Ranking ALL The American Girl Historical Dolls (As a Non-Collector)
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Next time I try to read more than 40 books in a week, stage an intervention. Thank you.
This video is intended for adult, and young adult, collectors- NOT children!
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Some interesting articles I found regarding Addy Walker's legacy.
slate.com/cult...
www.theparisre...
As a Mexican immigrant, I wanted Josefina so bad. She has the same last name as my grandfather and looked like my family. The first time I ever cried tears of joy was the Christmas when I unwrapped her. My mom called around all of my family members, trying to get the money to buy her. I’m 20 now, and whenever my mom suggests putting her in storage, I can’t. I cannot stress how important it was that I had this doll (and her books) growing up. ❤️
I know I'm a few years late but this was a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it!
I’m years late too but omg that touched my heart
This is how I feel about Samantha. Except I had to wait until I started working to get her because my single dad was too poor to get her for me when I was growing up. What a great mamma you had
That is a precious story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
This is how I feel about Rebecca :) I was really happy when I was little to get a Jewish doll because I had never seen that before and it just made me feel so seen 🥹 I rlly love American Girl for that. It's not perfect but the way it humanizes and lets us see ourselves in the dolls is really sweet
Dolls we need to see:
- a colonial doll from Jamestown
-another indigenous doll, maybe in a more contemporary time period
-a Chinese American doll in California during the Gold Rush
- has there ever been an Indian-American/ Desi character? If not, there needs to be one ( can’t think of a particular time period) Edit: there was a Girl Of The Year doll who was Indian American, but there’s never been an Indian American historical doll.
- another Latina doll, maybe a Cuban immigrant in the 1950s or 60s or during the Spanish American War, or even a Puerto Rican doll moving to the mainland during the annex
- a 19th century Alaska native doll
- any others?
Yes, yes and a million yeses!!!
Edit: I would also personally love a Filipino Historical character and doll. Along with more Asian Historical characters in general.
I also think AG could what they did with Nanea and Molly again - both girls covers World War 2, but showed different events. Nanea’s books covers the Pearl Harbor bombing while Molly’s covers the tail end of the war and they were able to show more. Just something to think about.
ABSOLUTELY
Yes omg
more asian american girls!
I would have liked to read about a Vietnamese or Cambodian refugee/immigrant from the 1970s. Their stories were fascinating, from escaping their homelands to working their tails off to make new lives for themselves in America.
My dad was a single father who saved up his income to buy me a Julie doll after she was released because we shared the same name. I was twelve when she was released and I was so proud to get her. My dad took me to the AG shop where we lived to pick out outfits for her occasionally after that. I’m so glad she’s also a favorite of yours.
that’s so wholesome 🥺
aww that’s cute
So sweet
I love this
That’s why I had Elizabeth. Although our names are spelled differently.
Josefina will always be my girl. A shy Catholic kid with a big, crazy family, Josefina was the representation I needed growing up. I’m now an adult and all my AG things have been handed down to younger friends and relatives, but I still hold on to Sombrita, her baby goat.
YES! Glad someone else loved her as much as I did
I really wanted Sombrita as a kid, I didn’t care about the dolls themselves I just wanted the animals lol. I really wanted Kaya’s horse
@@iamphoenixfire Kayla was my personal favorite doll. But I never got her but I did get her horse ^^
Omg I have that goat :D it’s so cute and fuzzy! And mine has a little bell on its neck!
same josefina was my first one that wasnt a truley me and I love her so much
Courtney is literally wearing my childhood wardrobe from the pouf skirt to the splatter prints to the acid wash denim to the dressing up like a tiny Madonna to the Care Bears pjs, so if by “stereotypically 80s” they mean “period accurate” then yes.
i mean she’s supposed to be 9 so it’s not like she’s gonna wear like brat pack type shit
@@molls127 tho brat pack fashion word been way cooler
I swear I had the real version of her Care Bears sleeping bag and pajamas. Honestly had basically the same hairstyle too as a little kid
To me, Courtney on the video game side feels super fake. Since in August of the same year Metroid came out, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of children at that time and that almost Atari murders the industry, I did not read the book but if it is the same as the short film but what a bad choice of not having chosen Mss Pacman, apart from the side of misogyny keep in mind that it was sold to an audience of Boys at that time and that almost Atari ends the industry, It is not to justify the misogyny of the 80s itself that this thing was just in its first steps to become what it is today.
I'm still sad that there hasn't been a 1920s doll, but consider that Samantha and Nellie would absolutely be flappers/bootleggers, and also the first American Girls to vote. ;)
The 1920s have such interesting options! An African American girl experiencing the Harlem Renaissance, a Chinse immigrant girl adjusting to life in America, though that could also work for great San Francisco Earth quake.
Edit: A girl in rural Tennessee dealing with moon shiners and the bane on alcohol.
And send Eddie Ryland off to WWI. So many options.
@@helloill672 I love the idea of an Chinese immigrant 1920s doll
@@helloill672 Those are all great ideas!! Being from Harlem I would have loved the Harlem renaissance one, but also I sorta wished there was a legit Asian American AG doll too
Imagine the crossover possibilities
I actually think that Courtney's Molly doll is a very cool feature as Molly was released in her time period which I think is a cool homage to one of the historical dolls that has now been discontinued when Courtney was released. It also shows how long American Girl has been around for & I just think it's really sweet to see.
For some reason it made me emotiomal because so many kids grew up with these dolls
RUDE, Kirsten was the og Cottagecore girl and I loved her looks. Also every basic boring girl I knew had Samantha, I have seen more Samanthas than every other girl combined.
YAAASSSSS team Kirsten!!
Samantha is boring because all upper class women were expected to be boring then. Nellie, even though she is there to prop up Samantha, to give her a more interesting storyline, was more developed and had a more interesting story to tell. She should have been the main character.
