The American Girls Collection is a brand of dolls and other items catered to girls' interest. The American Girl line includes eight cloth-bodied dolls, each character representing a particular period and region of U.S. history and dressed in clothing representative of the time, place and social background of the character.

Although the books are written for the eight-to-ten-year-old market, they are not afraid to write about challenging issues. The books cover child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery and war, among other topics; the tone is gentle so as to appeal to a school age girl. The books are historically accurate and focus on teaching their readers lessons about self-reliance and 'doing good for others.' In the back of every book is a "Looking Back" section that talks about the historical setting the characters live in, each tied into the theme of the book (the introductory book introduces the time in history, the birthday stories talks about childhood and growing up, etc.)

Short stories in small hardback books were published starting in 1999 that gave more insight into the characters, set either during or after the events of the six central books. Some of these were published in American Girl Magazine before coming out in book form. Different "Looking Back" sections pertaining to the story were given (e.g., Addy's Summer Place talks about Cape Island in 1864; Kit's Home Run discusses baseball in 1934.) The six characters at the time each got a single story with each collection. In Set Four, a story for Kit was added, upping the number in a set to seven; in the last offered set, a story about Kaya replaced Felicity. The last group of stories were published in 2003 and the single books were discontinued early in 2006 by the company, but are being released in a collection form. Each book has five stories; to make everyone's set an even five for each, Kit, Kaya, and Felicity are having new stories published in these.

The first dolls — Samantha, Kirsten, Molly — Felicity, Kit, Lindsey & Kailey, as well as many of the first "American Girl Today" dolls, all share the same face mold. New face molds are noted with the individual dolls. Originally, the dolls were created with white muslin bodies. This was changed in 1991, in response to the low necklines of Felicity's gowns. Thus, earlier dolls are easily recognized and considered more collectible.

Each of the dolls is given a historical year ending in 4, even though their stories roughly cover about two years each. The "Best Friend" line of dolls - companions to the historical dolls - are set either during or after the events of her companion's series. Each of their books - one per doll - cover a different situation of the time that pertains to their story.

Kaya, 1764

Kaya (pronounced KY-yah) is a Native American girl of the Nez Perce tribe. Kaya's full name is Kaya'aton'my', or "she who arranges rocks." Her story takes place in America's Northwest in 1764, before white settlers disturbed the Native American way of life in the west.

Kaya was introduced in 2002, the same time Felicity left the catalog. American Girl worked closely with the Nez Perce Indians to create Kaya. She is the only doll that does not smile with her mouth open, as baring one's teeth is considered offensive in Nez Perce people; no other doll shares her face mold. Her collection and books do not follow the trends set down by previous dolls, more accurately reflecting the history of life in the tribe. There are many Nez Perce words and phrases in her books, and a glossary in the back to define the words used. These words are spelled phonetically in the story to ease in pronunciation.

It is rumored Kaya does not sell as well as the other American Girl dolls. It is believed to be attributed to her small collection, or possibly because she may be harder for girls to connect to than the other dolls.

Felicity Merriman, 1774

Felicity Merriman was the first doll added to the American Girls Collection following the initial introduction of Kirsten, Samantha and Molly in 1986. Felicity is a colonial girl living in Williamsburg, Virginia who is stuck between Patriot and Loyalist viewpoints at the beginning of the American Revolution.

In 2002 American Girl started to take steps that pointed to the removal of Felicity from the American Girl collection. Felicity was taken out of new print catalogs. The last catalog to feature her included the note: "Attention Felicity fans! This is the last time you'll see Felicity in our catalog--from now on, she'll be featured exclusively at americangirl.com." As one collector put it: "Attention fans. We at Mattel don't think Felicity is hip and trendy enough to be very marketable. We are banning her to the back burner, to the depths of our website, as if she never existed." In addition, about half of her existing product line was discontinued, including many accesories and outfits.

Felicity was re-launched in October 2005 with the release of her movie; many discontinued items were reintroduced, while other items were replaced with redesigned accessories. One such change is her so-called 'Meet dress.' Originally a rose print, it has been replaced with her former 'Traveling Gown'. The original Meet dress is now available separately while the Travelling Gown is now only available with the doll. Felicity's hair was originally a carrot-red, but has been changed to a more auburn shade.

In connection to these changes, as well as the introduction of the Elizabeth Cole doll, Felicity's books have been reillustrated.

A new TV Movie entitled "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure" was broadcast on the WB in November 2005.

Elizabeth Cole, 1776

Elizabeth is Felicity's best friend, the daughter of a Loyalist during the American Revolution. She was introduced Summer 2005. Her character is featured in the Felicity film.

Originally, Elizabeth was illustrated as having brown hair and brown eyes. However, due to concerns that the dolls would resemble each other too much (also that the young actresses in the movie would look too much alike), she was created with blonde hair and blue eyes. The books have been reillustrated for the change.

