Islandshire Gazette: Part 5: June 2019 Release

Here are a lot of photos and some reviews of the new Wellie Wishers and Bitty Baby items.

GARDEN ADVENTURE PICNIC
Buy Multiples for Your 18" Dolls (5 Stars)

Click any photos to enlarge.

Fabulous food set at a great price! Although marketed for the Wellie Wishers, definitely perfect size for the 18" dolls. Actually, the fruit kabobs and sandwiches are revived pieces from earlier 18" sets. The smoothies are re-colored versions of the ones that came with Lea’s Fruit Stand. All of the food is as nice as ever. The basket is harder bendable plastic and holds a lot (besides being really cute). It’s similar in look and construction to Blaire’s garden basket and would adapt itself really well to the other set. And, since the size and design of Blaire’s garden better suits the Wellies, pairing the two would be very satisfying for a large audience. (The cheap “picnic blanket” isn’t worth mentioning.) All in all, this is one of the nicest Wellie sets that AG has released in a while, and the fact that it’s also perfect for the 18" dolls makes it one of the best values in the AG catalog right now. If you’re too young to have a lot of food from the older sets, you’ll want multiples. (Suitable for vegetarian menus, too, as the sandwiches are quite veggie looking.) While we were in the store on debut day, this set was flying like hotcakes because the CHILDREN wanted it!

GARDEN ADVENTURE OUTFIT (Wellie Wishers)
Cute Outfit for Wellies (3 Stars)

Cute outfit for display but probably won’t hold up to play at all. Cheap acetate with a very cute woods landscape printed on it. Too much handling will leave it limp. The arm and neck holes are just small seams turned under and will quickly ravel. That said, it’s quite a cute outfit, and little girls were buying it like crazy. For the price, it’s a nice addition.

GARDEN ADVENTURE WHEELS (Wellie Wishers)
Cute but Pricey (3 Stars)

Looks like your typical cheap toy construction and plastic. Very cute, and the doll looks adorable sitting in it and fits very well in the seat. In my opinion, though, this is not worth $60. Cute but should be in a lower price bracket.

Bitty Baby Collection

We don't really do Bitty Baby at our house, so I can't honestly compare the new items to anything. It's an almost complete re-do of the Bitty department, as I think almost everything was new . . . so, I took a lot of photos here, and I hope that helps you make up your mind. Everything was very appealing. The colours are great, items match together very well, and the quality is nicer than knock-off baby doll items. The fabric on the doll onsies and blankets felt quite nice.