Thank you for saying what I thought as soon as I saw their review on Kirsten! I love her aesthetic and I think the whole prairie thing is a fascinating part of American history. Kirsten didn't start out my favorite but she definitely became it!
@@brucheweinberger6863 I don't think that Samantha and upper class women back then were boring. Technically weren't they for some degree allowed to be the opposite? Like most of them had a bunch of hobbies and skills and stuff like painting, archery, riding horses, etc. I liked her stories, I just think she's one of the few dolls that goes through the least amount of suffering.
@@hlabhlabhlab Right. That's why she is boring to me. High class women then had strict gender roles, if I remember correctly, Nellie, probably out of need was "allowed" to go to a school where she would have a paying job. Of course, not a doctor or lawyer, but a job nonetheless. Samantha still had to go to that stuffy school to become a "young sophiscated lady" which did not match her personality. I did like that the aunt inspired her to become more socially aware of the needs around her, but because of what society was those days, she could never really enter that world. This is not to blame all of the "Samanthas" of that time period, just an observation.
As a Swede I didn't grow up with these dolls, but Kirsten stole my heart right away for being an immigrant from here! Over a million Swedes left for the US in the 19th century (and we're a small country, with only 10 million people today!) Which means this is a huge part of our history! I noticed she has a lot of very traditional Swedish pieces in her collection as well, and now I wanna buy her even though I don't collect dolls this size. Sad you didn't like her very much but that's why it's so great to have all these choices, to find what resonates with us personally 😊 thank you for a fun and informative video!
Of course! Even if a doll isn't my favorite, there's always someone else out there that loves her. The dedication people have to their favorites is one of my favorite things about AG!
I actually loved Josefina because I come from a Hispanic background with my family who came from a very similar upbringing to Josefina. Family is super important to us. I had all the books relating to her as well. She was also the first American Girl I heard about.
It's unfortunate she is the only Latina representation so far just as Ivy was the only Asian American girl. I also really loved Ivy, big shame she was removed.
My top favorites were Josefina, Ivy, Kaya, Julie, Addy, and Kirsten! For some reason I would get bored by the other girl's books but I still liked the dolls and clothes.
I’m not even hispanic (I’m half-Brazilian), but Josefina is my favorite and always will be. She looked like my mom, and I connected with her stories since they revolved around family. She’s S tier for me. Her stories (that I reread too many times to count) cultivated my love of Southwestern culture. My other favorites would have to be Kaya and Ivy.
my dad is from new mexico, i remember i dressed up as her one year for my school's Christmas across the world thing, i never got her and i'm still lowkey sad abt it
i really hope they add more poc dolls soon, especially since there are rumours/leaks of a 1920s doll coming soon
I never had any of the dolls, though the order catalog for them was something I flipped through at least once a week. I read many of the books from the library. Molly was always my favorite.
I don't know anything about the newer dolls. But I did see Courtney when she debuted. I may be a bit biased being born in the mid 80's but I just love her outfits. And I had care bear pjs, and wore crazy Lisa Frank type clothing when I was a kid so yeah while her clothes might seems stereotypical 80's....it's pretty much stereotypical for a reason.
Molly was my favorite too 🥰 I think bc at the time, she was the most modern (I was born in 1991). Plus I have brown hair and brown eyes, and my mom always loved the name Molly so of course as a little kid I just felt like she was the most relatable to me.
@@shannonceleste5557 I was born in 1991 as well and I loved Molly! And a lot of people from our generation had grandparents who grew up during World War II. I always liked reading Molly's books because I felt like they gave me a glimpse of what my grandmother's childhood was like!
I was born in 1992 (my sisters were born 1980 and 1982 and my old house was practically a time capsule, so the 80s were a big influence on me). Her clothes and sets are pretty accurate and I love them
Such a nice treat to watch while working on projects
Samantha, Courtney, And Felicity are my favorites because of their outfits and collections and their time periods are some of my favorite historical periods.
I know this is a somewhat later comment, but I loved the point about Addy humanizing slavery for children. Growing up white-passing, Addy was definitely my first real exposure to slavery as a child, and I remember reading her book and sobbing so violently I couldn't breathe. It's so important for kids to learn about the "uglier" sides of history, so we can learn and not repeat those horrible things.
I'm so happy to have come across this video! I grew up being obsessed with American Girl but "outgrew" them around Julie's debut. Hearing about the newer girls makes me want to go back and read all of their stories as well as catch up on the oldies. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I have a sister who was a kid in the 80's and the clothes that Courtney wears are the same kind of clothes she and her friends wore, especially the Care Bears pajama shirt.
My mother is a Russian immigrant with five children so we never had too much money growing up. I remember getting the American girl doll magazines and being shocked to see an Ashkenazi doll (Rebecca the Russian-Jewish doll). In my home country, we were persecuted for being Jewish so seeing my cultures embraced was fantastic. My mom saved up her hard earned money and bought me and my sisters her when I was in the fourth grade. Me and my sisters loved her so much
I’m someone who doesn’t have the slightest interest in dolls, but my sister was HUGE into AG as a kid. I remember our local library having old catalogs we would look through after school and she would tell me all the girls’ stories. So when they released Rebecca, who looked identical to my sister and was Jewish just like us, she begged our mom to take her to the AG store for what felt like months. At the time we couldn’t afford American Girl but my mother wanted to make my sister happy so she went to every relative we had and asked if they could pitch in. She ended up getting Rebecca, (along with her Hanukkah dress I believe) that year for her birthday, and to this day she is still on a shelf in my sister’s room. I just wrote this to say that these dolls meant the world to us, then and now. ❤
I loved every second of this and it brought back so much nostalgia for the afternoons I spent pouring over AG catalogues. AG was a bit harder to get shipped to Canada but I got Josefina as an extra special Christmas gift as a kid. I adored her and at 16 I brought her to AG Place to have her hair re-braided before safely storing her away - I was the oldest kid in that store by far but I cared so much for that doll and still do.
