My Daughter Loves the American Girl Dolls

Sad but true.

American Girl has announced that Kirsten Larson, one of the original historical character dolls is going to be retired. Officially, Kirsten, and her entire line, are being moved to the American Girl archives. Only her books will remain available both online and in the American Girl Place stores.

First introduced in 1986, Kirsten and her family are Swedish immigrants who settle in the Minnesota Territory in 1854. Kirsten's adventures as a brave pioneer girl have made her a favorite of American Girl fans from the very beginning.

American Girl has stated that Kirsten's retirement will allow new characters to be introduced from different eras in American History.

Here she is - Rebecca Rubin, the newest Historical Doll from the American Girl Doll company.

Rebecca and her family are Jewish-Russian immigrants who have settled in Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1914. In addition to her parents, rebecca lives with siblings (no details yet), and her Grandmother, affectionately known as "Bubble".

The American Girl Company spent years researching Rebecca's look, in order to make sure that her appearance and physical characteristics appropriate, but not stereotypical. The result is Rebecca, a 9 year old girl with hazel green eyes, mid-tone brown hair with russet highlights, a red coat and white boots.

Also, in order to make Rebecca's story as authentic as possible, American Girl recruited Jacqueline Dembar Greene, who has previously written a young adult historical novel about Jewish immigrants set in 1654.

Rebecca Rubin is not the first Jewish character in the American Girl lineup. The very first "Girl of the Year" in 2001 was Lindsey Bergman.

Rebecca goes on sale May 31st - the same day as the Israel Day Parade in Manhattan. Rebecca's books will be available on June 1st.

Click here to keep up with the latest American Girl news

This summer you can spend time with your favorite Americna Girl doll, including Rebecca Rubin, the newest Historical doll. Here are some of the great events from American Girl.

Rebecca Rubin Crafts & Activities
American Girl Dinner and Harbor Cruise
New York City History Tour
Behind the Curtain: The History of Broadway
Date with Dad
Memories with Mom
Great Day with Grandparents
American Girl at Radio City: Stage Door Tour
Grand Central Terminal Tour

For those who don't know, the American Girl Place is located at 5th Ave and 49th St in New York.

Events are for girls ages 8 and up, and some require reservations. Visit The American Girl Place NY for dates, times and reservation information.

Following the American Girl tradition of creating girls of strong character, Chrissa learns to stand up to a group of mean girls at her school, and also shows her classmates what it means to be a good friend.

What is Bullying?

Being mean. Teasing. Taunting. Threatening. Harrassment. Coercion. No matter whether verbal, physical, or emotional, bullying is about other people trying to take away your power - the strong, smart, confident part of you - and replacing it with fear. They are hurting your feelings over and over, with words and/or actions which are meant to make you feel bad, and have the bully gain power over you.

American Girl is inviting girls from all across the country stand up and STOP THE BULLYING!

Enter the American Girl Poster Contest TODAY!

Use your creativity to design a poster that demonstrates what you can do to stop the bullying. Think about how you can encourage friends to stand together when it matters most - then pass it on in a poster.

Prizes will be awarded in two age groups (8 - 10) and (11 - 13).

2 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS:
> A trip to American Girl Place for special recognition at Stop the Bullying Day on May 1st.
> Chrissa's ENTIRE collection, including 3 books
> An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong on DVD

There will also be 15 First-Prize winners in each age group, and the schools of all the winners will also receive special prizes.

HURRY - ALL ENTRIES MUST BE POST MARKED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2009

Visit American Girl.com/Girl of the Year for full contest rules.

NOTE: The Poster contest has ended - Winners will be announced on April 6th

Congratulations to all who entered!

From the more than 20,000 entries, the judges at American Girl selected 2 Grand Prize Winners and 30 First Prize Winners.

The Grand Prize Winners are:

Anna (8 - 10 age group)
Josephine (11 - 13 age group)

Click here to see a complete list of the First-Prize Winners and their posters.

