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.

Retired Historical Doll Kirsten Larson

Goodbye Kirsten Larson.

Despite several ‘Save Kirsten’ campaigns, American Girl has gone ahead and retired the second of its original historical dolls, Kirsten. With Samantha being retired last year, this leaves only Molly as the only historical doll originally introduced by the Pleasant Company (which later became American Girl).

Although American Girl has stated that they are only doing this to make room for new historical dolls (Rebecca Rubin was introduced earlier this year), it’s curious that they have chosen to retire their most popular dolls first. From a business perspective you would think that the least popular dolls would be retired as they are not as profitable. By retiring their most popular dolls faster than they introduce new ones, is American Girl phasing out their line of Historical Dolls in an attempt to increase the popularity of their customized “Just like You” line?

Not knowing American Girls marketing plan, their decision to retire their popular dolls has certainly paid off based on the rush of customers attempting to purchase Kirsten and all her accessories before they are gone (only her books will remain available from American Girl). Now only time will tell when the next historical girl will be introduced and if she will be as popular as Kirsten (or Samantha).

But as far as today, it’s sad to have to say good bye to such a wonderful doll.

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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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 spray the hair with a little bit of COLD water, than use a wire wig brush—we use the American Girl Doll  hair brush to comb out the knots, working from the bottom up.  Some American Girl dolls, like Addy, have textured hair, for which you should use a hair pick.

You can also style your doll’s hair after you’ve removed all of the knots. One of my daughter’s favorite accessories is the Salon Chair. Sit your doll in the chair, brush out the knots and style her hair for a fun salon experience. You can watch Grace bruching Julie’s hair in her salon chair below.

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 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 and looking as beautiful as ever.

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

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