Love these, I have a Felicity with all her " stuff" that was available. We spent alot of time visiting Williams burg, so when this doll came I my husband bought her and her entire collection. This past Christmas I was given Rebecca and her books, Oh, by the way I just turned 71..have been loving dolls my whole life!
Although born here, both of my parents & entire family were born & raised in Sweden, & also moved to northern Minnesota in a predominantly farming town 6 years before I was born. My mom LOVED her too.
I’m more of a teddy bear person than dolls, but I have to tell you how much I enjoy your videos. It’s really nice to hear someone talk so enthusiastically about collecting and imprinting personality on to individuals 😊
i watch this video whenever i need to chill out alkjsdf something is just very calming and lovely about it
It’s been so long since I’ve revisited American Girl. Never bought a doll because they were too expensive but I remember reading the books, especially the mystery ones because one of Felicity’s actually scared me. Honestly, when I was looking through the magazines, I wanted one of the pets more than the actual doll
I cant anticipate your ratings sometimes based on your review 😂 the way you were talking about Caroline and loving her whole collection I thought for sure she'd be top tier.
I’m late to this video but I cant stop by without adding my comments. Firstly, while not perfect, I think American Girl did a great job of portraying different cultural backgrounds, and different hardships of people and young women throughout history. Secondly, I always had an attraction to the american revolutionary war era, so when I first saw Felicity, I fell in love. I’m not a horse girl, and that part wasn’t my favorite. But her christmas gown is something I’d kill to own myself. She’s still in her box in my room, with all the outfits I had gotten over the years for her. I dont know if I will ever get rid of her unless I need to.
the way we always agree on almost everything in these videos never gets old
Samantha was my first and last AG doll- and I had the original. I loved her and her story and I'm still kicking myself for not keeping her and her stuff.
Addy is my favorite. She was great in my classroom during Black History Month, when I'd read and explain Addy's story and the girls would dress Addy in the outfits as they come up in the story. I made an enslaved girl outfit for the first book, and I bought a used Addy doll with short hair for Sarah. We used Cecile for the snobby girl, but no one got to play with her. :)
I was OBSESSED with Kaya as a kid! She was always so cool to me and I loved everything she wore. When I got her for my birthday when I was like ten I was so excited
i had kit growing up because she looked like me lol. i loved her books and her outfits & just her as a character, i’m happy you liked her too:)
My favorites were Samantha, Josefina and Kaya. Part of it was that I thought they were pretty, liked their dresses and long hair.
Samantha I loved for the time period and curiosity about her fancy life yet having her learning about injustices and inequality. Also the ice cream maker and lace fans at her birthday party caught my imagination.
I loved reading about Josefina’s connection to her family and seeing how Spanish had different pronunciations from English. I remember once correcting a friend on how to pronounce her name according to the book and that friend getting annoyed at me for it. 😂
I still remember that scene where she and her sisters open a trunk and find out moths ate their mother’s things.
And Kaya, I was fascinated by the way her tribe lived and described things like her brothers being 4 winters old. I also remember her making mistakes and getting the nickname Magpie.
My mom bought me a Samantha doll when I was little with the majority of her original collection (including the her mini xmas doll) and books. Even had the matching pajama gown which was so warm and comfy (yes i was spoiled). Will never forget taking her with me to AG in Chicago for tea it was so much fun. Glad that you see she's a queen like I do👑🥰
I got a lot of the books from the library growing up, before they released any best friend series. But one series I had to own was Kaya, I just loved her so much
I remember my parents saving up for a Josephina doll for my birthday one year. I loved her so much, I thought she was so beautiful and I saw myself in her being a hispanic kid. She became all the more meaningful to me when my grandmother told me that when she was a kid, she had a doll that looked a lot like her, down to the blue ribbon. I wasn't as interested in her books as much as other AG books but she's still really special to me.
This is my favorite video of all time 😭
Molly was my first American girl doll, my grandma gave me to her and I really liked her books because the 1940s=/WW2 was a period that as a young girl I was interested in. Then one day I got Addy from a garage sale, and she was my absolute favorite but I only read a couple of her books. My older sister gave me Elizabeth but I never really played with her I always just used her clothes on Molly and Addy.
Omg i's been so long since I've thought of American Girl! While I have never been into dolls in general (While I did have two of the dolls I paid way more attention to the animal lineup) I did read a lot of the books from the school library, having always been interested in history! Kit was my fave, glad you're giving her the respect she deserves. A+ vid
I wanted an American Girl doll SO BAD as a kid, but my dad was cheap and he said he would never pay a ridiculous price like that “for a d*mned doll”. Same reason I never got a Cabbage Patch Kid (except for a couple of preemies I got from my aunt and grandparents for Christmas, but I wanted one with hair) and I never got a Teddy Ruxpin no matter how badly I wanted one. I really loved Molly and Samantha.
i have josefina and my sibling recently gave me their julie doll because they grew out of it (even though im older then them and still love them.) I mostly grew up with those $30 dolls you see at walmart and target so I got my americans girls when I wasnt a little kid.
AG books were my first chapter books! I had Felicity as a little girl (still do at 14, no shame) and I think I've read all the American girl books on the planet. Or at least 90%
I am team Felicity and it may be part nostalgia, but her books also introduced me to the American Revolution, one of my favorite historical periods to study. I really enjoyed her personality, and I think I saw her mature into someone who wasn't a pushover, but knew when to act. Again I am extremely biased but here's my little spiel.
