American Girl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids American Girl Dolls |
|
|---|---|
The current logo for American Girl
|
|
| Creator | Pleasant Rowland |
| Original work | Dolls and books released by Pleasant Company (1986) |
| Owner | Mattel |
| Print publications | |
| Books | See American Girl (book series) |
| Films and television | |
| Films | See American Girl (film series) |
| Short films |
|
| Games | |
| Video games | See American Girl (video game series) |
| Audio | |
| Soundtracks |
|
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toys | Various (dolls and playsets) |
| Clothing | Dress Like Your Doll |
American Girl is a popular line of 18-inch (46 cm) dolls from the United States. These dolls first came out in 1986 from a company called Pleasant Company.
The dolls show girls aged eight to twelve from different backgrounds and times in history. Each doll comes with books that tell stories from the doll's point of view. At first, the stories were about different periods in American history. Later, they also included characters and stories from modern life.
Besides the original American Girl dolls, you can also buy dolls that look like you! These are called Truly Me dolls. You can pick their eye color, face shape, skin color, and hair style. There are also lots of clothes and accessories for the dolls. Since 2017, you can even design your own doll with special features and outfits. This is called Create Your Own.
Pleasant Company was started in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland. You could only buy their products by mail order back then. In 1998, Mattel, a big toy company, bought Pleasant Company. American Girl has won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award eight times for its great toys.
Contents
- What Kinds of American Girl Dolls Are There?
- Historical Characters: Dolls from the Past
- Truly Me: Dolls Just Like You
- Girl of the Year: Special Talents Each Year
- Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins: For Younger Kids
- Hopscotch Hill School: A Shorter-Lived Line
- BeForever: A New Look for Historical Dolls
- Wellie Wishers: Fun for the Outdoors
- Contemporary Characters: Modern Stories
- Who Are the American Girl Characters?
- American Girl Movies
- American Girl Stores
- American Girl Magazine
- See Also
- Images for kids
What Kinds of American Girl Dolls Are There?
Molly McIntire, one of the first American Girl dolls
|
|
| Type | Doll |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Pleasant Rowland |
| Company | Pleasant Company/Götz, Mattel |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1986–present |
| Slogan | Follow your inner star |
Historical Characters: Dolls from the Past
The Historical Characters are 18-inch dolls that teach about American history. Each doll has a series of six books. These books tell stories from the perspective of a girl living in a specific time period.
Pleasant Rowland got the idea for these dolls after visiting Colonial Williamsburg. She saw that there weren't many dolls for younger girls. She wanted to create dolls that were different from baby dolls or adult dolls. The books are for girls aged eight and up. They cover important historical events and challenges in a way that young readers can understand.
Truly Me: Dolls Just Like You
In 1994, American Girl released dolls that looked more modern. These were first called American Girl of Today. Later, they were renamed Just Like You in 2006, My American Girl in 2010, and Truly Me in 2015.
Over the years, there have been 88 different Truly Me dolls. Each doll has a unique mix of face shape, skin tone, eye color, and hair style. American Girl says this helps kids find dolls that show how different and special today's American girls are. You can also find many modern clothes, accessories, and furniture for these dolls. New items are released regularly, and some older ones are retired.
Girl of the Year: Special Talents Each Year
Every year, a special Girl of the Year doll is released. Each of these dolls has a unique talent or hobby. For example, Mia St. Clair, the Girl of the Year for 2008, was an ice skater. Marisol Luna, the Girl of the Year for 2005, was a dancer.
Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins: For Younger Kids
Bitty Baby dolls are 15-inch baby dolls made for children aged three and older. They are less expensive than the 18-inch dolls.
The Bitty Twins dolls came out in 2003. They were meant to be like slightly older toddlers or preschoolers. These dolls were the same size as the Bitty Baby dolls. They were stopped in June 2016.
Hopscotch Hill School: A Shorter-Lived Line
Hopscotch Hill School dolls were released in 2003. These dolls were 16-inch (41 cm) tall. They had bendable limbs and painted eyes. Their bodies were slimmer than the classic American Girl dolls. These dolls and their stories were for elementary-aged girls from four to six years old. They were sold until 2006.
BeForever: A New Look for Historical Dolls
In August 2014, the Historical Characters line was updated and called BeForever. The dolls got new outfits. Their books were put into two-volume sets. Each character also got a "Journey Book." In these books, players pretend to be a modern girl who travels back in time to meet one of the historical girls. This line also brought back Samantha Parkington, whose collection had been stopped in 2008.
Wellie Wishers: Fun for the Outdoors
In June 2016, American Girl launched Wellie Wishers. This is a separate doll line for younger children. It focuses on outdoor play. These dolls are meant for kids between the Bitty Baby and the BeForever/Girl of the Year/Truly Me dolls. As their name suggests, Wellie Wishers dolls wear Wellington (or "wellie") boots. Their body design is different from the classic American Girl dolls. The names of the Wellie Wishers are Willa, Camille, Kendall, Emerson, and Ashlyn.
