Nanea's Book Covers

Nanea's book covers have released, and this leak has really given my excitement a huge boost. I still wish I could get my hands on one before her release, but now I have some absolutely amazing outfits to look forward to. (As long as American Girl releases them. Looking at you, AG.)

That hula outfit is breathtaking, and she might have one of my favorite AG swimsuits ever. I'm even loving the color of books. Four months seems long time to wait to get my hands on the Nanea and her stories, but I'm looking forward to it! (And 4 months worth of leaks.)

~Mrs. D

Nanea's Books

It looks like there is finally some information out there about Nanea's books, though I can't say that I'm thrilled. 

Amazon has posted the titles, pre-order information, and synopsis of all three of Nanea's books, but those of us hoping for an early release of the first novel like we got with Melody are going to be disappointed. Unless the dates change for some reason, it looks like we'll have to wait to read Nanea's story, as the release date for all three books isn't until August 24th. I really enjoyed having Melody's first book early last year, because I felt like it gave my family a chance to really know her character before going to her release, which made it even more exciting to be picking up our doll, but it doesn't look like we'll have that chance with Nanea. 

Still, it's pretty exciting to have some more information about the new BeForever character!

Growing Up With Aloha: A Nanea Classic Volume 1

From Amazon: Nine-year-old Nanea may be the youngest in her family, but she still wants to "dip her paddle in" and be useful. She knows she's grown-up enough to help in her grandparents' market. But before she can prove that she's ready for more responsibility, the unthinkable happens: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the naval base where her father works, and America is at war! With friends and family missing, and rumors of more attacks to come, Nanea worries―will life ever be the same again?

Hula for the Homefront: A Nanea Classic Volume 2

From Amazon: Nanea had hoped that going back to school would make life seem normal again. But everything has changed since the war, including Miss Smith's wonderful classroom. Nanea's dear friend Donna is gone, and now there's a new girl who seems to be getting all of Miss Smith's attention. There are also worries at home as Nanea's big brother talks about joining the Army. Nanea can't bear the thought of him leaving. In the swirl of changes, Nanea turns to hula. Dancing always makes her feel better. Then, Nanea gets a big idea―could hula help lift the spirits of the soldiers, too?

Prints in the Sand: My Journey With Nanea

From Amazon: The puka shells jingle in my hand. I don't want to lose them, so I slide the necklace over my head. But as I pull my hair out from under the string of shells, the ground drops from beneath my feet. I feel the whoosh of an ocean breeze, and then a pink mist covers my eyes . . . What if you suddenly found yourself in Nanea's hometown of Honolulu during World War Two? Together, you and Nanea could send secret messages for the war effort or work in a Victory Garden. You could learn how to hula dance or help a lost dog. As you read, you decide what happens by choosing your own path through this multiple-ending story.

Who is getting excited for Nanea? August seems like forever away, however, we have Z's release right around the corner! I'm looking forward to her too. 

Emory & Norman

History tells us that when American Girl trademarks a first and last name together we can usually expect to see a character with that name sometime in the future. Well, ladies and gentleman, it looks like we can expect someone named Emory Van Zant at some point in the American Girl lineup. 

Now the big question is who will Emory be? Traditionally, Emory is a masculine name that hit it's peak of popularity in the early 1900s. Could this mean that American Girl is preparing it's first historical boy doll? Anything is possible, though I'm not sure that it would be a very wise move on their part. Of course, recent trends certainly support the argument that previously masculine names can enjoy amazing popularity when used for little girls too. After completely falling off the charts in the 1970s, Emory started to resurface in the top 1,000 names in America in 2012 making it on both the boy's and girl's list. Since then it has steadily climbed both lists, though it is enjoying more popularity as a girl's name these days. It seems more likely to me, though I could be very wrong, that Emory will be a new Contemporary Character debuting at some point in the next year to 18 months.  

Van Zant looks to be of Dutch, Belgian, and/or German decent depending on which website I punched it into and the spelling variations I found, and there were several. Van Zandt, Vanzant, Vanderzanden...And as much as I love researching names, I didn't find a lot on this one with this particular spelling. I will certainly look into it when I have more time. Regardless, it is exciting to see that there will be another character in the works, though my bank account is hoping that she or he isn't one that has to come home with us. 