Felicity is my favorite! I wasn't a horse girl but I think I liked her because she was so spunky and free spirited. I also really liked the dresses. I had a Felicity paper doll set that I loved playing with cause I loved all the outfits and accessories. I even had my grandma make me the pink party dress (except I had her make it in blue) that Elizabeth wears in her book. My 3rd grade music class did a project on Mozart and the Baroque period and we all had to have costumes. And since it was a similar time period my dress passed. I also reused it when I played Alice in my 4th grade production of Alice in Wonderland (I just had my mom hem it so it was more of an Alice length and wore an apron over it). My second favorite was Molly and that's mostly because other than Felicity and Molly, I just couldn't get into the other girl's stories, this could be because I had more background knowledge of the American Revolution and WWII. I did enjoy reading Little House on the Prairie so you'd think that I would like Kirsten, but as you said, her story is pretty depressing. And I loved Julie when she came out but I only read the first 3 books because I was starting to get a little old for American Girl. I should say that I didn't read all the books (Kaya was the newest girl when I first started getting into them). Although I liked American Girl I wasn't as into it as other girls in my class, I would just pick them up from the library whenever I felt like reading one. Felicity and Molly were the only two where I read their whole collection. I had read the first book for both Samantha and Kirsten and they didn't excite and I started to read Josefina but I just really couldn't get into it and I never read Kit, Addy, and Kaya.
AaahhhI remember wanting Kit SO BAD as a kid. She had a little rolltop desk and typewriter accessories and little me was pretty much frothing at the mouth thinking about just like tapping the type keys and opening the desk drawers and stuff 😆
My late mother (1921-2010) was an older sister in Kit's time, and an aunt in Molly's time, and she assured me that those 2 were authentic in their clothing and furniture. As a girl of Julie's time myself, I vouch for her, lol. And I agree mostly with your assessments of the dolls.
Samantha was my girl, I love the Victorian, Edwardian era & her hat much love!
as a redhead with blue eyes (and short hair at the time) emily was my first doll and functioned as a truly me doll! and i will always love her for that :)
Her collection clothes and her whole collection is really interesting all the original American girl dolls collections are so historic and interesting and they're outfits are awesome
You should do the AG Girl of the Year dolls too!
Oh thank god Addie ended up top tier she was my favorite as a kid and if she was anything less than the best I would've been so ready to throw hands (Intended lightheartedly)
Kaya, Josafina, and Kirsten books carved the path of my childhood even though I’ve never had a doll. I’ve read the books for almost all of them and when I was really young I had a Kaya sticker book and I need to find it because that was amazing!
Samantha will always be my girl. I watch Samantha an American Girl Holiday every time I get sick or just need a day in bed. I ALWAYS wanted a Samantha doll but could never afford it growing up. Will still always love her!
As a Jewish person, I loved Rebecca. While I didn’t relate to her large family as I have a very small one, I did relate to her feeling like an outsider in a largely Christian world. I hated Christmas parties in school. I felt excluded and when I was included I was forced to be the default Jewish teacher, explaining how my culture was different. (Not exactly a fun thing for a 10 year old). I also loved her time period and her collection, I had all the books and begged my mom for 2 years before I was able to get her for my birthday.
This was more entertaining than I thought it would be! I kinda lost track of the American Girl brand awhile back but this made me remember when other girls would get them and I secretly wanted one but I could never ask because I knew we couldn't afford it. Plus, not only did I love Samantha but I loved Molly, too, and if we couldn't get one there was no way we were getting two. Also, there was no way I was sharing with my sister. :) Later on there were more I wanted, like Kit, but I was kinda ageing out at that point. Anyway, I wish they made one with red/copper hair. Not just one with reddish-brown hair or kinda reddish hair, but full on red hair or coppery orange like mine is with freckles. I was never represented like that. I did like Kirsten because she was from Sweden and I was from Finland, so it was close enough. Finland always sorta falls through the cracks. Also, with the 1950s girl, who I already forgot her name (shows how memorable she was), she could have had more problems from having polio, like with exertion she'd find it hard to breathe because the polio damaged her lung capacity, and the limp she had when she dragged her foot could be more pronounced to the point of her wearing a small leg brace that she fought with her parents not to wear to be more like her friends. Growing up with walking issues from other health problems, it would have been nice to have seen that represented in some way. It could end up that the exercises her doctor gives her to improve her muscle function make it possible for her to do more things without the brace but her foot still occasionally drags because of nerve damage. For a girl growing up, especially at that time, forming some sort of identity, what makes you tick, is really important (understatement of the millennium), but especially girls in the 1950s, when girls started to realise they could be more than just teachers or nurses. She would be torn by being true to herself and accepting that her getting polio was no one's fault and the after-effects are just something she'll have to deal with, or to ignore that part of herself and try to mold herself into a girl that wasn't made stronger by becoming very sick for awhile and clawing her way back to where a lot of the time you couldn't even tell. They could have done so much with that character, introducing the atomic age, the cold war, maybe having her relocate from somewhere in a city out to the suburbs and her not finding much to occupy her time, but needing to use the new highways to get back to the city to see her doctors. Can you tell I forgot that doll even existed? lol I'm also glad there is an 80s doll and look forward to a 90s doll as well. Perhaps the 90s doll could be of mixed-race and show the challenges of that: too white to fit in with the black crowd at school or even the black side of her family and not white enough for the more white crowd (some of whom may be racist) or the white part of her family, so she blazes her own trail by running her frustrations in track/cross-country as well as beating them out on the drums in school band. There may be a divide and some students can cross it, but because the 90s doll is mixed race she doesn't feel comfortable in either camp, but she learns to feel like she belongs on her sports team, and in the band, while also showing you don't have to have just one dream or be good at just one thing. I've blathered on too long and it's late here. I wonder if anyone will end up reading this. Be aware also if I wrote this *after* sleeping rather than right *before* sleeping, my phrasing may be different. I'm not of mixed-race and wouldn't know the specific struggles someone who was would have related to that. But I can certainly tell you what a girl may struggle with or end up dealing with, or what her likes and dislikes may be, because I'm a girl, and I lived *that* hehe. Okay, good night all and thanks for the video!
