The toys our children play with during their formative years have a big impact on their identities. Kids today are inundated with Disney characters, heroes/heroines from Hollywood blockbuster movies, and Barbies.
In an effort to inspire children with real-life people who are positive role models, doll-maker Wendy Tsao had the brilliant idea of turning Bratz Dolls into younger versions of courageous and intelligent women such as Malala Yousafzai and Frida Kahlo. She hopes that their stories of strength and uniqueness will inspire the younger generation.
Frida Kahlo, 1907-1954, Mexican painter.
“I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.”
Malala Yousafzai, 1997-present, Pakistani activist, youngest Nobel Prize laureate.
“We must tell girls their voices are important.”
J.K. Rowling, 1965-present, British novelist best known for Harry Potter series.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.”
“If you can survive in the desert, you survive anywhere. I know more than anything life in desert. You can tell by looking at the dirt how long ago it rained, how hard it rained, how much water came through. You can (know) by looking at a plant, a tree, from an animal’s look. I can read the desert like I read my hand.”
Roberta Bondar,1945-present, first Canadian female astronaut.
“To fly in space is to see the reality of Earth, alone. The experience changed my life and my attitude toward life itself. I am one of the lucky ones.”
Jane Goodall, 1934-present, British primatologist, UN Messenger of Peace.
“I thought my life was mapped out. Research, living in the forest, teaching and writing. But in ’86 I went to a conference and realised the chimpanzees were disappearing. I had worldwide recognition and a gift of communication. I had to use them.”