American Girl Doll News

American Girl is releasing a book detailing their early history, The Making of American Girl, later this year, on May 12. You can now pre-order it on the American Girl website - and the cover and some images from the book were just revealed!

Last night, @truthfully.frank on Instagram let me know that the soundtracks for Circle of Friends and The American Girl Reuve, American Girl's first 2 musicals, have been removed from YouTube. Considering that American Girl trademarked it's name in live musicals last year, do you think we're getting a revival of American Girl Revue or Circle of Friends for the 40th anniversary?

Yesterday, I unsubscribed from the American Girl subreddit. This has nothing to do with American Girl as a brand. This doesn't mean I'm giving up my dolls. This has to do with a decision that the moderators of the American Girl subreddit chose, which is to ban any critical discussion of the author of Harry Potter from the subreddit. As I stated in this post I made when American Girl released its Harry Potter products, the transphobic behavior that the author of Harry Potter has exhibited has made it morally inconsistent with my values to support the franchise in any way. At the time, I suggested that if you wanted to buy the products, to offset the costs by donating to a charity to help the transgender community. I wrote that post in September 2022 - three and a half years ago. During that time, only 4 states in the United States had banned gender-affirming care for minors. 14 states had banned trans youth playing in sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Only 3 states had Don't Say Gay laws limiting discussion of LGBT people in school and books with LGBT identity. American Girl was still selling the Kira books, which was the first time an openly LGBT+ character, Kira's Aunt Mamie, was included in a fictional American Girl narrative. Nonfiction books that included the transgender community, such as A Smart Girl's Guide to Body Image, were still being sold. Now, four years later. things have changed. We have a president that has implemented de-facto nationwide bans on gender affirming care for minors and has made it harder for adults to access gender affirming care. 23 more states have outlawed gender affirming care for minors, and a few are looking into banning gender affirming care for adults. 11 more states have banned trans youth playing in sports teams consistent with their gender identity, and people from the political party that was all for protecting trans people in 2022 are slowly starting to drift away from supporting them. 6 more states have implemented Don't Say Gay censorship laws, including North Carolina, the state where I attended school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Kira's books are long gone, and since then, there has been no LGBT+ representation in any American Girl fictional narrative, even in cases where casual representation could have made sense, such as the theater program in Kavi's story and the 1999 Seattle setting of Isabel and Nicki's story. Due to a pressure campaign that circulated in right-wing media, American Girl quietly retired the Body Image book and any other book that mentioned transgender people. And yet, American Girl has been trying to hard to sell the overstock of the Harry Potter merchandise, even marking it down to 85% off. But if you look across the pond, in the UK, that is where you will find the author of Harry Potter's direct impact the most. In April of last year, the United Kingdom Supreme Court erased transgender women from the definition of "woman" given in the Equality Act of 2010, which is supposed to protect from discrimination. The author of Harry Potter, which still profits from the brand to this day, donated money to the organization that sued to make this happen. Because people haven't been able to stop financially supporting the Harry Potter brand, transgender women in the United Kingdom are not legally recognized women anymore. And because of that, if American Girl released the Harry Potter collaboration today, I wouldn't suggest offsetting the costs of a purchase with a donation to the transgender community. I would suggest not buying the product at all - period . Which brings me to the title of this post. Why did I leave the American Girl subreddit? While I do understand that moderating these conversations can be hard, the point of the American Girl community is to not keep quiet about injustice, even if it's criticizing the company's decisions. Banning any discussion of the author of Harry Potter's behavior, even if it's in good faith, is censorship . And if someone posts about the Harry Potter collection without knowing about the author's behavior, it is important to educate them about her harms that aren't just opinions anymore, but have affected real life policy. AGDN is, and will forever be, a safe space for the transgender community. I am not transgender, but some of my best friends are. I care about my friends. As a lesbian, I care about my transgender siblings. And I will do whatever in my power to keep it a safe space for all American Girl fans - especially those who have been marginalized by the brand itself.

On January 8th, Jerome Frautschi, the husband of Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl, passed away at the age of 94. His family stated, “Jerry’s vision and generosity transformed Madison (Wisconsin)’s cultural landscape, most notably through his support of the arts and community development.” May Jerome Fautschi rest in peace. I thank him for the support and love he showed Pleasant, as well as the philantrophy he spent his life contributing to in Madison.

American Girl has a new leader - Pamela Velarde. Yesterday, it was announced that Velarde, who was most recently the Vice President of Ominchannel Marketing and Retail Media at Mattel, is the new head of American Girl. Velrade has been at Mattel since 2010, leaving in 2021, but returning in 2025. Velrade is American Girl's sixth leader, succeding Jamie Cygielman (2019-2025), Katy Dickson (2016-2018), Jean McKenzie (2012-2015), Ellen Brothers (2004-2012) and company founder Pleasant Rowland (1986-2000). Notably, Velrade is of Peruvian background, making her the first woman of color to lead American Girl. Velrade posted this on LinkedIn: "I’m excited to share that I’m stepping into a new role at Mattel as Head of American Girl, at an especially meaningful moment as the brand celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. American Girl has shaped generations through storytelling, creativity, and connection—and I’m honored to help steward a brand with such deep emotional resonance and cultural impact. As we look ahead, I’m excited to build on this legacy while continuing to evolve how American Girl shows up for today’s girls, families, and fans."

The Pastel Petals Dress is now on the American Girl website for $50!

Gabriela McBride is the Doll of the Month January 2026! "Gabby loves expressing herself--especially in the dance studio--but lately, poetry is becoming her art form of choice, and for good reason: Gabby struggles with stuttering, and spoken word poetry helps her speech flow more freely. Still, compared to how confident she feels on the dance floor, speaking up can be scary. When the city threatens to close her beloved community arts center, Gabby is determined to find a way to help. Can she harness the power of her words and rally her community to save Liberty Arts?"

American Girl has released an Easter/Spring outfit in stores. It is a short dress with blue flowers and pink shoes. The outfit retails for $50. Source - https://www.tiktok.com/@_.victoryrose._/video/7593743421685107998?_r=1&_t=ZS-92xSw2NZd7X

Today is Wesley's birthday! She was born in either 2015 or 2016, making her either 10 or 11.

Who will be the Doll of the Month January 2026 - Makena Williams, Gabriela McBride or Z Yang?

The Western Flowers Denim Jumper and 2 new American Girl books are now available on American Girl's website - The Ultimate Smart Girl's Guide and The Riddle of the Robin.

Today is a special day - it marks 12 years since American Girl Doll News launched! I want to thank everyone for following along all these years. I was 8 years old when this site was created, and now I'm going to be 21 in just a few weeks. And though a lot has changed in my life, one thing has always remained constant - my love for American Girl. Thank you all for supporting this blog - it really means the world to me, and though my life has gotten busier, I hope to keep updating this site for years to come. Now, I have a surprise for you all to commemorate 12 years. I went to AG Nashville today and took pictures of all the new stuff that has come out! Here it is: Happy 12 years!