I remember getting the kit doll for my birthday when I was a kid. she was my favorite doll. bc at that time I had short blond hair (its brown now ;w;) we were at a campground hanging with my grandparents. and I love my grandma so much for sewing extra doll clothes for my dolls
I remember having the Ivy doll, and also a doll called Saige i think? I’ve given them to my little cousin and I hope she loves them as much as i did. This video made me super nostalgic lol
Great ranking! Very thoughtful👏🏽.
Yes! The algorithm finally understands the type of videos I want to get recommended
When both the dolls you had rank top tier
I think what happened for peoples opinions is that Samantha, Molly, Felicity, and Kit got movies. The others didn’t which is really really sad.
Growing up, my sister had Molly and I ended up having Emily and Julie. I loved the history that came with each American Girl Doll and I loved that my sister had the books so even though we didn't have Josefina, Kit, Addy, etc. I was still able to read their story. Addy's story with slavery and racism broke my heart and still does to this day. I'm mad that they don't embrace the histories as much because that was what I found intriguing as a kid, wanting to know every girls' stories.
Cecil and Marie-Grace were my favorite books!!!
this video made me so happy!!! i loved american girl as a kid and kit was my absolute favorite and the only doll i actually ended up owning. i saw so much of myself in her character which makes a lot of sense looking back (kit definitely grew up to be a lesbian) and i felt like i was growing up along with her as i read her books. this franchise will always hold such a special place in my heart :)
I have no idea how i got here but i laughed OUT LOUD too many times to not follow you. Kaya was my queen growing up. Her HORSE?!?!1!111 But I aged out of them after Julie and was like about to cry seeing all the Forever Collections... so bad :(
I got so excited when I saw Nellie in top tier, she was the doll I had. She’s such a cutie
The point about Addy humanizing slavery is so important. Reading her books when I was in first grade, as a little white girl, really helped me understand, at an appropriate enough sense for a 7 year old, the horrors of slavery. I remember specifically reading a line in her first book that just tore me up inside. It was about how Addy’s grandparents (I think, it’s been more than 20 years since I read that book) weren’t going to be running away as well. Addy says to her mother, “But Esther can’t run, and she’s coming!” And her mother had to explain that no, Addy’s baby sister was also not coming with them. And that just… wow. I put the book down, ran into my mom’s bedroom crying, and we had a really long talk about slavery and racism and how evil those things were/are.
This is so touching, it really shows the impact representation has
The passage where Addy's brother gets whipped made me physically sick when reading and has stuck with me as a reminder of the horrors of slavery to this day.
@@nataliemccarthy9140 when i was little my parents waited to buy me addy's books. me and my sister had an addy doll because we loved her dresses and thought she was pretty. but in 5th grade my mom let me read them and omg i cried so hard. the worst part was when they shoved the worms in her mouth. that stuck with me even today.
The two things that really stuck with me were 1) the worm scene and 2) the scene after she's free and living in the north, when the racist storekeeper keeps serving all the white customers first, then refuses to give the change to them directly and instead slams it onto the counter. The girls go home and have a conversation with how even though they're free, they're not REALLY free, and that just kinda...sits there...and there's not really any solution for Addy and her friends. They will probably continue getting treated that way for most of their lives. It's very disquieting.
@@annamidkiff2460 omg i remember that scene so well. I also remember being so so frustrated and sad.
I will never not be mad that American Girl abandoned the historical angle in order to be "hip and trendy".
Same the historical aspect is what I loved. I'm a huge history buff and that was the best aspects of the dolls and books.
I mean they still have that, but they don’t promote it as much
I agree I had all the books up to Kit (I started growing out of them) and learning about history thru a young girls eyes was one of my favorite parts
I feel like what made American Girl as a brand so special is its ability to allow young girls to understand and emphasize with people through out history in all sorts of circumstances. It taught me so much, and I'm truly grateful.
they dropped the ball with the new book cover illustrations, and new storylines.its not like how it used to be.
Imagine in 40 years when AG makes a 2020 line with tiny facemasks, hand sanitizer and zoom school
Omg I haven’t thought about that yet. I would honestly love it though. I’d totally buy a doll from a time period I actually loved through.
LMAO and a little toy phone with tiktok on it and tiny doll masks
they did already haha, their names are makena and evette i think?
Addy was my favorite doll as a little white girl. I loved her clothes, her personality, and her story. I cried as an 8 year old reading her stories. My dad took her books away from me because I would “feel sorry for them”. I snuck behind his back and read them at the library. And honestly, I think her story is part of the reason I was able to grow up in a super racist house and never take that bullshit to heart the way the rest of my family did.
I love your story. Your dad sounds like a lot of the parents I knew growing up. We would have book clubs with the American Girl series, and I wanted us to read about Addy because she looked like me. But the other girls and parents said her story was too sad to read. So we never read Addy, but we could read Kristen's. It showed me that black girls' stories weren't important to a lot of the mainstream.
@@GAshoneybear That makes me sad for little you, I wish they would've read Addy too.
The wave of nostalgia when I saw that blue dress Kit wears. I spent the whole video trying to remember if I had her and bam that was my answer.
Ks
Ssssssskss
Hi Tama!
I was always drawn to Kit when looking through my daughter’s catalogs.
I cane never see the name kit the same way after..... That person 🤮
It was a real missed opportunity to not have Mary Ellen become visibly disabled and include mobility aids with the doll. It’s the only thing that even remotely sets her apart from the other girls and it has relatively little impact on her story or character.
Addy was my first AG doll...I was a skinny lil' black girl visiting LA when my mom surprised me with a trip to the store and I loved her immediately. (My sister got Cecile!)
