American Girl Doll News

The new AG Julie and the Blue Guitar graphic novel is out! Here's a sneak peek from the book:

I just was alerted about some hateful comments on my post about American Girl and their treatment of dolls of color. I just removed the comments, but I can't believe I have to tell people this again: Please don't be racist, rude towards other religions or transphobic on a DOLL BLOG. This isn't the first time I've had to say something like this, and I do admit the AG fandom has gotten ugly sometimes. I even remember coming out of the closet because of homophobia that was running rampant on AGIG. But this is supposed to be the place away from all of that hatred, where we can discuss American Girl - the good and the bad - without resorting to flat-out discrimination. It's 2024. If you feel like commenting something rude towards other people on my page, go read an American Girl book. Probably Chrissa's. I don't think she would condone this behavior.

Here's Lea's collection: Who should be Doll of the Month next month?

Today, I learned an interesting fact about American Girl that I never had heard: there have been 160 million American Girl books sold, making American Girl one of the most successful book series of all time - number 16, to be exact!

American Girl hasn't fully retired a Historical doll in nearly a decade. The last time a Historical was retired, Grace was Girl of the Year, Truly Me had just became the name of American Girl's modern line, and the BeForever name change just happened. However, just a year prior to Caroline Abbott's retirement, four other American Girl dolls were retired - Ivy Ling, Ruthie Smithens, Cecile Rey and Marie-Grace Gardner. American Girl claimed to retire these dolls, who were all best friends to other dolls (or to each other, in the case of Cecile and Marie-Grace), because of the BeForever rebranding where girls were expected to be the dolls's best friend, but these retirements also had various implications on American Girl's line of dolls. Ivy was the only Asian character doll available at that point, and Cecile was only the second Black character ever created by American Girl, and the first not to have been enslaved. Their various retirements were criticized by advocates for diversity and representation in toys, but American Girl still went on with it. After what happened, American Girl has had various other problems with their treatment of characters of color, especially Black character dolls in particular. While Melody Ellison got a lot of attention from American Girl upon her release, as well as Luciana Vega in 2018 and Corinne Tan in 2022, others haven't fared that well. In 2016, after American Girl was called out on live television for never having a Black Girl of the Year, a dark-skinned Truly Me doll was taken from the lineup, given a quickly put-together collection and called Gabriela McBride, Girl of the Year 2017. However, American Girl still released the white blonde doll that has been theorized to be the planned Girl of the Year 2017, Tenney Grant, only one month after Gabriela released, with a much-more publicized release, a much bigger and elaborate collection, and American Girl's first boy doll. American Girl's first Asian doll since Ivy retired, Z Yang, was also released around this time - again, another retired Truly Me doll with small alterations - and by the time 2018 ended, Z was retired, despite not being marketed as limited-edition. Then, after the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020, where many companies made performative statements in support of racial equality, a line focusing on social justice issues called World By Us was released in the fall of 2021, with a dark-skinned and dark-haired Black character, Makena Williams, a Latina character, Maritza Ochoa, and a light-skinned and light-haired biracial character, Evette Peeters. The characters were only released with a few items, with their collections never expanding beyond the initial amount, and it was leaked a few months after their release that Evette was supposed to be a darker-haired and skinned character named Daisy. The line was never given attention and marketing beyond months like Black History Month, and by the end of 2023, it was beginning to be phased out. Around the same time, two other characters of color were released, Black historical character Claudie Wells and Kavi Sharma, the first ever South Asian Girl of the Year and the second South Asian character overall. Both their releases were overshadowed with other announcements from American Girl. In Claudie's case, a collaboration with Harry Potter, a literary property written by a known transphobe and racist, and the revamping of the entire Truly Me line with 23 new dolls happened right after her release. Claudie didn't even get a catalog cover! In Kavi's case, two new white historical characters, Isabel and Nicki Hoffman, released one month after she did with a bigger marketing push and more media attention, and her year was cut short after the 2024 Girl of the Year, white character Lila Monetti, was released three months early. And now, this takes us to today. I went on American Girl's website to see what was going on with the sale I had heard about, only to see three dolls on sale. Truly Me 67, who was overstock from the aftermath of the Truly Me revamp. Corinne, who is on her way out after being the Girl of the Year 2 years ago. And Claudie Wells - as well as a lot of Claudie's items. There are several theories to why Claudie is on sale. American Girl has put dolls on sale before, but this seemed like more of an overstock sale than a sale on anything else, judging from the age of the items on sale. The first thing I thought of was that meet books are being phased out in favor of journals, and American Girl probably wouldn't have been able to get Claudie's #1 New York Times bestselling author, Brit Bennett, to write a mere journal. But then, it hit me. American Girl had screwed Claudie over from the beginning. Sure, they were able to get Brit Bennett to write her books, and they gave her a decent-sized collection. But something lingered in my mind while I was thinking about Claudie - the fact that in the initial tweet that Brit Bennett put out that got American Girl to contact her, she wanted to write about a Black girl from the 90s. American Girl then told her that it was "too soon" for a 90's doll, but then only SIX MONTHS after releasing Claudie, they released not one, but two 90s dolls - and they were both white. I've seen some people on American Girl boards claim that white dolls sell better than dolls of color, and that American Girl isn't a charity and needs to pander to what is a safe bet to sell. Which can make sense from a point, considering the character dolls we are discussing cost $125 each and the median net worth of a white family is, on average, ten times higher than a Black family. But at the same time, even if statistics would say the target audience of American Girl seems to be 8 year old white girls, shouldn't other races, cultures and ethnicities be represented as well? Half of America's children are children of color, and many children of color come from families that aren't part of the statistics and can afford American Girl dolls and products. And even if net worth statistics were the only thing that mattered to American Girl, there'd probably be a lot more Asian character dolls out there, considering the same study says that Asians have the highest average net worth out of all races in America. It's not about the net worth. It's about being perceived that a doll of color is a risk - but what is a risk when representation is on the line? Every child in America will eventually interact with someone from a different ethnicity as them, especially considering, like I said, how half of America's children are of color. And being represented matters - not just for girls who look like dolls, but for girls who know people who look like dolls, or girls who will meet people that look like dolls. Which is why the possiblity of Claudie being retired is crushing me. If Claudie is gone, American Girl will have only two Black historicals left - one of which had to suffer the trauma of being enslaved, and another who had to suffer through the Civil Rights movement. Not a lot of elementary schoolers know about the Harlem Renissance, and the joy and creativity and culture it brought to the African American community. Claudie did a great job at raising awareness of it, her stories were among the best American Girl books I've ever read, and she is such a stunning doll. Her story deserves to be told, and every child in America's story deserves to be told, no matter where they come from or what skin color they have.