Contemporary Characters: Modern Stories
In February 2017, American Girl released a new line of 18-inch dolls called contemporary characters. The first doll in this line was Tenney Grant, who is an aspiring country singer and songwriter. Other dolls in this modern line include Logan, who is Tenney's bandmate and the first boy doll from American Girl. There's also Z Yang, who loves photography and making stop motion videos.
In December 2019, there were reports that American Girl doll sales were going down. However, after four years of lower sales at Mattel, American Girl sales went up by 13% in the last part of 2020.
Who Are the American Girl Characters?
American Girl Movies
In 2004, American Girl worked with Julia Roberts's production company, Red Om, to make the first American Girl movie. It was a direct-to-video film called Samantha: An American Girl Holiday. This movie started a series of films.
Other movies followed, like Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005) and Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006). In 2008, the movie Kit Kittredge: An American Girl was released in theaters. In 2009, HBO showed An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong.
In July 2012, American Girl released McKenna Shoots for the Stars. A seventh movie, Saige Paints the Sky, based on Saige Copeland's stories, came out in July 2013. A TV movie called Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight, based on the 2014 Girl of the Year Isabelle Palmer, was released in 2014.
The ninth film, An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success, was based on the 2015 Girl of the Year Grace Thomas. Olivia Rodrigo played the main role. The tenth film, Lea To The Rescue, came out on June 14, 2016, with Maggie Elizabeth Jones playing Lea Clark.
Amazon also released live-action web specials. These included An American Girl Story - Melody 1963: Love Has to Win, starring Marsai Martin. Then came An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas, with Alyvia Alyn Lind as Maryellen Larkin, released on November 25, 2016. Another film, An American Girl Story - Ivy & Julie 1976: A Happy Balance, starring Nina Lu as Ivy Ling and Hannah Nordberg as Julie Albright, was released on March 24, 2017.
American Girl Stores
The American Girl store is where you can buy American Girl dolls, clothes, and accessories. The very first store, called American Girl Place, opened in Chicago in 1998. It was a big store, about 35,000 square feet! Later, stores opened in New York City and Los Angeles.
In May 2014, American Girl opened new stores in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. They worked with Indigo Books and Music for this. The company is also interested in opening stores in other countries, as they get orders from Europe and Latin America. In 2015, they announced plans to open stores in Mexico City.
Where Are American Girl Stores Now?
United States Locations
- Charlotte, North Carolina — SouthPark
- Chicago, Illinois — Water Tower Place
- Columbus, Ohio — Easton Town Center
- Dallas, Texas — Dallas Galleria
- Hershey, Pennsylvania — Tanger Outlets
- Houston, Texas — Memorial City Mall
- Los Angeles, California — The Grove at Farmers Market
- Miami, Florida — The Falls
- Nashville, Tennessee — CoolSprings Galleria
- New York City, New York — Rockefeller Plaza
- Orlando, Florida — The Florida Mall
- San Francisco, California — Stanford Shopping Center
- Seattle, Washington — Alderwood Mall
- Washington, D.C. — Tysons Corner Center
International Locations
- Manama — City Centre Bahrain
Past Store Locations
- Scottsdale, Arizona — Scottsdale Quarter (Closed September 2020)
- Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kansas (Closed July 2020)
- North Point Mall in Atlanta, Georgia (Closed July 2020)
- Park Meadows in Denver, Colorado (Closed July 2020)
- City Centre Mirdif in Dubai (Closed Early 2020)
- Mall of the Emirates in Dubai (Closed Early 2020)
- CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto, Canada (Closed August 2019)
- Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota (Closed March 2019)
- Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts (Closed March 2019)
- Centro Comercial Perisur in Mexico City, Mexico (Closed 2018)
- Paseo Interlomas in Interlomas, Mexico (Closed 2018)
- Polanco in Mexico City, Mexico (Closed 2018)
- Chesterfield Mall in Chesterfield, Missouri (Closed February 2018)
- Outlet Shoppes in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Closed July 2016)
Temporary Stores
American Girl has also opened temporary stores, often for the holiday season. The first one was in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Ala Moana Center, from October 2014 to April 2015.
In 2016, American Girl opened several temporary spots to reach more customers. One was in Novi, Michigan, near Detroit, from August 2016 to January 2017. In July 2017, another temporary store opened in Raleigh, North Carolina, which stayed open until January 2018.
American Girl Magazine
The American Girl magazine was also part of the American Girl company. It started in 1992, with the first issue coming out in January 1993. This magazine was for girls aged 8–14. It came out every two months and had articles, recipes, advice, stories, crafts, and activity ideas. In late 2018, American Girl announced that the January/February 2019 issue would be its last.
See Also
Images for kids
-
The current logo for American Girl
-
Molly McIntire, one of the first American Girl dolls
-
American Girl Place in Los Angeles, California
