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Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Getting to know the American Girl Doll ~ Historical Characters
Historical Characters
The Historical Characters product line aims to teach aspects of American history through a six book series from the perspective of a nine year old girl living in that time period. Although the books are written for the eight-to-thirteen-year-old target market, they endeavor to cover significant topics such as child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery, alcoholism, animal abuse, and war in manners appropriate for the understanding and sensibilities of the company's target market.
The first dolls in the American Girl/Historical line (Samantha, Kirsten and Molly) shared the same face mold but had different hair and eye colors. The first dolls were created with white muslin bodies, but these cloth bodies were changed in 1991 from a white muslin to a matching flesh tone. This accommodated the low necklines of Late Colonial/Revolutionary period gowns produced for the Felicity Merriman character (also introduced in 1991). Additional face molds were later developed for other dolls, and the line to date includes ten characters covering the period 1764 to 1974.
The "Best Friends" line was introduced in 2004; supplemental characters from the core book series were created in doll form and marketed as 'best friends' for some of the Historical Characters. These 'Best Friend' dolls share the collections of the main characters, but each has her own book, and additional products are marketed under their names.
Kaya, 1764
Kaya (KY-yah) is a young Nez Perce girl. Her books feature stories about leadership, compassion, courage, and friendship. Two of Kaya's six books are award-winning. "Meet Kaya" was a 2002 New York Times Bestseller. Chronologically, Kaya's adventures are the earliest of the 10 historical characters. Kaya is the only Native American Historical doll. Kaya has a different face mold than the other dolls.
Felicity Merriman, 1774
Felicity Merriman is a red-headed, horse-loving colonial girl in Williamsburg, Virginia, who is caught between Patriot and Loyalist family and friends at the onset of the American Revolution. Themes in her core books include loyalty and staying true to one's ideals. Felicity was introduced in 1991, and was the first new doll introduced after the initial three characters. Many items from Felicity's collection were retired in the early 2000s but following the success of the made-for-TV adaptation of Samantha's stories, Felicity's core books were dramatized for Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, starring Shailene Woodley, aired on the WB on November 29, 2005, and new items were introduced in her collection.
Elizabeth Cole
Elizabeth Cole is Felicity's best friend, despite her Loyalist family leanings during the American Revolution. The Elizabeth doll was introduced in August 2005 as the second Best Friend doll, with a book written by author Valerie Tripp. The character, played by Katie Henny, was prominently featured in Felicity: An American Girl Adventure. In the original Felicity book illustrations, Elizabeth had brown hair and eyes. The character's appearance was revised to that of blue-eyed blonde with the release of the Felicity DVD and Elizabeth doll. Later editions of the Felicity books were re-illustrated to reflect these changes and edit Elizabeth's physical description.
Josefina Montoya, 1824
Josefina Montoya is a young Mexican girl living in New Mexico with her extended family. She and her family must adapt following the death of their mother and the introduction of their mother's sister Tía Dolores to the family circle. Themes include adjustment to loss, day-to-day life of the Mexican people, and the cultural and societal changes and influences that occurred once Mexico opened trade routes with the US. Josefina's family speaks Spanish and there are Spanish words and phrases in her books which are defined in the glossary.
Kirsten Larson, 1854
Kirsten Larson is a Swedish immigrant who settles in the Minnesota Territory with her extended family. She faces the hardships, challenges, and adaptations necessary to adjust to life in America such as learning to speak English. Kirsten was one of the first three dolls produced by American Girl in 1986. Unlike many of the dolls, Kirsten's books have maintained their original illustrations (with the exception of the covers). On September 25, 2009, American Girl customers began receiving letters from the company announcing the pending archiving of Kirsten and her collection, which was subsequently announced on the company's website on September 28, 2009. Kirsten was officially 'archived' on the AG website on January 1, 2010.
Addy Walker, 1864
Addy Walker was the fifth doll added to the Historical line and remains the company's only African-American character. Her character is a fugitive slave who escapes with her mother from a plantation in South Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. Addy's stories explore themes of freedom, familial love, prejudice and racism. The six book series was written by Connie Porter and originally illustrated by Melodye Rosales and Bradford Brown, but were later redrawn by Dahl Taylor.
Samantha Parkington, 1904
Samantha is an only child growing up during the Edwardian period (although American Girl designated her as Victorian). Orphaned at age five and raised by her wealthy Victorian-era grandmother in fictional Mount Bedford, New York, Samantha befriends a poor servant girl named Nellie O'Malley. Eventually Samantha, Nellie and Nellie's young sisters are adopted by Samantha's uncle and aunt. Samantha book themes include women's suffrage, child labor, and classism.