Another slightly less mysterious trademark is for a little critter known as Norman the Gopher.

I think it's pretty obvious that Norman will in some way be a part of the Wellie Wisher line, though I could be wrong. It has happened before. Either way, I could see AG coming out with a pretty cute little gopher plush, and I hope it isn't too expensive to warrant coming home with us. I am a sucker for plush animals!

So, what do you think? Who are you hoping that Emory Van Zant will be? Do you think Norman will be a friend for our little Wellie Wishers. Let me know.

~Mrs. D 

All The New News: A Little Late Part Two

I promise that the title isn't just leading you on this time! I'm going to get the rest of American Girl's exciting Valentine's Day news into this post, but I suggest you make yourself comfortable, because this might be a long one. 

I meant to sit down and write these Valentine's night, however I ended up getting sick. As a result, all of this "new" news is now almost two weeks old, and you are probably aware of most of it. On the off chance that you aren't though, I still wanted to take the time to share it here. (Don't forget to check out my first "new" news post from yesterday, because it covers all things Nanea Mitchell, and I can already tell that she's going to be awesome!) 

American Girl has a very busy year ahead as they revealed on February 14th with the announcement that there will be six named characters releasing this year! 

Some, like Gabriela, Tenney, and Logan we already knew about, but AG decided to throw Z, Nanea, and a new face mold in there for good measure just to keep us on our toes. (And I am sure they were hoping the V-Day announcement would throw just a little attention off the Pantygate 2017 scandal. Ha!) 

We have to start with Gabby (who I have yet to decide if she prefers to spell it G-a-b-b-y or G-a-b-b-i, but I fell like she hasn't really decided yet either), because, despite what American Girl and much of the fandom seems to believe, she is the Girl of The Year, and should be celebrated and honored as such! 

While the fact that AG finally decided to release a Doll of Color as the GOTY is amazing and cause for celebration, it's no secret that she was not their main focus of 2017. They released this amazing doll, with a better story than the GOTY line has seen in several years, and seemingly gave her collection no more thought than what they could piece together from other GOTY leftovers. Still, the fact that AG was focused on other things in no way takes away from the awesomeness that is Gabriela McBride, and the announcements on V-Day included some new goodies for Gabriela too!

It looks like our favorite girl will be getting a new chair, ottoman, and a brightly colored loft bed for Maya to curl up on while Gabriela writes her poetry. That's also a new dress she's sporting in this screenshot from AG's live video, and you can see her second book which is scheduled to release on April 25th. There is no date yet for her loft bed and other accessories, though it is safe to say that they will be coming to the Dahl House whenever they are released.

The synopsis for Gabriela's third book is also available on Amazon now, and it looks like we can expect for it to hit the shelves sometime late September. 

While my children have a few modern dolls, Gabriela is my first non historical, and I am absolutely smitten with her! I'd heard rumors that she'd be getting a "big" piece, but it was nice to finally get to see it even if we're not sure when it will be released. Since Gabbi is going to be available past 2017 I wouldn't put it past AG to release her loft bed later in the year to hopefully hype up holiday sales. You never can tell with AG though, and it could very likely be included in their summer release. 

We've known about Tenney Grant, American Girl's first Contemporary Character, for awhile now, but she's officially arrived to very mixed reviews.

It's very hard for me to look at her and see anything other than an American Girl version of young Taylor Swift, and while I have no real issue with Taylor Swift, I am pretty bitter about the fact that Tenney (and Logan) were obviously American Girl's real focus in 2017. In fact, many believe that she was planned to be the original GOTY, and AG threw Gabriela together last minute in response to the overwhelming demand for an African-American GOTY. (A theory supported by the size and quantity of her collection and the fact that she is even sharing Gabriela's "exclusive" earrings.)

Tenney is slightly older than other characters released by American Girl, and attempt to keep the AG audience interested in dolls and their stories a little bit longer perhaps, and has dreams of making it big in country music. I have no issue admitting that some of her collection is cute, but all of our love is going to Gabriela this year (vote with your dollars), so Tenney's cuter clothing pieces will have to wait. 

I do really like her hat, (In fact, this entire outfit is my favorite of hers by far!) and can just imagine how well Gabby would rock that particular piece, but it will have to wait for a bit considering AG seems to think it's worth $18, and I disagree.