2024 is almost halfway over, and to celebrate, American Girl is having a sale of up to 50% off on select items! Here is the list of items that are on sale: Kira, Corinne, Makena and Evette books: $4 each Courtney's Pleated Shorts: $6 Courtney's Cropped Pink Polka Dot Top: $6 Courtney's Tights and Leggings: $8 Courtney's Tank Top Set: $8 Courtney's Awesome Accessories: $8 Courtney's Graphic Sweatshirt: $8 Courtney's Shirt & Tie: $8 Courtney's Leggings Set: $8 Courtney's Oversized Blazer: $9 Courtney's T Shirt & Tank Set: $9 Courtney's Fashion Accessories: $9 Courtney's Cardigan: $10 Courtney's White Fringe Jacket: $10 Gwynn's Powder Pink Pajamas: $12 In the Hanukkah Spirit Sweater: $12 Addy's BeForever Accessories: $13 Gwynn's Accessories: $13 Claudie's Dog, Dizzy Dot: $15 Slytherin Set: $15 Courtney's Fitness Outfit: $17 Corinne's Camping Outfit: $17 Corinne's Accessories: $17 Coffee Shop Breakfast Set: $18 Corinne's Camping Accessories: $18 Gwynn's Ice Skating Performance Outfit: $18 Corinne's Dog with Backpack: $19 Sorting Hat and Nimbus: $19 Kavi's Yoga Accessories: $19 Ready to be Royal Desk Set: $19 Kavi's Dog: $20 Go For The Goal Soccer Outfit: $21 Claudie's Yellow Bloom Pajamas: $21 Claudie's Accessories: $21 Just Add Sprinkles Outfit: $22 Maritza's Camo Combo Outfit: $22 You Glow Girl Skeleton Costume: $24 Makena's Accessories: $25 Maryellen's Ready To Launch Rocket Set: $25 Evette's Accessories: $25 Kavi's Bollywood Dance Costume: $27 Courtney's Halloween Costume: $29 American Girl Air Lines Pilot Uniform: $30 World Traveler in Peru: $31 Hogwarts Uniform with Pants: $33 Relax and Refresh Outfit: $34 Show Your Sporty Side Accessories: $36 Claudie's Dress-Up Accessory Set: $36 Claudie's Kick Scooter: $39 Full of Flavor Table: $44 Quidditch Uniform: $45 Dolled Up Salon Chair: $49 So Many Shoes Storage Tower: $50 Hogwarts Trunk: $56 Juice Bar: $56 Glinda Costume Set: $62 Elphaba Costume Set: $63 Dolled Up Salon Station: $70 Courtney's TV & Fitness Accessories: $80 Community Center Accessory Set: $80 Community Center Table & Chairs Set: $80 Kavi's Songwriting Accessories: $81 Kavi's Backstage Trunk: $88 Corinne Doll and Book: $92 Claudie Doll and Book: $92 Truly Me 67: $92 The Community Center: $100 Claudie's Bed: $105 Corinne's Ski and Snack Shop: $113 Day At AG Cafe Set: $126 Room for Two Trundle Bed: $132 Kavi's Backstage Set: $236 American Girl Hotel and Spa: $260 Full of Flavor Ice Cream Truck: $260 Corinne and Gwynn's Bedroom Set: $280

