Brazil Archives - Globetrotting Mommy

American Girl is one of my favorite companies because they inspire girls to follow their dreams and explore the world. The 2015 American Girl doll, Grace Thomas, helped me teach my daughter about Paris and this year’s Lea Clark™, the 2016 Girl of the Year, has arrived to help us explore Brazil. Known for its spectacular beaches, lush rainforests, rich culture and exotic cuisine, Brazil is big news this year as host of the summer Olympics.

Spotlight on Brazil: Meet Lea, the 2016 American Girl Doll of the Year

Lea is an exotic beauty with olive skin, golden brown hair and hazel eyes. She comes dressed in a colorful Brazilian festival outfit with adorable strappy sandals and fun accessories including a messenger bag and a pretend compass necklace.

Spotlight on Brazil: Meet Lea, the 2016 American Girl Doll of the Year

In Lea’s signature book, Lea Dives In, she shares stories about her hobbies (including photography, hiking and travel) and inspires girls to get out and explore. Lea is a big animal lover so my daughter was drawn to her right away.

As we read about the Amazon rainforest, it was a great opportunity to pull out the map and talk about the region’s ecosystems and wildlife. We had just received a Little Passports subscription box featuring Brazil so that really helped tie it all together.

Spotlight on Brazil: Meet Lea, the 2016 American Girl Doll of the Year

Like other American Girls of the Year, Lea has a wide array of fun accessories (think swim, kayak, hiking, photography) and outfits that are sold separately. I’m secretly lusting after this Rainforest House…

Spotlight on Brazil: Meet Lea, the 2016 American Girl Doll of the Year

I love that she encourages young girls to see the world but I also love that she encourages girls to help protect animals with the Wild at Art program, a year-long fund-raising campaign in support of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Which American Girl doll is your favorite?

Special thanks to American Girl for a providing us with Lea. As always, all opinions are my own.

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One of the best times of my life was spent studying abroad in Rome during my junior year of college. I have such great memories of visiting the famed sights, eating tons of gelato (pizza too!) and living among the locals. When I heard that Bratz was reintroducing a new doll collection featuring a group of five study abroad characters, I couldn’t wait to check them out with my daughter.

Bratz Dolls Encourage Girls to Travel the Globe with New Study Abroad Collection

When I took Raya, the study abroad Mexico doll, out of her box, my five-year old daughter was immediately drawn to all her fun accessories. Raya comes with two trendy outfits that can be mixed and matched, jewelry, hair accessories, a tote bag, cactus and piñata key ring along with a roller board suitcase with stickers for kids to decorate.

Bratz Dolls Encourage Girls to Travel the Globe with New Study Abroad Collection

Dolls have come a long way since I was a kid and I loved all the attention to details on the outfits as well as the great hair that doesn’t immediately get knotty. I also loved that these dolls will expose young girls to different cultures through play. I also hope these dolls will encourage young women to study overseas as study abroad is on the decline.

The Bratz Study Abroad collection features Raya and the following dolls (pictured above) who all come with two outfits, jewelry and suitcases:

Cloe is just back from China with a teapot and teacup, a ying yang purse, a fortune cookie key ring.

Jade came back from studying in Russia with nesting dolls and a fabergé egg key ring.

Sasha returned from Britain with Union Jack purse, teacup and scones and a bunny bodyguard key ring.

Yasmin is back from Brazil with colorful sunglasses and a pineapple key ring.

In addition to the new Study Abroad dolls, Bratz revamped their entire line with a new look and feel that embodies the interests, passions and personalities of the modern day girl. The core collections are available now at Target, Toys”R”Us and Walmart stores nationwide.

I think these would make a great back-to-school gift for any globetrotting girl.

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