In addition to being "older", Tenney's hands are also made from a new mold in order to make it easier for her to hold her pick, guitar, and banjo. 

While Tenney's most expensive accessory is her double sided stage & dressing room, it could be argued that her biggest accessory is American Girl's second Contemporary Character, and first boy doll, Logan. 

Logan Everett, drummer, accessory, and a complete shame. I have already gone on record as having no issue with American Girl deciding to release a boy doll. There is clearly a market for it, and American Girl is a business above all else. It makes sense that they would see the market out there for custom boys and decide to jump on it themselves. 

When the rumors for Logan started leaking there were mothers on the Internet absolutely "horrified" that American Girl would ever think of releasing a boy in their ranks, though the speed at which Logan went on back order suggests that at least some of those women were completely full of it when they declared that they would "never ever give them one more cent of my hard earned money if they do this!" Now, don't get me wrong, these women are very separate from those with well articulated and thought out concerns about what including a boy means for this brand that has always been about empowering girls. I understand their issues with the thought of a boy American Girl even though I don't personally have an issue with AG choosing to release a boy doll. The "devastated" women I am complaining about are the ones who questioned the moral decision to add a boy because it might a) Encourage boys to play with dolls, and we can't have that now or b) Might cause little girls to think they should have a boyfriend and lead to "unsavory behavior in the eyes of Jesus". (And, yes, I read comments about both of those concerns, including the parts in quotes.)    

As the auntie to three little girls who have lost a brother I know that they love both their dolls and the chance to give their dolls and toys a brother figure while they play. Their mothers do not have the funds for OOAK customized boy dolls, and Auntie hasn't done much any customizing yet, so the thought of a boy AG doll was welcomed by our family. 

Then they released his pictures. Welcome turned to anger, and Auntie has been watching a lot more YouTube about customization while shopping Craigslist and eBay for inexpensive TLC dolls. 

When Kaya was created as American Girl's first Native American doll there was an entire research group put together so as to create the most authentic, historically accurate doll that they could for the Nimi'ipuu tribe...Including creating her very own, closed mouthed face mold, because showing teeth was a sign of aggression for Kaya's people. It is a beautiful face mold, and Kaya is a beautiful girl. The fact that her face mold was specifically made for a Native American girl of color makes it an even more disgusting move on AG's part that the first time they use it again is for a white boy with absolutely no Native American background. (Though I am sure he claims some kind of Cherokee ancestry. It seems the kind of thing Logan would do.) 

For a company that is clearly trying to combat the racist image they have earned over the years this could not have been a worse move on their part. It dishonors everything Kaya is, as the only American Girl representing Native culture, with all of the research and care that was taken with her and her collection, to take her face and slap it so casually on a basic white boy who is nothing more than an accessory to Tenney. Native women are not masculine, AG, and Kaya's face should never have been used for Logan. Not ever. It's a disgrace that even my 7 year old was able to comprehend, so I can't imagine that it escaped the multitude of adults that this decision had to go through before it was made...Which leads me to believe that you simply don't care.

Logan's popularity can't be denied, but we won't be getting him. My girls will just have to get their own special boy dolls at some point in the future. 

  

Oh, and as the wife and mother of a drummer, this is not a drum set in any stretch of the imagination. If you're going to release a drum set you should maybe do a little research as to what they consist of before you slap a price tag on this incomplete piece of plastic. Just saying.

And now onto happier things...

AG has made it clear that the BeForever line is open to pulling girls out of the archives before, and they are doing it again with this BeRelease of the beautiful Felicity Merriman! As a long time Felicity groupie I was thrilled when rumors of Felicity's return started leaking. I'm most likely not in the market for a new doll, though my oldest is campaigning hard for a BeFelicity, but the thought of being able to add to my Felicity's collection is appealing. Unfortunately, for now at least, her collection is pretty light.

That's all, folks. I am hoping that they will release more later on, and also that she will become available in more than just the three flagship stores at a later date. (Perhaps after Samantha's rumored retirement happens.) If you already have a Felicity but want this third version of her meet dress it is available to purchase on its own. While I really like the embroidery detail I am just not drawn to this dress for my Felicity. She might eventually get it, but it will be much further down the road. The books are headed our way though, as part of an important 8th birthday we have coming up next month, so I'll be sure to read and review. 