Little did I know that I had more in common with Addy than I realized...WAY MORE.
Addy was based on a real slave girl from North Carolina. The plantation which the real girl lived on (and where AG consulted with to make Addy) is three minutes away from me.
TLDR: Addy, the real girl, and I all lived in the exact same place and are therefore connected by time and spirit.
we also both love fashion and clothes ;)
i always wanted the actual doll. but i fell in love with addy from the books. it really did make me feel connected to my ancestors and helped me understand slavery. they didn’t miss the mark with her story.
@@biggvibess_ Saammmeee! I remember I managed to read all of the books from the school library! She's the reason why I love turnip greens and rice together so much😭😭
Love!
What's the real girls name?
since she survived polio, it would be interesting if they gave maryellen like some sort of mobility aid like crutches or something. it would be cool to see a disabled character that isn't just a side character or like the main girl's best friend or something
Not everyone who had polio needed mobility aids. My aunt had it and she doesn’t use anything to help her walk around. Her one leg is slightly shorter than the other but you can’t tell by looking at her. The only thing is she can’t walk around for extremely long periods of time such as city tours.
@@kenthuang436 Their comment wasn't at all implying that Maryellen needed a mobility aid for historical accuracy, they were just saying it would be a convenient opportunity to fit one in.
I cried when Ivy left Bc she was the only asian American and I loved her books, I felt like I could understand what my dad and aunt went through and the discontinuation was so sad
I would go the American girl doll store and just stare at them
Ivy was one of the girls I remember wanting when I was older and most people my age had moved on from AG. Sad I never got her.
There's an Asain astronaut now I think, idk what her name is though. I stopped obsessing over them after Gabriella.
There should be another one that isn’t just a best friend but a main character
@@livywithane she was Hispanic I think
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t all that impressed with the redesign of the dolls in 2014😭. My 10 year old self really wrote a letter to the company complaining about the lack of historical accuracy in the new collection💀💀
YOU DID NOT 😭-
It didn't occur to me to write a letter but I was definitely disappointed in the redesign, too.
AS YOU SHOULD 💅
The one thing I did like about the BeForever reboot and redesigns is that Samantha was unarchived and available for purchase again. She really has some of the most interesting accessories and best looking outfits.
Felicity's was simply tragic! The brand has been going downhill for a while, sadly. My Felicity was my mom's when she was little, so I have and love many of the older accessories.
To quote my girlfriend about Caroline: "WHY DO Y'ALL SLEEP ON HER?! SHE HAD A FRICKING BOAT!"
AND A COW
I wanted the big version of her sooo bad that I had Caroline as my confirmation name as a Catholic 8th grader but too embarrassed to admit it😂 I read her book series because I had her as a mini but she would have been the only blonde AGD in my childhood collection😂
Christina Kleman I have Samantha as a mini because we have the same name
she’s the only one i had
YES put some respect on my girlie caroline's name!!
Personally offended you didn’t talk about Julie’s egg chair with the real speakers and Kit’s crate scooter cause I dreamed about those for years as a kid /lh
I always wanted Kits scooter And Her treehouse
im literally putting an egg chair in my room now because of julie's. cultural reset.
The scooter!!!
ME TOO LOL
Words cannot express just how badly I wanted Julie's egg chair haha
I remember really liking Molly bc she had glasses, and when I was a kid, dolls with glasses just were not heard of bc they didn't fit in with the beauty standard. So seeing that doll made me so happy bc I felt a connection with her. Thankfully my family managed to pull together the money to get her, because it helped me become a bit more confident in how I looked.
I loved her glasses, her braids, and her knee socks XD but we were too poor to afford her, unfortunately.
me too!! as silly as it is it made me connect with her so much just because she came with glasses
Who do you think has the most tragic story Kristen or addy
can we PLEASE take a moment to appreciate how good these tier names are omg 😭
lol yes
I didn't get the Addy doll growing up, but I did read the first Addy book, and I still remember it to this day. I was probably around 7 or 8, and as an upper middle class white girl, it struck something in me. I was confused and horrified by what I saw, furious that my parents answers to my questions boiled down to "that's just how it was back then." I think I knew about slavery before that, but it's the first time that I truly understood what that meant and was disgusted by what I saw. 8 year old me wanted to go into the book, free the girl and her family and give them everything I had. I remember crying.
That reaction stuck with me. I think it helped protect me from believing some of the racist dialogue I heard growing up. I'd hear an argument justifying slavery for economic reasons or trying to paint the plantation owners as victims of the civil war, and I'd think of Addy's little sister, with no real clothes, laying on a mattress on the floor in a cruel place where people were hurt and families were separated. I never forgot that image. I didn't start learning about black issues until more than a decade later (still learning), but that book did keep me from believing the apologists growing up, and I'm so glad it did.
I’m not Nez Perce (I’m lumbee) but it was such an excellent idea to make Kaya historical while also giving her modern outfits, showing that our culture transcends the centuries of attempting to suppress it. I swear I’ve seen nearly the exact same fancy dance dress at a powwow and that makes me so happy
I’m lumbee too!
Hey cousin!
Lumbee, Iroquois, Ojibwa and Lakota!
I do love kaya (acknowledging her inaccuracies)
I do wish they had other tribes though. We’re not all plains! There are 570+ tribes.
I’m not Nez Perce, infact I’m Tsalagi😭. But I felt so empowered and happy when an indigenous doll was introduced into the AG historical line. I am glad others feel the same:).
i would die to see you look at the "girl of the year" dolls as well. just looking at the difference between a character like chrissa (2009) and kira (2021) is so interesting, considering how quickly the 2000s have seemed to go so far. especially with the rise of internet and computer technology (not to mention AG's abrupt rebrand in 2014 which may have shifted the quality of a lot of their collections) i think looking at how AG handled topics that were relevant throughout the 2000s is fascinating. it's also fun to relive the things you might have experienced as a kid through the stories. would love to see you go through them!
