American Girl Doll News

I just got back from the American Girl store in Nashville and I got Summer and her cat! Here’s the photos I got:

A budding entrepreneur, Summer™ joins the brand’s popular line of character dolls and books that inspire kids with courage, confidence, and strength of character To champion children’s literacy, brand donates more than $100,000 in American Girl books to longtime education partner and leading children’s nonprofit Save the Children EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Today, American Girl , a cornerstone in Mattel’s (NASDAQ: MAT) portfolio of purposeful brands, unveils its 2025 Girl of the Year, Summer McKinny. Summer joins the brand’s line of contemporary characters that represent a wide range of backgrounds and interests to reflect what it means to be an American girl today. Growing up in Columbia, Maryland, ten-year-old Summer is a dog lover and baker who turns her two passions into a business of her own. Encouraged by her shop-owner aunt, Summer enters a youth entrepreneur fair where she gains new skills in business ownership—an increasingly popular career choice among Gen Alphas. As Summer’s capabilities and confidence grow, she learns that hard work, patience, and understanding are at the heart of every successful venture—in business and in life. “With her strong entrepreneurial spirit, Summer McKinny, our 2025 Girl of the Year, will resonate with today’s kids who are equally determined about pursuing their passions,” says Jamie Cygielman, General Manager of American Girl. “Like all of our beloved characters, Summer’s story of perseverance and self-discovery will inspire young fans to believe in themselves and serve as a reminder that every setback is simply a stepping-stone toward making their dreams a reality.” American Girl worked with bestselling author Clare Hutton to create Summer’s story, which is told in an illustrated journal that comes with the doll as well as a separate full-length novel, Summer Gets to Work, that hits bookshelves in January 2025. According to Hutton, “I can’t wait for fans to meet sweet Summer and discover more about her love of pets and baking, as well as her motivation to start a small enterprise of her own. While being a young entrepreneur is challenging, Summer learns valuable lessons about managing her business and her relationships (the two-legged and four-legged varieties!) with creativity, empathy, and logic. I hope all readers walk away knowing that, like Summer, when they set their minds to a dream—anything is paws-ible !” The 2025 Girl of the Year comes to life in a beautiful 18-inch Summer™ doll, featuring an exclusive look with light-blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair with light-pink ends styled in two microbraids. Awash in her favorite pastel colors, Summer comes dressed in a tie-dye knit dress (also available in girl sizes), a pair of pink-and-purple ombre eyeglasses, two coordinated beaded bracelets, and platform sandals that all perfectly match her accessories, like a dog-themed embroidered purse, a sweet travel tumbler shaped like an ice cream cone, and more. With pets at the heart of her story, Summer’s product world features plush versions of her two favorite animals: Crescent™— a fluffy white dog she adopts from the local animal shelter; and Fettuccine™, her aunt’s sassy cat that comes to visit. For aspiring entrepreneurs like Summer, there are plenty of pet- and baking- inspired products available, including a 21-piece Baking Accessories set, complete with a stand mixer that really spins, plus a 54-piece Treat Cart for her dog-walking and pet-treat business, Waggy Pup Tails™. Providing hours of imaginative play, the mobile cart has functional wheels, a removable striped awning, an assortment of faux pet baked goods, treat displays, stickers to customize the cart, and much more. To celebrate Summer and further American Girl’s longstanding commitment to literacy and growing strong readers, the brand is donating more than $100,000 in retail value of American Girl books to Save the Children’s U.S. education programs . Working with local schools and other organizations, Save the Children has provided early education to millions of children in underserved areas across rural America. Fans can further explore Summer’s new world through the following activities: Retail experience: Visit American Girl retail to explore Summer’s product collection and enjoy Summer-inspired salon styles, special Girl of the Year brunches, Summer-themed menu items, and other activities. Digital content: Tune in to AG’s popular YouTube and YouTube Kids Channel to view a Summer animated music video and other Summer-inspired content, plus download Summer’s single music release, Recipe of Me , available tomorrow on popular music streaming services. Blog: Learn more about Summer and why she matters at americangirl.com . The 2025 Girl of the Year is available today at americangirl.com and at American Girl retail stores .

A press release has just revealed that Summer McKinny, Girl of the Year 2025, is from Columbia, Maryland.

Here's all the images American Girl has released of the Girl of the Year 2025, Summer McKinny!

American Girl just posted a video of the Girl of the Year 2025, Summer McKinny's treat cart in more detail, so here it is!

Here's some fun facts about Girl of the Year 2025, Summer McKinny! Summer's interests include dog walking, making crafts, baking, writing, and entrepreneurship. Summer's birthday is June 21, 2014. Summer has one sister, an older sister named Holly. FETTECUINE THE CAT IS DIABETIC. OH MY GOODNESS (I'm diabetic that's why I'm freaking out in excitement) Summer's dog, Crescent, inspires her to create her small business, Waggy Pup Tails. Summer's favorite things to bake are her dog treats and treats for the holiday season. Summer's business logo was created by her sister Holly, and she prints T shirts for the business to help Summer out. Summer's family has "Family Fun Fridays, where they hang out, and one Friday, they have a backyard campout. The stuffed dog that comes in her Sleep Accessories is from her Aunt Olivia. Summer is described as an expert at keeping dogs happy. Summer's favorite color is "rainbow". Crescent is a boy.