Which brings us to Z Yang of the Z Crew! Before AG's V-Day live video I'd only heard of the Z Crew through AG's trademarks and a few people who'd mentioned the name Z on the boards. I don't create stop motion animation, though it is huge in many of the American Girl circles online. Once again, AG proved that they are watching their community and latching onto what is popular, because they made their own character, a girl named Suzie "Z" Yang, who does her very own stop motion videos online. Z started out as a character on AG's online play site, but on Valentine's Day they revealed that you are now going to have the chance to get their very own Z Yang to take home with you complete with her own books!

Like I said, I had really no idea about her before Valentine's Day, but you have to admit that she's pretty cute. I certainly like her better than Tenney, and I love that there seems to be more diversity in the first two months of 2017 than there has been in the last 20+ years from American Girl. I don't know if they are listening because they care or because their profit margin is down and they'll try anything at this point, but it's a step in the right direction either way. 

Z is rumored to be releasing on April 27th. I'm not sure if she'll be coming home with us at some point, though I am positive that it won't be this year, (Because, Nanea! Have you heard about Nanea?!) but we'll still head over to her release to see what she's about. (And if any of her collection needs to come home for Gabriela to use.) She also has an Amazon original movie releasing this summer that we're all pretty excited to see. 

All in all, regardless of my feelings about certain characters being released this year, It was still a huge news day for American Girl! I look forward to seeing what else that have in store for these characters and their collections this year. Now all that is left is for you to choose you character. Who is coming home with you in 2017? Who can you live without?

I must have Z's (I am assuming) camera! It must be mine! It's too cute not to be!

~Mrs. D

All The New News...A Little Late

If you follow American Girl at all, and I am assuming that is why you are here, then you have probably heard all the new news that was released on Valentine's Day! It was a huge day for AG, releasing some information that people were already well aware of (Tenney and Logan), and some that surprised most...Including an all new face mold!!!

The title of this post is actually slightly misleading, as I'm not going to include all of the new information in this blog. I will write a second blog to include everything I miss in this one, but this post is going to be full enough as it is as I share with you the news, and my excitement about, American Girl's newest historical doll in their BeForever line: Nanea Mitchell! (I swear, Tenney, Logan, Z, Felicity, panties, collections, I'll cover them all in my next post. Cross my heart.) 

Just in case you somehow haven't seen Nanea, brace yourself! Here she comes!

Why, yes. That is a new face mold! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! (Which is exactly how I woke my poor husband up the morning of February 14th. poor guy must really love me to put up with that.) After that initial, extremely enthusiastic, reaction my first thought was that her face mold, a beautiful new face mold, made her look younger than the other girls to me for some reason. This is not a negative, but she just looks so stunningly different than any of the other girls, and her face just looks so sweet and innocent to me!

I was also a bit thrown by her eyes. I don't mind hazel eyes. Several of my favorite people have hazel eyes. Why in the world does every second doll released have to have hazel eyes though? I think Nanea would look amazing with deep brown eyes! In the days since her reveal they have started to grow on me, but I am still considering braving my first eye swap when I get her, just because I think she'd look so damn cute with brown eyes! (But eye swaps scare me a bit, so who knows?)

We can act like she wouldn't look amazing with brown eyes, but we all know that's not true. 

It was last August when I first wrote about Nanea Mitchell being trademarked by American Girl, and at the time all we really knew was that Nanea is a Hawaiian name. Sure enough, Nanea, who is going to be this years historical/BeForever release, hails to us from Hawaii...1941 Hawaii.

I fully admit that this news disappointed me a little at first. One of the things that I've loved about American Girl since I was a child is the history and how it is covered. The 1900s have an extremely generous representation already, and imagining a girl from Hawaii I wasn't hoping for yet another girl from the 1900s, much less a time period already covered by another doll. However, after the initial disappointment, I started really thinking about some of the amazing, and difficult, topics that could be covered by a little girl in Hawaii at the time of Pearl Harbor and our country's entering into World War II. 

