Molly McIntire

Molly McIntire is one of the original American Girl/Historical Dolls offered by the Pleasant Company (with Samantha and Kirsten), and is still the only doll offered who wears glasses.

Molly is a bright and cheerful young girl who lives in Jefferson, Illinois during the latter years of World War II. Her father (an Army Doctor) is stationed somewhere in England, caring for wounded soldiers, and she must cope with the changes that the war has brought. With her dad away, Molly’s Mom has her hands full holding the family, that includes her 14 yr old sister Jill, 12 yr old brother Ricky and 5 yr old younger brother Brad, together. When Molly’s mom goes to work, everyone is kept in line by the housekeeper, Mrs Gilford, with some help from Molly’s Grammy and Granpa. In school, Molly spends her time scheming (with best friend Linda) and dreaming (with best friend Susan), all under the watchful eye of her third grade teacher Miss Campbell.

Another member of Molly’s household is her friend Emily Bennett. Emily was sent to America by her family to protect her from the intensity of the English front during WWII. Emily Bennett became the third doll introduced in the ‘Best Friends’ series in September 2006.

Molly’s series focuses on patriotism and the changes that come with wartime.

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

Today – American Girl continues to expand its Historical collection by adding new dolls from different eras in American history, and occassionally retiring a doll.

For more information about all things related to the American Girl Dolls, visit My Daughter Loves the American Girl Dolls.

Felicity Merriman was the first doll added to the American Girl Doll Historical Collection in 1991. She became the fourth Historical Doll, following Kirsten Larson(1854), Samantha Parkington (1904) and Molly McIntire (1944), the original three historical dolls which launched the collection in 1986.

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.

For more information about all things related to the American Girl Dolls, visit My Daughter Loves the American Girl Dolls.

Growing up during the Great Depression means a lot of changes for Kit Kittredge. When her father loses his business, the family turns their home into a boarding house to make ends meet.

This means that Kit has to move into the attic, so that her family can rent her room to boarders. She also has to start wearing dresses made from feed sacks to help her family save money. The lack of jobs has Kit worried that her father may have to travel very far away to find a job. Kit Kittredge is very clever, and she works hard to help her family.

Life is not all hard, and some of the changes that Kit goes through help her to see that she can still have fun with very little money. The most important thing that Kit learns is to treasure the things that money can’t buy - family and friends.

Visit us if you’re looking for more information about the American Girl Historial Dolls and the American Girl Place.

Say hello to Rebecca Rubin, American Girl’s newest historical doll.

Rebecca comes dressed in authentic turn of the century fashion with her red herringbone dress and two-tone black and white boots. Also shown are a few of her favorite accessories, the velveteen hat trimmed with floral ribbon, Russian shawl draped over her shoulders, and Rabbit pin (a gift from her grandmother).

You can take a quick tour of Rebecca’s official product line right here, or browse at your leisure at the American Girl Place. If you’ve found something that you like, why not shop for a bargain in our store.

When styling Rebecca’s hair, American Girl recommends that a dol hair pick works best. Visit My Daughter Loves the American Girl Dolls for more information on how to remove tangles from your dolls hair.

Chrissa - 2009 Girl of the Year

American Girl introduces their newest Girl of the Year – Chrissa Maxwell.

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

 It’s the middle of the school year and Chrissa Maxwell’s family has just moved to Edgewater Minnesota to live with her Grandmother. Although she has spent many summers here, swimming and playing at the beach, this time it is different.

Since it is the middle of the school year, everyone at Edgewater Elementary School has already made friends, and Chrissa is nervous. On her first day in class, the other girls are quite unfriendly. Although she tries to be nice, and then ignore the mean girls, they just don’t quit. Soon, the teasing turns into bullying not only at school, but also at swim practice.

In the end, Chrissa finds the courage to stand up to those bullying her, and finds friendship in some unlikely places.

For more information about the American Girl Dolls, visit our website.

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In 1986, a former educator and publisher of educational materials, Pleasant T. Rowland, founded the Pleasant Company in Middleton, Wisconsin. Her goal was simple, to create dolls from different periods in American History. The first three 18 inch dolls the Pleasant Company produced and marketed were - Samantha (1904) , Kirsten (1854)and Molly (1944). Keeping true to her background as an educator, each girl had historically accurate outfits and accessory sets. Each doll also came with a book, that depicted their individual character and backgrounds in the context of the important era in US History that each girl lived in. These books provided a child’s perspective of significant times in American History. The first three stories of each character’s eventual 6 book series were originally written by Danielle Steele.

At first, the American Girl Collection (sometimes also referred to as the Historical Dolls) was originally available only through mail-order catalogs. By 1997, Felicity (1774), Addy (1864), and Josephina (1824) were added to the historical doll line up. Now, their combined stories spanned American history from 1764 to 1944.

Although each dolls book series provided examples of young confident girls of character, in 1992, The Pleasant Company took it one step further. In order to help affirm self-esteem, celebrate achievements, and foster creativity in today’s girls, The American Girl® magazine was launched. Currently it ranks as one of the top ten children’s magazines in the nation . Not only that, but it is also 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. This group of dolls included up to thirty-two different dolls (several have been retired and are no longer sold), each with a unique combination of face mold, skin, hair and eye color (many from the original American Girl/Historical line). This allows the owner to choose the combination that best resembles herself. American Girl also introduced the 15 inch Bitty Baby® (1990) and the set of toddler Bitty Twins® in 2006 (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 the Pleasant Company. That same year, the first American Girl retail store was established in Chicago, and has continued to open locations in major markets across the country.

In 2004, the Pleasant Company changed its name to American Girl.

By 2007, the Historical Doll line had grown to include Kit (1934 – introduced in 2000), Kaya (1764 – introduced in 2002, and Julie (1974 – introduced in 2007). In addition to the main Historical dolls, several ‘friends’ were introduced as well.

In 2001, the first Limited Edition Girl of Today Doll (Lindsey) was introduced. These are currently known as the Girl of the Year Dolls, the most recent being 2008’s Mia.

For more information about the American Girl Dolls, visit our website.

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