Join Sandy and her father as they travel from New York City to Queensland.

By Kathryn Peck

Adora Inc.’s newest line of 8-inch collectible dolls, Sandy’s Adora-ble Friends, was introduced to collectors at IDEX Las Vegas 2006. Originally available in the 8-inch size for club members only, these smaller dolls are now available to everyone because of their high demand.

They are cute as can be, with full vinyl bodies, poseable arms and legs, and detailed clothing made specifically for each of the 12 characters. But what really sets these dolls apart from other 8-inch dolls on the market right now?

Unlike most of the others, each individual doll comes with an original storybook.

“There are other 8-inch dolls,” says storybook author Margaret Mardyniak, “but they don’t have a story with them. All they have is a costume, a different costume on each doll.”

Although new to the business of writing books, Margaret is not a new face to Adora. She has been involved with the company since its introduction to the U.S. market in October 2000. Several years ago, Margaret began writing the company’s catalog descriptions, but this was her first attempt at writing a book.

Each book tells the tale of a different adventure had by the main character, Sandy Cooper, and one of her friends. Sandy travels the world with her father. Along the way she meets new people, learns about different cultures and customs, foods, geography, and other little-known facts that are sure to interest everyone from ages 8 to 80.

“Originally I was going to make her the daughter of a doctor who worked with Doctors Without Borders [an independent international medical humanitarian organization],” says Margaret. “But then I thought that would limit her to only foreign countries.”

Instead, Margaret chose a career in photojournalism for Sandy’s father. “I’m an amateur photographer myself, so I understand how photography can take you to different places.” 

In the first series of books, Sandy travels everywhere from a Vermont farm, where she discovers the state’s popular sugar maple trees to the forest trails of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, where she learns about the area’s plants and wildlife. Sandy visits the snow-covered ski slopes of Norway, taking in a ski lesson herself, and stops by a sheep farm in Queensland, Australia, to learn about raising sheep for the use of their wool. Sandy meets a new friend at every stop along the way and learns a handful of new and interesting facts as well. Haven’t you ever wondered how New York City got its nickname, “The Big Apple,” or why Canadian geese fly in a “V” formation? These facts, and more, are discovered throughout Sandy’s worldwide adventures.

“We are hoping to encourage a parent to sit and read the book to their child,” Margaret says. “It’s a shared experience, and the child might say, ‘Mommy, can we go there someday? That sounds really neat.’ I’m going to write about a paddle-boat ride down the Mississippi. Now how many kids nowadays know that you could really do that?”

Growing up, Margaret was not as fortunate as Sandy and had not had the worldly experiences Sandy had growing up. She was raised in Freeland, Pa., a small town of about 4,000 and also the highest town in Pennsylvania, as Margaret points out. Her father was killed in the anthracite coal mines when she was just 6 years old, leaving behind a wife and seven children. Margaret therefore rarely traveled, and she found escape in the pages of library books.

“I read every single book in my school library, and it didn’t matter whether it was fiction or nonfiction,” says Margaret. “That was how I traveled. That was how I got to see a world that was bigger than my town of 4,000 people.

“So if I could spark that in other children who want to get out and see everything, then I think I’ve done a service to the world.”

In fact, the first time Margaret left the United States was just last year. Her first trip outside of the United States was to Germany, a trip that closely resembles Sandy’s trip to Germany where she meets Hans, the only male doll in this first series. Together they visit Neuschwanstein Castle, and she learns all about the celebration of Oktoberfest, the country’s notorious two-week festival held each year in Munich.

Although Margaret, much like Sandy’s character, has the compulsion to travel the world and learn everything that she can, Margaret’s favorite place to visit is San Diego Zoo in California. When visiting California, Margaret insists that her husband drive her miles and miles along the state’s coastline, with the vast California landscape on one side and the boundless waters of the Pacific Ocean along the other. It is safe to say this served as inspiration for Rachel, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll from the sunny state of California. Rachel’s character runs a lemonade stand to benefit the animals at the San Diego Zoo.

“My favorite doll is Maggie because she’s named after me, and she gets to be on Broadway. She moves to New York and gets to live in an apartment in New York, which I have always wanted to do,” admits Margaret. Margaret laughs and refers to both Maggie and Sandy as her alter egos. “I have this thing called a ‘Christopher Columbus syndrome,’ because I always want to know what’s over the horizon; you never know what’s waiting for you over that next horizon.”

Margaret explains that she has always learned things easier when she was having fun, and this she has found true with just about everyone, no matter what the age. Her philosophy is simple: “When you make learning something fun … children don’t perceive the learning process as just another chore.” With these storybooks, she believes that children and adults can not only share in an enjoyable experience, but they can also expand their knowledge of cultures and customs and spark an interest to travel and learn. 

Margaret not only came up with story ideas and wrote each adventurous tale, but the illustrations are hers as well. “The pictures helped get across the ideas in the story,” she says. With several years of oil painting experience and membership to an amateur photography club, Margaret applied these skills of visual awareness and insight to the page. Most often her technique required her to take a photograph of an object and sketch a drawing from that. 

Each story is about 2,000 words, arguably the perfect length story for an adult to read to a child. But what happens after you’ve collected all 12 dolls and read all 12 stories? Not to worry; Adora Inc., with Margaret’s help, plans to release 24 new books for 2007. For the inquisitive, anxious types, a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, is in the making, as are as visit to Jamestown, Va., for the 400th anniversary of the settling of Jamestown in 1607, and, of course, a paddle-boat ride down the Mississippi River.

In the end, Margaret says that she hopes that this new line of dolls and storybooks “create a wish-list for the children or adults who collect them; a wish-list of where they would like to travel … either a good memory of some place they’ve been or a future wish of someplace they’d like to see.” One thing is for certain. Sandy and her friends have certainly sparked an interest in Margaret, for in between writing storybooks Margaret is most likely planning her next trip to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Buy this Issue: October 2006