It was addressed briefly in Molly's stories how very out of touch much of American was during the War. (When Emily Bennett came to live her family from war torn England and didn't find blackouts as fun as Molly and her brothers did.) Yes, there were hardships, rationing, fear of losing a loved one, but for the most part Americans were safe here on the home front. Blackouts were considered a fun game by many children Molly's age, children who had never actually had to live through the horrors of listening to bombs being dropped onto their cities and homes, children who might never see an actual soldier outside a movie reel or their own family member returning home to them. This would not be the world that Nanea knew growing up in Hawaii. 

Everyone knows that Hawaii was attacked on December, 7, 1941, and from that moment on Hawaii was changed. After the attack by Japan, Japanese-Americans were viewed with everything from suspicion to outright hostility. There were internment camps set up on the mainland where thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans were imprisoned, but due to both the size of Hawaii's Japanese population (around 40% of the population was Japanese-American at the time), and the fact that the economy would have completely collapsed without them, internment camps on the islands were impossible. Instead, all of Hawaii was put under strict martial law within hours of the Pearl Harbor attack. For years the residents of Hawaii lived under the rule of America's military and were forced to see a much more up close and personal reality of war than those living in the rest of the country. (Hawaii was not a state at the time.) 

Nanea will be a chance for the spotlight to be put on a very different, and very difficult, time period than what Molly was experiencing in 1944, and my biggest concern now is that you will get parents who, like they did with Melody, declare that their precious little ones simply aren't old enough to read or learn about such unpleasantness. *stepping on my soapbox for a moment* We are doomed to repeat history if we insist upon acting like it didn't happen, ladies and gentlemen. Look around you. The evidence is very much there. Your children are not to young to learn about the very real history of our country when there are children who were actually forced to live it and come out the other side. Give them more credit than that, and step outside of your comfort zone, because it really isn't your children who can't handle these topics. *stepping down now* 

But, seriously, isn't she pretty?!

American Girl revealed Nanea in a live video on their Facebook, and we also were able to get a sneak peek of her book and what might be some of her accessories. 

By this time last year they had already released Melody's first book, but there is no date that I have heard yet for Nanea's first book release. I can not begin to tell you how frustrating this is to me, but I am trying to be patient and hopeful that it will be soon. As of now, her release date is rumored to be August 24th, which would go along with AGs theme of August BeForever released that last couple of years. At least I know where I'll be on August 24th this year. 

And just because I really can't get enough...

I'll get to those other dolls next time. (The other's have now been covered in their own post.) Just look at Nanea though! 

~Mrs. D

Luciana Vega

Have we talked about this? I am probably behind the times, as usual, but many of the most reliable American Girl leaks come from American Girl themselves...or at least from their trademarks. They have been known, of course, to trademark names that don't get used, however usually if there is a first and last name listed we can assume that we will see that character from AG at some point in the future. 

Back in December of 2016 American Girl entered a trademark for the name Luciana Vega, which is pretty exciting, especially if you are of the mindset that AG is in desperate need of a more diverse pallet of dolls. 

American girl has gone on record saying that they have no plans to end the Girl of the Year line, though we all know how much that means when you're talking about AG. (they were denying the retirement of the Bitty Twins as little as 3 days before they were pulled from the shelves) BUT if this is true it could mean that Luciana will be the GOTY for 2018. A part of me very much doubts this though, since it would mean two dolls of color (DOC) in a row for the GOTY line. Given AG's track record I would believe that only after seeing it...and possibly not even then. 

Luciana could also very easily be the next character in their Contemporary line, a line of modern day dolls with stories that will kick off with the release of Tenney Grant in about 2 weeks. In that case I would expect to see her sometime in 2018. I doubt it would be earlier since there are expected to be at least five dolls already releasing in 2017.

That's right. Five. In addition to Gabriela (2017's GOTY) and Tenney AG is also releasing Logan Everett and the BeForever version of Felicity Merriman this year. The rumor mill also just went crazy with the report that a new BeForever character will be releasing sometime in August 2017. While it is possible that this BeForever character could wind up being Luciana herself, most believe that it will be the mysterious Nanea Mitchell, who was trademarked back in July of 2016. With all of these releases, it seems unlikely that AG would throw yet another doll into the 2017 mix, though their business choices lately have been questionable at best, so who knows? Despite how I feel about AGs recent decisions, I still don't expect to see Luciana until sometime in 2018, be that in GOTY, Contemporary, or BeForever form.

I will, of course, update with any information I manage to dig up.

