While I was at the Seattle Times website, I came across another article - this one, on the American Girl line of dolls, including a new doll, Julie, representing San Francisco in 1974, just introduced this month.
I've been intrigued by this idea of historically based dolls, with real stories behind them. But even as I visited the American Girl Place in Los Angeles, and saw fellow blogger Marianne Wood shop for her young daughter at another American Girl Place in Chicago last spring, I haven't really gotten the real deal behind the American Girl dolls. That is, until now, as I just discovered all the dolls - and each doll's story - on the official website, ranging from colonial era to slavery to immigration to Great Depression to, now, the hippies era. This is a great way to let little girls learn history, and make stories up (as each doll comes with a storybook).
The only other time American Girl dolls caught my serious interest was in my early blogging days, when its links to Girls Inc. drew the ire of Christian conservatives.
Just about the only turn-off is the price ($87 and up per doll and book), but it may be money well spent, considering the wholesome image and the historical lessons involved.
American Girl
Seattle Times