Here is the plot of the journal for Girl of the Year 2025, Summer McKinny! "Summer starts her own dog-walking business— Waggy Pup Tails. She wants to donate some of her profits to the shelter where she adopted her dog, Crescent. She's even entered a local youth entrepreneur fair where she hopes to win a cash prize. When Aunt Olivia moves in to help out while Mom travels for work, she brings some crafty ideas that Summer wants to add to her business. Aunt Olivia also brings along her feisty feline, Fettuccine. Crescent isn't sure what to do with a cat in the house, and the animal antics start stressing everyone out. It's up to Summer to help her pets and people get along. She needs to get Crescent to settle down, end Fettuccine's escape antics, AND get ready for the entrepreneur fair. Paws crossed she can do it!" (Also according to the sample pages the cat is diabetic and as a diabetic person I have never felt so seen in all of American Girl's products. I LOVE THIS CAT!)

These advisors worked on American Girl's 2025 Girl of the Year, Summer McKinny, and reviewed the manuscripts of her journal and novel: Katie Flory  has worked for the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for 18 years. In her current role as the Community Care and Advocacy Director, she analyzes and advocates for legislation affecting animal welfare. She also presents educational programs on animal safety and welfare to local schools and community groups. Janear Garrus  is an educator and the founder of Chesapeake Educational Alliance (CHEDA), a company that creates and implements programming to enrich students in technology, digital media, and entrepreneurship. Through CHEDA, Janear directs and operates the Baltimore and Howard County Children’s Business Fairs, and Greater Purpose Christian Homeschoolers.

The author of the Summer novel and journal, Clare Hutton, did an interview with American Girl all about Summer: What was it like creating Summer? It was really fun! Like Summer, two of my favorite things are baking and animals, so doing research for this book was a total pleasure. I’ve now learned (among other things) the proper way to introduce a dog and a cat, hand signals for dog training, and several recipes for baked treats for cats and dogs! It was also fascinating to become acquainted with a world I hadn’t known much about—kids’ business fairs. These fairs are held all over the country and, by participating in them, young aspiring entrepreneurs have fun learning how to market and sell goods and services they’ve developed. What would you like readers to know about Summer? Summer adores animals, and she cares a lot about the people in her life. But people—and pets—don’t always get along. Relationships take work, and that isn’t always easy. Summer makes mistakes (especially as she learns to live with a cat) or loses her temper (particularly with her big sister, Holly). While Summer’s not perfect, she is willing to admit when she’s wrong, talk about her feelings, and do what it takes to get a friendship back on track. I hope that girls will recognize their own relationships in the ones that Summer values and realize that they too can resolve conflicts just as she does. What is your favorite part of Summer's story? I love Summer’s strong connection to animals. In addition to having pets of her own, she runs a dog-walking business and volunteers at the local animal shelter. Not only does she look out for the well-being of all the animals in her care, she has a lot of fun with them, too. I loved bringing the animal characters to life, from Crescent’s progress with training, to the different dog antics at the park, to writing about Fettuccine’s mischief. All of those encounters allowed me to show elements of Summer’s personality, too.

The new American Girl doll of the year for 2025, Summer McKinny has just released, but with one notable exception: her book isn't out yet, because she comes with a journal. But her novel, Summer Gets to Work, will be releasing on January 7th, 2025, and this is the cover! The book is by Clare Hutton, and the interview she did with American Girl is about to be published right here!

Here's some more about Girl of the Year 2025 Summer's story, from the Why Summer Matters page: "Summer McKinny, 2025 Girl of the Year, is a dog lover and baker who turns her two passions into a business of her own. She starts a dog-walking and treat-making business and wants to donate some of her profits to the shelter where she adopted her dog, Crescent. To earn even more money for the shelter, Summer enters a local youth entrepreneur fair in hopes of winning a cash prize. But when a feisty feline named Fettuccine joins the family, Summer has to put business on the back burner and help the animals in her home get along." These themes are explored in Summer's story: Working through obstacles: When Summer decides to add homemade dog treats to her business model, she starts making more money. She also has more to do! And when Fettuccine moves in, everyone has to learn how to get along. Summer shows girls how to solve problems with creativity, empathy, and logic. She thinks through each issue, considers the people (and animals) her decisions affect, gets advice from the adults she trusts, and makes informed decisions. Treating pets and people as individuals: When Fettuccine moves in, Summer discovers that living with a cat is not the same as living with a dog. And as she takes on new clients, Summer finds that every dog has different needs. By taking her time to get to know each individual animal, she creates stronger bonds. (Psst . . . this works with people, too!) Being patient: When Summer gets an idea, she goes for it, but she can get frustrated when it doesn’t turn out the way she planned or when obstacles appear. Working with animals teaches Summer patience and rewards her with trust and friendship.

The Girl of the Year 2025 is here! Here's some more about Summer McKinny, as revealed by Good Morning America: Aptly named for her birthday, which falls on June 21 (the first day of summer), Summer's story includes being a dog lover and a baker who uses her entrepreneurial skills to combine these loves into a dog-walking and treat business called Waggy Pup Tails. She even donates part of her profits to the Four Paws Animal Shelter, where she volunteers and adopted her own dog, Crescent. In her quest to gain more business experience, Summer enters a local youth entrepreneur fair where she hopes to win a cash prize in order to help out the shelter even more. Aside from being a shining role model, Summer has blonde hair and blue eyes, and there are plenty of stylish accessories to help children play along with her story: A small, white Crescent plush dog plus a variety of accessories can be added on, as can a collection of Summer's baking accessories, a treat cart, Summer's cat, Fettucine and various outfits for different activities. Summer and her pet companions and accessories are available to shop on American Girl's website now -- find them below.