~Mrs. D 

Latest News & Rumors!

Unless you have been living under a rock, and I'm going to assume that's not so, you know about Tenney and Logan. theagboy on Instagram has some amazing photographs of them both. (I am waiting for permission to share them here, but you can see them on his page now.) Release date for both of them seems to be set for the 17th, (complete with Meet Tenney store events) and there are already several leaks from within the store of their pre set-ups going on in back rooms around the country.

If you are eager to learn more about Tenney's story her first two books and her journal are already available for purchase, and her third book is set to release at a later date. 

  

Tenney and Logan will not be coming home with us, though I plan on taking at least one of the children with me to the store to see them in person and get some photographs for the blog, so keep your eyes open for that. 

Despite the fact that AG is obviously trying to overshadow Gabriela, 2017's GOTY, with Tenney and Logan's release (and that it is absurdly apparent to anyone paying attention that Tenney was their original GOTY plan) AG has said that there will be a release with some of the larger pieces that you expect to see with a GOTY for Gabriela later in the year. Some of the items shared on AGs own Facebook page include a chair with ottoman and a loft bed. Considering we are going to get Gabriela's entire collection as a way to speak with our money, and because she is a truly gorgeous doll with a great story, I'm watching eagerly for images and pricing. I'll share here as soon as I see either.

In the mean time, I highly suggest her first book, and am counting down until the release of her 2nd book in April. (April 25th on Amazon, though it might be available sooner in stores like her 1st book was.)

Speaking of books, February 16th is the release date for the new Felicity BeForever books! Every rumor I've heard says that will also be the day of her BeForever doll's release, though American Girl has not advertised it on their site yet and there are no release events scheduled. 

Rumor also has it that the Felicity doll will be available only at the flagship stores and online, though I am among many in hoping that these are just rumors. Perhaps she will start out there and then be released in more stores as the year progresses. We can all hope.  

In addition to Tenney, Logan, and Felicity (as if that weren't enough), agupdatenews just shared a ton of new outfit leaks also set to release in February. (I am also waiting for permission to post these, but you can see them on her page in the mean time.) I am pretty sure that both our Kit and Rebecca will be getting a special treat here in the coming weeks.

Perhaps the most exciting news, for me anyways, is the rumor that there will be a new BeForever character released sometime in August 2017! I have no more information than that for now, but many are speculating that it might be the mysterious Nanea Mitchell that was trademarked back in July, though another name, Luciana Vega, was also trademarked back in December. You can rest assured that I will post more just as soon as I know it. 

That's all for now! Keep checking back for the latest news, and let me know if there is anything I missed!

~Mrs. D

American Girl at Toys R Us

Breaking news in the American Girl world has some people excited, some dismayed, and leaves me in complete awe at the selfishness and snobbishness that these beautiful dolls, these children's toys, somehow seem to bring out in "grown" women. 

Upon the announcement that Toys R Us would not only be selling Wellie Wisher accessories, but the dolls as well, American Girl forums across the internet absolutely exploded. Reading page after page and thread after thread I saw much of what I had expected. Excitement. Joy. Enthusiasm. Parents expressed happiness that they would now be able to put dolls on layaway, possibly use R Us coupons, and take their children to an actual store to pick out their dolls in person. (Something that is't possible for a large percentage of the population, as there are only 29 stores currently open worldwide and 7 of those are listed as "Temporary Locations".) 

Though we do not yet own a Wellie Wisher, and are still on the fence after seeing them in person, even I was excited about the prospect of these dolls being available at Toys R Us locations. Toys R Us is a bit closer to us than the AG store for one thing. For another, I have several friends who have already contacted me about their excitement that they can shop for their children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. through layaway or on their R Us Rewards card since they already do a large portion of their holiday/event shopping that way. I know one woman in particular who has never been able to buy her daughter a brand new doll and was actually in tears at the thought that she will now be able to get her little girl a brand new, never before owned doll for Christmas. (It's been on her Santa list for 5 years. Five years, people, and it's going to happen now.) A close friend of mine who lives over 6 hours away from her nearest store is already planning a trip to their local Toys R Us to pick out dolls for her son and daughter in person for the first time.  