Both Grand Prize Winners will be recognised at the American Girl Place on May 1st - Stop the Bullying Day. American Girl is having featured events at their stores to help both girls and parents learn together.

However you celebrate, it's important to Stop the Bullying every day of the year.

In 1986, Pleasant T. Rowland, a former educator and publisher of educational materials, founded Pleasant Company which is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pleasant Company produced and marketed three 18-inch dolls - Samantha, Kirsten and Molly - each from a different period in American History. Each girl also had historically accurate outfits and accessory sets which were tied into books depicting their individual backgrounds. The first three stories of each character's eventual 6 book series were originally written by Danielle Steele.

The American Girl Collection was originally available only through mail-order catalogs. Several more historical dolls were added (Felicity, Addy, Josefina) and by 1997 their combined stories spanned periods in U.S. history from 1764 to 1944.

In 1992, American Girl expanded to help affirm self-esteem, celebrate achievements, and foster creativity in today's girls with the launch of American Girl® magazine, It currently ranks among the top ten children's magazines in the nation and is the largest magazine dedicated exclusively to girls.

In 1995, a line of contemporary 18-inch Just Like You® dolls were introduced, that represent the individuality and diversity of today's American girls. American Girl also introduced Bitty Baby® and the Bitty Twins®-soft, (for younger girls ages 3-6). Both Bitty's are huggable baby and toddler dolls that encourage nurturing behavior.

In the Fall of 1997, AmericanGirl.com was launched.

In 1998, Mattel, Inc.-the world's leading toy company - acquired American Girl. That same year, American Girl established its first retail store in Chicago, and has continued to open locations in major markets across the country.

In 2003, the first Made-for-TV movies and a new feature film are the latest ways we're connecting with girls, bringing their favorite stories to life on screen.

January 5th 2009 - Chrissa Stands Strong - The first ever Girl of the Year movie premieres on HBO

Get The Best of Both Worlds and other Hanna Montana Posters here







Buy High School Musical, HSM2, HSM3, Troy, Gabrielle and Sharpay Here

Since retiring Samantha Parkington in October of 2008, it was only a matter of time before American Girl introduced their newest Historical Doll.

On May 31st, 2009 at the New York City American Girl Place, Rebecca Rubin will be introduced as the latest Historical Doll.

Rebecca is a Russian Jewish immigrant livingwith her family in a row house on the Lower East Side of New York City during the early 20th century. Rebecca dreams of being an actress, but her family has other ideas for her future.

Rebecca's back story will also be revealed in the 6 books that will also be released the May 31st. The author of the books is Jacqueline Dembar Greene who will also be on hand for a book signing, after Rebecca's debut in the NYC store .

We will be updating more information on Rebecca as soon as we learn it.

Kaya, who's Nez Perce name translates as "she who arranges rocks", represents the "first" of the American Girl Historical Dolls, since she lives in the earliest time period - 1764.

Introduced in 2002, Kaya (pronounced KY-yaah) is an adventourous girl who dreams of being a leader for her people.

Kaya is happiest riding her favorite horse Steps High, and playing with her tiny pup Tatlo. She also enjoys sharing stories with Speaking Rain, a blind girl who lives with Kaya's family and is like a sister to her. Kaya was once nicknamed Magpie - after the selfish and untrurtworthy bird - for neglecting her younger twin brothers (Wing Feather and Sparrow) to compete in a race. Now she now follows the example of her hero, the bold warrior woman Swan Circling, so she can become the courageous leader she dreams of being.

The other important members of Kaya's family, that you can meet in her books are:

Toe-ta: Father, the wise village Leader and an expert horseman
Eetsa: Mother, good provider for the family and village
Brown Deer: Older sister, who is of courting age
Pi-lah-ka & Kautsa: Grandparents, Eetsa's parents
Kalutsa & Aalah: Grandparents, Toe-ta's parents

Find great deals on Kaya's collection here

Sign up to be a Lensmaster and Earn Extra Money
A lensmaster is someone who creates Squidoo Lenses (webpages) just like the one you're viewing now. If you have a passion for subject and want to share your knowledge with the rest of the world, and make a few dollars while you're at it, sign up now.