Red Om Productions produced "Samantha, An American Girl Holiday," in cooperation with American Girl. The show premiered on WB Television Network, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday in November 2004 and was released to DVD soon thereafter.
American Girl introduced the concept of 'archiving' in October 2008 when it announced plans to cease production of Samantha and collection (including Nellie). Samantha was then officially archived on May 31, 2009.
Nellie O'Malley
Nellie O'Malley, Samantha's best friend, is an Irish immigrant who works for Samantha's neighbors and is befriended by Samantha. She personifies the working-class immigrant experience of the time and teaches Samantha about the conditions faced by children who are part of the work force. Nellie and her sisters are orphaned and later adopted by Samantha's relatives.
In 2004, American Girl introduced a new line of Best Friend dolls with Nellie O'Malley debuting as Samantha's Best Friend in conjunction with the Samantha DVD release. Nellie was marketed with a small collection of clothing and a book written by Valerie Tripp, Nellie's Promise, which chronicles the character's growth and adjustment to her recent adoption. As Nellie was part of Samantha's collection, she was "archived" at the same time as Samantha.
Rebecca Rubin, 1914
Rebecca Rubin, American Girl's tenth historical character, debuted on May 31, 2009. She is a nine-year-old Jewish girl of Russian descent whose maternal grandparents and parents immigrated to the Lower East Side of New York City. Rebecca is fascinated by the then-budding film industry and aspires to become an actress despite her family's disapproval. Her six book series was written by Jacqueline Dembar Greene and focuses on issues related to assimilation of immigrants while maintaining familial, religious, and cultural traditions.
Kit Kittredge, 1934
Kit Kittredge faces the hard times of the early years of the Great Depression in Cincinnati, Ohio, as her family struggles to adjust to the realities of the economy after her father's job loss and disappearance, causing Kit to spend much of the book seeking him. Introduced in 2000, Kit's full name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge, and Kit as a family nickname. Kit's core series of books was written by Valerie Tripp and illustrated by Walter Rane.
A feature film Kit Kittredge: An American Girl was released to theaters on July 2, 2008. Kit was played by Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin. Many new items were added to Kit's collection as product tie-ins to the movie. Kit is the second doll to have her own Nintendo DS game ("Kit Mystery Challenge") and is featured in a PC video game ("A Tree House of My Own").
Ruthie Smithens
Ruthie, Kit's "best friend," adores fairy tales and idolizes movie stars. An only child from an affluent family, she is generous and often tries to help Kit but sometimes wounds her friend's pride instead. Her accompanying book, "Really Truly Ruthie" by author Valerie Tripp, is set in late December 1932 and revolves around Ruthie's attempts to help the Kittredge family save their home from foreclosure. The fifth doll in the Best Friends collection, Ruthie was released July 1, 2008 with a small collection in anticipation of the Kit movie.
Molly McIntire, 1944
Molly McIntire is a young girl living in Jefferson, Illinois during the latter years of World War II. Her father is stationed in England as a doctor caring for wounded soldiers, and she must cope with the changes that the war has brought. Molly's series focuses on patriotism and the changes that come with wartime. Molly was the only doll to be sold with eyeglasses.
Emily Bennett
Emily Bennett, Molly's English friend is an English girl who is sent to America by her family to protect her from the intensity of the English battlefront during World War II. Originally a minor character temporarily residing with the McIntires in the book Happy Birthday, Molly!, Emily's character was expanded in a book by Valerie Tripp called "Brave Emily" for her debut as the third doll in the "Best Friends" collection on September 5, 2006. Emily's debut coincided with the premiere of the Molly made-for-TV movie. Since Emily is a minor character and not Molly's best friend, she was marketed instead as "Molly's English friend."
Julie Albright, 1974
Julie Albright is a young girl growing up in San Francisco, California in 1975-76. Her six book series, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Robert Hunt, focuses on various changes and societal upheavals in American society during that time period: divorce, feminism, gender equality in school sports, environmentalism, and the disability rights movement. The America's Bicentennial celebration is also emphasized. Julie was released September 10, 2007 and is the first character portrayed from a divorced family by American Girl.
In 2008, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas reported that she was outlining a movie proposal entitled "Julie: An American Girl Musical." In December 2009, Julie: An American Girl Musical was officially announced as a planned theatrical release.
Ivy Ling
Ivy Ling, Julie's "best friend," is a Chinese American girl living in San Francisco. Good Luck, Ivy by Lisa Yee focuses on Ivy's conflict with her love of gymnastics and family traditions and responsibilities, and its "Looking Back" section discusses Chinese-American history. The Ivy doll debuted with Julie and was the first "Best Friend" doll to be released at the same time as the main character. Ivy is the only Asian American Historical character.
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