She uses Josefina's face mold and is the first doll to have removable earrings. She has her own line of clothing and accessories that complement Felicity's line. Elizabeth has only one book called "Very Funny, Elizabeth"; her Looking Back Section is about marriage.

Josefina Montoya, 1824

Josefina Montoya lives in the New Mexico area during Spanish control. She and her sisters must face a new way of life after the death of her mother, which happens before the events in the stories. Josefina's family speaks Spanish, and so there are many Spanish words and phrases in her books and a glossary in the back to define the words used in the story. Her books have also been translated into Spanish.

Josefina was the last doll introduced before the Mattel takeover. Josefina was the first of two dolls to have a cultural panel to assist her creation, the second doll being Kaya.

The Josefina doll was the first to use her face mold; Nellie, Elizabeth, and Marisol have shared her face mold.

Kirsten Larson, 1854

Kirsten Larson is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit growing up on the Minnesota plains. She is an immigrant from Sweden who lives in the Minnesota Territory and faces the hardships of adjusting to a new and unfamiliar country.

Kirsten is one of the first three dolls produced by American Girl. Only a few of her items have been redesigned since their introduction, and such redesigns have been small. Like with all the dolls, some items have been retired; however, the majority of these items have been special-edition items to begin with.

Unlike many of the dolls, Kirsten's books have maintained their original illustrations (with the exception of the covers.)

Addy Walker, 1864

Addy Walker is a fugitive slave who escapes with her mother to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War, after her master split up her family by selling her father and older brother to another plantation owner.

An African American, Addy was the fifth doll to be added to the collection. She was the first non-white doll to be added to the historical line and was the first doll to have earrings. The first production of Addy dolls were done using the original (Caucasian) face molds. Shortly afterward, a new mold was created to give Addy African features.

Her books were originally illustrated by Melodye Rosales, but were redrawn by Bradford Brown and Dahl Taylor.

Samantha Parkington, 1904

Samantha is a wealthy orphan being raised by her grandmother in 1904 in Mount Bedford, New York. Samantha learns the realities of her Victorian world - from her life of luxury to the prejudices and difficulties faced by the lower classes.

One of the original three dolls, Samantha is the most popular. Her books have been authored by various writers, unlike most of the other books in the collection.

Samantha was the first doll to have a TV movie made about her. The movie was called, "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday", and it debuted during Thanksgiving in 2004.

(Queen Victoria died in 1901, thus ending the Victorian era and making it the Edwardian era named after her son, Edward VII, who was the ruler of the United Kingdom in 1904, but the doll is marketed as Victorian.)

Nellie O'Malley, 1906

Nellie is a poor Irish girl who has worked in factories and as a servant. After losing her parents to a flu epidemic, Nellie and her two sisters Bridget and Jenny are adopted by Samantha and her kind aunt and uncle.

Nellie's character was introduced in Samantha's original books, and was the first of the 'Best Friends' dolls to be introduced. Although premiered as a 2004 limited edition, her popularity resulted in the Best Friends line becoming a permanent part of the American Girl collection.

Nellie starred in "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" on Thanksgiving 2004.

Nellie has her own line of clothing and accessories. She shares Josefina's face mold. Nellie has only one book, called "Nellie's Promise"; her looking back section is about adoption.

Kit Kittredge, 1934

Kit Kittredge is growing up in the early years of the Great Depression in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her family struggles to adjust to the realities of the economy after Kit's father loses his job. Although referred to as 'Kit' in almost all books and promotional material, Kit's full name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge.

Kit was the first doll to have short hair and freckles. Kit also has the classic, original American Girl doll face mold.

Kit debuted in 2000 as the seventh American Girl doll.

Molly MacIntire, 1944

Molly's story is set during World War Two. Her father is off caring for wounded soldiers in England. Molly is left with her mother and three siblings in Jefferson, Illinois.

Molly was one of the original three dolls offered and remains a favorite to both children and collectors alike. She is especally popular with older fans who grew up in her era. She is the only American Girl doll to wear glasses so far.

In anticipation of the new movie, many of Molly's items are in the process of being retired and will possibly be rereleased.

Emily Bennett, 1944

Emily Bennett is an English girl who is sent to stay with the McIntires for two weeks in the story "Happy Birthday, Molly!" She will be the third doll in the "Best Friends" collection. Pictures have been revealed in a press release from Mattel . Valerie Tripp, author of the Molly series as well as other American Girl titles, has confirmed that she is writing a book for her, titled 'Brave Emily.' As with the other Friends dolls, Emily will be featured in a movie, scheduled to be released in the fall of 2006.

Her book, unlike the other companion books, is set during Molly's series in 1944. The Looking Back section covers children of the war, who were sent outside of Europe.

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