I second this!
The fact that Courtney- an American Girl doll- has an American Girl doll of her own is like totally mind-blowing!!!
Yess
Dollception
That's because Molly was one of the original three dolls the American Girls produced in the 1980's. Which is the time frame that Courtney exists in, so of course she would have her own original American Girl doll.
@@brianaschmidt910 I know, but still--- trippy.
Aw man at my girl Kirsten being ranked in the second-from-bottom tier: I moved to the US when I was seven and I got Kirsten for Christmas that year. Her story about being an immigrant and adjusting to America culturally while still retaining parts of her Swedish culture resonated a lot with me as a kid. Rebecca wasn't out when I was that age but I've heard her story also deals a lot with cultural assimilation. Also, it's funny how you mentioned Kaya and Kirsten going to the same school of making bad choices because I'm pretty sure most (if not all) of their books were written by the same author!
I loved Kirsten when I was growing up too. I wasn't an immigrant but I was just interested in the pioneer era. I also was a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books and liked that Kirsten was kind of similar (other than the fact that she was an immigrant).
I still have my Kirsten doll 💜
Loved that doll to death as a kid, and no matter where she got ranked her is is top tier in my heart.
This sounds so similar to my story. I was also an immigrant to the U.S. when I was 5, almost 6. I moved from Ukraine. I could really relate to Kirsten because I was also a European immigrant, had blonde hair that I wore in two braids, and had to learn English and American customs.
@@CherryFrog321 I never had any of the dolls. But, I always loved looking through the catalogs. Kirsten, and her different play sets, was my favorite.
I suppose it is because I also loved Little House. I wished I was in a one room schoolhouse, with a split log bench. I wanted the hearty food in my lunch box, rather than the cardboard pizza that my school served. And, her bed just looked so warm and cozy!
My favorite was Kirsten not an immigrant, but I moved to a lot across the US. Also loved the frontier feeling. Living on farms yet wanting to retain some femininity really resonated with me.
Remembering when I went on a rant to my mom when I found out about kit’s redesigning, I distinctly remember saying “if she’s living in poverty and her story is about overcoming hardships, why the heck is she playing mini golf in monogrammed dress?”
Well, she wasn't always living in poverty. It was implied that her family was middle to upper middle class before the depression hit and her dad lost his job. So it would make sense that she still had some of her nice clothes that she probably got before her family fell on hard times.
@@CherryFrog321 even then i feel like her clothes mightve been sold, especially if they were good quality (not saying theyd just rob their daughter of her clothes lmao)
When I saw her new nightgown and bedspread, I flipped out. She doesn't like pink or frilly things! I loved learning about her print dresses made from bags and stuff. She framed my whole perspective of what the Great Depression was like. And wasn't that the whole purpose of American Girl? Being able to relate as a 9 year old made history real to me.
yes to the golf but monogramming a dress isnt that hard
@@xXOpenYourHeart759Xx THIS. Kit was the one I was baffled by, she was one of my favorite characters, always wanted her but hate her new design. Gimme back my Kit with the OG Meet outfit!
I loved the fact that they made Addie dark. They actually made Addie actually dark skinned, and that made me really happy as a kid.
I never really thought about that but I am too. It would've been easier (and expected) for them to make them a lightskin girl with loose curls but they didn't. Kudos to them
Very refreshing. Colorism is black female representation is tiring
My jewish grandmother gave me Rebecca for my 9th birthday and we would read the book together. she'd tell me about her immigrant parents from russia and how they came in through ellis island and lived in new york before moving to chicago. So i love rebecca. And she loves theatre and my grandma and grandpa opened and owned a theatre company! she will always be #1 for me
my best friend loves rebecca for almost the exact same reason!!!! her family immigrated from germany through ellis island!!!
The Mean Girls, Molly edit had me rolling 😂
Lmao same. I liked and subscribed immediately
2:55 lol
SAME
Same, I was dying 😂
The fact that Courtney has a mini Molly doll with a mini catalogue with items circled in it WON MY HEART ♥️😢
Can we give it up for AG having Addy not only be the first African American doll but a dark skin doll as well. Also the fact that they gave her cute outfits, cause we all know they usually do dolls of color dirty
I had Samantha but loooooooved the Addy dresses. They were amazing!
@@littleraeofsunshine I had both and ngl sometimes would switch the clothing and have fashion shows. Cause some outfits I loved for Samantha and some of Samantha’s outfits I thought would look good on her
Kirsten was my doll as a kid because I loved her Swedish heritage. Her story with the Santa Lucia celebration and the matching dress set was my favorite!
Mine too! I’m 36 now but I remember making a little mini Santa Lucia headdress for one my my dolls out of red and green yarn and toothpicks for the candles when I was little. I thought of that immediately when she was brought up!
I'm Finnish, so it's *so* close lol
I loved Kirsten for her cats before I read her books. But now I love her stories for showing an immigrant settling in America at the time. Even though she was Swedish, she was still an American Girl and held on to her culture. I related to her social anxiety and good nature.
I loved her stories
Honestly I've never had interest in AG because I always saw it as "cheesy stuff only bratty kids could afford" but as an adult this makes me really interested and appreciative towards the brand
I had a similar perception, but a lot of work really does go into making these dolls. Kaya, for instance, was the product of 5 years of research and cooperation with the Nez Perce tribe- it's impressive when you look into it!
I remember it being something I was really proud to have. I knew that they weren’t cheap, so I kept really good care of it. I still have it today I’m pretty much the same condition I got it in back in the early 2000s.