American Girl's newest Girl of the Year is Chrissa Maxwell.

Chrissa Maxwell's family has just moved to Edgewater Minnesota, in the middle of the school year, to live with her Grandmother. Chrissa has spent many summers here, and has many fond memories of swimming and playing at the beach. But this time is different.

Chrissa knows that since it's the middle of the school year, it might be difficult to make friends since everyone already knows each other. However, on her first day in class at Edgewater Elementary School she finds out that the other girls are quite unfriendly. Since she wants more than anything to find a new friend, she follows her Grandmother's advice and tries to be nice, then ignore the mean girls. Unfortunately, they just don't quit and soon the teasing turns into bullying not only at school, but also at swim practice.

When things appear to be at their worst, Chrissa uses her courage and creativity to stand up to those bullying her, and finds friendship in some unlikely places.

Things you should know about Chrissa:

Favorite Sports - Swimming and diving

Favorite Activities - Arts & Crafts, especially sewing

Pets - Mini Llamas (Cosmos, Checkers & Starburst)

What she wants - To make friends at her new school

What she learns - It takes courage to stand up to bullying

Her new firends - Gwen & Sonali

Your dolls hair is actually a wig so it doesn't have any roots like people do.

You should NEVER wash or condition your doll's hair. The best way to remove tangles is to lightly spray the hair with a little bit of COLD water. Then, using a wire wig brush, such as the American Girl Doll's hair brush, gently comb out the knots, working from the bottom up. Some of the American Girl dolls, like Addy, have textured hair. In this case you should use a hair pick, not the brush.

To give your American Girl Doll a full salon treatment, you can also style your doll's hair, after you've removed all of the knots obviuosly. This is why one of my daughter's favorite accessories is the Salon Chair. She'll sit one of her doll's in the chair, brush out the knots and style her hair. She has lots of fun, and is able to express her creativity. Also the doll will never complain (which is the exact opposite of what happens when she decides to try and style her twin brother's hair!).

If you have a Samantha doll, you can set her hair in rollers while damp, but not wet.

For Kirsten and Molly, braid their hair tightly, also while damp.

Always remember that for all dolls, always let their hair air dry - DO NOT use a blow dryer or heat of any kind.

Very soon your doll will be ready for play looking as beautiful as ever.

Felicity Merriman was born on April 21, 1765 and has grown up to be a spirited girl living in Williamsburg Virginia in 1774; just before the American Revolution.

Felicity likes the outdoors, and her favorite activity is riding horses. She doesn't want to do "what all colonial girls are expected to do, the sitting down kinds of things". She is a spunky and spirited girl who believes the American Colonies should be free. However, Felicity's grand father and her best friend, Elizabeth, feel that the King of England, who lives far away, is the best person to rule the colonies. Felicity's feelings are torn and she must find a way to hold both love and loyalty in her heart. This is a common theme in Felicity's books, loyalty and staying true to ones ideals.

In 2002 Felicity, her outfits, accessories and furniture were removed from the American Girl catalogue and were only made available through the online store. As as results, she was essentially retired as a full member of the American Girl Doll collection until 2004. Due to the strength of the sales of Felicity at the New York American Girl Place store (and some negative feedback) brought her back from the brink of retirement. Some of her previously retired items were reintroduced and her best friend, Elizabeth Cole, was added as part of the Felicity collection.

Posy and other Jesse Wilcox-Smith images available here







Wish Upon a Star and other Jesse Wilcox-Smith images available here







Moonbeams and other Jesse Wilcox-Smith images available here







Little Drops and other Jesse Wilcox-Smith images available here

Webmasters Make $$$