Here's Lea's bio, since she is the Doll of the Month for June 2024! Where she lives: St Louis, Missouri Her hobbies: Photography, animals Pet: Turtle named Ginger What changes her life: Traveling to Brazil to visit her brother who is studying there What she discovers: You can learn to push past your fears and try new things

Today, I got to go to the American Girl store for the first time since my eye surgery, and I made sure to take a lot of photos of the dolls there! Here's my pictures:

I figured it would be fun if I did a post of what American Girl dolls have been available for the longest time and the shortest time - so here it is! LONGEST RUNNING AMERICAN GIRL DOLLS: Addy Walker - has been available from 1993 to present (31 years) Molly McIntire - has been available from 1986 to 2013, then 2018, then 2021, then 2022 to present (31 years) Samantha Parkington - has been available from 1986 to 2008, then from 2014 to present (29 years) Just Like You 13 - 1995 to 2022 (27 years) Josefina Montoya - 1997 to present (27 years) SHORTEST RUNNING AMERICAN GIRL DOLLS: Every Girl of the Year from Nicki to Lea - 1 year Z Yang - 1 year and 8 months Just Like You 86 - 1 year and 9 months Tenney Grant and Logan Everett - 1 year and 10 months Gabriela McBride - 1 year and 11 months

Well .... I can't even make the traditional "predicting the Girl of the Year" post that I do every year because we already know rumors of most of Girl of the Year 2025, Summer McKinny's story - and she won't be out for another 3 months! So in lieu of the traditional prediction post I usually make every year, I figured I'd make a post about everything we know about Summer so far from these rumors. Summer is rumored to have blond hair with pink highlights, light skin, green eyes and glasses. If this rumor is true, she will be the fourth Girl of the Year to have colored highlights and the third one to have permanent highlights, after Isabelle Palmer (non-permanent), Luciana and Corinne. She will also be the fourth Girl of the Year to have blond hair and green/hazel eyes, after Lanie, Isabelle Palmer and Kira, and will be the third doll overall to wear glasses, after Molly and Z. Summer's mold is currently unknown, but online predictions have theorized either the Marie-Grace mold or the Joss mold. Personally, I am predicting a Marie-Grace mold, because Isabel Hoffman also has blond hair, green eyes and the Joss mold, and she just came out last year. It was revealed that Summer has an animal theme, and my first theory was an animal shelter. However, the more recent rumors have revealed that Summer is an entrepreneur and has her own dog-walking, grooming and treat-baking business, called Waggy Pup Tails. This makes Summer the second Girl of the Year to be an entrepreneur, after Grace exactly 10 years before her. There is also rumored to be an animal shelter in Summer's story that she volunteers at! Another fun fact is that Grace's friends, Maddy and Ella, initially wanted a dog walking and grooming business instead of a baking business, and Summer's story is about her doing the same things all 3 of Grace and her friends wanted - baking, walking and grooming! (What's next - Summer gets a movie and the girl who plays her becomes America's biggest teen pop star in 2031? xD) Summer's story in her novel is rumored to be about her joining forces with her friend Daisy, who runs a cat toy making business, to work together to make enough money to go to animal camp, but differing views on how to do things interfere with their plan and their friendship. Daisy is rumored to be the owner of Licorice! I have heard rumors that Daisy will be released as a best friend doll to Summer, but I doubt that because Daisy's name hasn't been trademarked like Summer's has. There are several rumored items that could potentially be in her collection: A cart for selling Summer's dog treats and Daisy's cat toys A pink and purple jacket, white shirt, purple pants and rainbow A black dog A dog grooming set with an apron, towels, soap and shampoo A blue Waggy Pup Tails shirt and denim pants A dog named Crescent A cat named Fettuccine

The cover for Melody's new meet diary just was revealed - here it is! It is releasing on January 7, 2025 - hopefully, coinciding with more Melody items!

Lea Clark is the Doll of the Month for June 2024! Lea Clark is from St. Louis, Missouri, in 2016. She currently is the only child in her house, as her older brother Zac is studying the rainforest. However, her brother's studies send her and the rest of the family to Brazil, where she is excited to take pictures of all of Brazil's wildlife. She goes on various adventures in Brazil, including facing her fear of the ocean, going on a hiking trip, and making a new friend - who even visits her in St. Louis! Lea was only available for one year, in 2016, and was the last Girl of the Year to only be available for one year before American Girl shifted the format to while supplies last.