@@gracedesjarlais8074 Agreed. my parents did a really good job of explaining to me as a 7/8 year old that the dolls weren't cheap and that it was important to take care of them, and I'll always be grateful for that because all of them are still in really good shape 10 years later.
Growing up I read a good handful of the books and poured over the catalogues, knowing that they were way to expensive to actually buy from, so I never asked my parents for anything from it (and was super jealous of a classmate who had one of the not historical outfits they offered).
I had a lot of them Rebecca, Kanai and two my American girls plus a bitty baby my parents didn't have a lot of money but my grandparents surprised me getting the dolls for my birthday and Christmas
the original 80s-2000s line is a lot better than the newer one that launched in the 2010s in my opinion. the new ones look like stereotypical representations of their decades
Agreed, especially Maryellen being just the safe, "exactly what you'd expect" design of the 1950s, I agree with the OP.
Completely agree. Makes me feel lucky for growing up with the OG.
Yeah. I remember the end of the original historical line, when they released the new ones I was so mad. The only kinda ok new one is Nanea I think her line is really cool. But I have Elizabeth and also the original Kit
they did kinda ditch the beforever line but even with courtney, she looks like how pop culture sees the 80s rather than a more realistic depiction
@@iwakeupandboomimarat lol really? My mom says it’s completely accurate.
Ahhh I remember loving when I received Ivy as a kid because even though I'm Japanese, it was so exciting just holding a pretty Asian doll when most of the historical girls were white and looked nothing like me. I'm so sad she got discontinued, but I'm grateful that her release got to overlap with my time as an american girl doll fan as a kid
Felicity was my doll. She wasn’t the most popular, so a lot of us were probably into that hipster element. Also the Revolutionary period interested me. Her redesigned clothes did her dirty though. The purple dress is so inferiority the og print
Felicity was my first doll, I had the purple dress, it broke my heard when she was discontinued and I do wish when I was young I could have got the original dress
my sibling and i had felicity and elizabeth (can't remember who's was who's) i have a very vague memory of opening them, and it was great
@@crowthebro my sister got Elizabeth and I got Felicity lol, we picked who got what by who looked like the other more
She had the prettiest dresses! They used to have the "dress like your doll" thing and I wanted one of her dresses so bad. I never had an AG doll though (this was in the mid 90's I think) because it was so overpriced and my parents were very money-conscious.
That was my first doll! I loved her but I wish I got Samantha ; n ; I relate to her the most.
As a military child I found Molly really relatable to the emotional and familial hardships of deployment.
Probably why she appeals to me too
I remember winning Felicity and Elizabeth at Barnes and Noble raffle. I answered the house phone and a lady asked if she asked for me and told me I won the dolls. I was so excited I made my mom talk to the lady while she was on the toilet. My poor mother... lol. I had my picture taken in the paper too which was really cool. It was probably one of my favorite memories as a kid. My parents didn't really have the means to buy me AG dolls so it meant a lot to me even if I was chosen at random. I used to get the catalogs in the mail and wish I could get everything. Since it was expensive, my mom would actually make me dresses for the dolls so I could put them in different outfits. I never really thought too deeply on it but looking back I am so grateful for her effort. I also remember going to the AG store and was finally able to get my favorite doll that I wanted for years. I was able to get Nellie who I adored. I still have all 3 dolls, unfortunately play time kinda made Felicity and Elizabeth looking a bit rough but I kept Nellie in good condition and also kept her OG outfit and box.
Sorry for the long comment, it just brought up so much nostalgia and good memories. Thank you for this video
Oh my gosh! I also won the set of Felicity and Elizabeth from the Barnes n Noble raffle! We would never have been able to afford them otherwise. And it was so fun because I kept Felicity and I was able to give my sister Elizabeth so we both had one. I still have them on a shelf today!!
@@simplystandout5878 My sister I gave Felicity !!! We also couldn’t afford them but always got the catalogs ! Haha did they have you take a pic with them for the paper ? My hair looked like a lion in it because I hated brushing it 😂😂
Rebecca meant so much to me as a kid, I loved reading her books as a 3d generation ashkenazi jew
She came out when I was older but I definitely would’ve gotten her. Being a Jew it was really cool to see them come out with one:)
I was like "As a kid? Didn't she come out in 2009?" And then I remembered 2009 was almost 13 years ago. God I'm old.
Please do more tier lists! Maybe one with the MH or EAH characters next?
I might! This one was really fun
@@DarlingDollz please do! Its a great idea!
Yes!!
EVER AFTER HIGH PLEASEEE
LIZZIE HEART'S FITS??
@@DarlingDollz do omg next pls 💅💅💅💅💅💅
I have sooooo many gripes with Maryellen, my grandma had polio and was a teen in the 1950s and the stories she told me would have been perfect for Maryellen. Showing more of what polio was like for survivors would have been incredible. My grandma was able to walk short distances with her brace if not very slowly, then as she became older she grew more and more reliant on her wheel chair till by time she passed she was completely wheelchair bound. She told me stories about how she got rides from a man she kinda knew with her friends to work as a telephone operator cause that was the best way to get there (though she told me in hindsight very unsafe). She told me about how although most people would go home for lunch, because of her leg the school let her eat at the school. Any of these things would have been amazing to explore, though maybe not the part about getting a ride from a stranger. Maryellen is straight clownery for me.
Seriously hands down one of my fav videos I ever watched on UA-cam. I love American girl especially when I was a child. I love the balance of dolls, fashion, and history. Mad respect for you making this great video + reading the books in a short period of time. For any adult who admires AG, especially the history part I recommend the American Girl podcast, it’s great! When I was a kid molly was my favorite bc she looked like me bc I wore my hair in braids and had glasses, but I never owned her as a child. Okay brb going to binge watch ur other videos 💗
Omg, I HAVE to check out this podcast 👀
ty though!! I'm happy you enjoyed it! (And hope you enjoy my other videos lol)