to see pictures of their dollhouse family which come with removeable modern clothing. I ordered the father and mother dolls, and so this Christmas, my oldest daughter and I are dressing up two of them as characters from The Midnight Dancers!

(A caveat: The Midnight Dancers is "PG" (parental guidance suggested), but my husband read it aloud to my ten-year old (with judicious edits). That's how she knows about the characters and she loves them.)  Here you can see some of the clothes 'in progress.' In the photo above, the doll Rachel leaves aside her apron for the glamorous dancing dress (finished!), while juggler Paul Fester (played by the father doll) tries to reason with her.  Paul's shirt and vest are in progress, and his jeans came with the Nova Natural doll.  (PS: Yes, I know that Paul should have brown hair, but I didn't think of that till after I got the dolls!)

And here we have Paul instructing Rachel's younger sisters Linette and Debbie (played by the Nova Natural boy and girl dollhouse doll) in the fine art of juggling.  (Again, I should have ordered the blond girl doll (who is adorable) to play Linette, but I had already gotten the boy doll. He's actually destined to be a knight doll, and a present for my son -- but I had him pose for the photo first.)  The rainbow cloth the dolls are dancing on is destined to become Paul's harlequin vest -- and yes, I'll be making him a black ninja outfit.

Now that the Evi dolls are dressable, I see myriads of possibilities: I've started making dress patterns for princess dresses for them.  If you buy an Evi Doll and want to have a look at my pattern, email me and let me know!  

So if you like dollhouse dolls and are looking for a natural and modest alternative to a Barbie doll or Polly Pocket, I highly recommend the new dressable Evi dolls.  With a little bit of sewing, you can make them into princes, princesses, fairies, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the saints -- the options are limited only by your imagination. Check them out here!