Of course, as with anything AG related, there were Debbie Downers. There was a surprisingly large (or perhaps not so surprisingly to anyone who has been following the fandom for any length of time) number of mothers who thought this was a terrible thing. I actually read the word "devastating" in regards to toys being sold at Toys R Us. I wish I had real world problems that would allow me to find where Mattel chooses to sell their products as a "devastating" event in my life. I truly do. There were a huge, huge number of women who said that they didn't care if the Wellie Wishers were sold at TRU, because they are just cheapened AG anyways, (which I do happen to agree that the quality is less than I would expect for a $60 doll, but they are still AG) but at least they weren't selling the 18 inch dolls there. That would be over the top. 

The announcement has now been made that, in addition to Wellie Wisher products and dolls, there will be Truly Me dolls coming to TRU Lord help us all, the plastic accessories and doll clothes have really hit the fan now!

 "Well, they probably won't be included in coupons anyways, so don't get your hopes up about being able to afford one." 

"This will cheapen the brand!"

"Now everyone is going to have one!"

"If you can't afford a 'real' AG doll anyways you shouldn't be putting them on layaway."

"It's like having a Porsche! If everyone can get them their value decreases!"

"If you have to put it on layaway you should just get a Walmart doll." 

"My daughter is so distraught that just anyone will be able to buy these now. She says she doesn't even want them anymore." 

"This is just devastating! I've actually shed tears about it. What makes them special now?"

Seriously? Seriously, people. They. Are. Dolls! Yes, they are dolls that many of us longed for as children, pouring over the catalogs and dreaming of putting Felicity to bed and drawing the curtains closed around her 4 poster, of teaching Addy to read using her little chalk and slate, of waiting with Molly for a letter from her father...But isn't that the very reason we should be celebrating this? The fact that there are more little girls out there who will be able to play, and imagine, and dream! (For the record, none of the historicals, BeForever, or Girl of the Years are going to be sold at TRU if being "exclusive" really matters that damn much to you.) When the hell did dolls become some kind of status symbols for mothers?!

Yes, mothers, because make no mistake about it, your daughter or son gives zero figs that every kid on the block now has access to an American Girl doll. As a matter of fact, they'd probably be thrilled to have even more friends they can play along with. No, they don't start caring until you stomp around like a toddler whose been told "no" bemoaning the fact that your child's playroom is no longer "exclusive" and "unique". "Cheapen the brand?" That happened when Pleasant Company was bought out by Mattel. Parent's shouldn't get things for their children if they have to use layaway or credit? I hope that you have paid for everything you've even bought in your life with cash only, including that horse you rode in on. 

I've said before that I, a grown woman and mother, had absolutely no idea how catty other women could be until I dove into the world of American Girl as an adult, (and that being said, I have also met some of the most amazing, supportive, phenomenal women in this world too) but even I've been amazed at the new low some have sunk to in the wake of this announcement. Get over it, and more importantly, yourselves. These are toys meant to bring toys to children. They also bring joy to some adults, but if that joy stops with the thought that "just anyone" can have them now, then you really need to evaluate your life. 

Stepping off the soapbox now, and looking forward to shopping at both the American Girl store and TRU for our dolls in the near future.

~Mrs. D 

Melody Ellison's Release Date!

It's here! It's here! It's finally here! After months of patiently waiting, there is now a release date for Melody Ellison, the next doll in American Girl's Historical/BeForever line!

Okay, so no one from AG has officially said that there is a release date, however Melody's Summer Block Party events have officially been posted on the site! 

Ta-Da! If the events coordinate with the release of Melody, which we have no reason to believe they won't, Miss. Melody will finally arrive August, 26, 2016! I'm giddy! My oldest and I have been looking forward to this for months, counting down even when there was no date to count to, and now it's finally here! An actual date that we can look forward to. I am almost excited enough to pass over the annoying little footnote in the event description...

...almost...

Hey, AG, putting For girls ages 8 and up at the bottom of your events is just ignorant. Boys like AG too. In fact, you have a huge fan base out there consisting of little boys who pour over catalogs, skip happily into stores, count down to doll releases, put accessories on their Christmas lists, etc. Yet you continue to not only ignore them, but to insist that your events are not for them. Is their money not as good? Does it not bother you that there are numerous accounts of encounters in your stores where young boys at these events have been denied the opportunity to participate in crafts or other extras by your employees because "American Girl isn't for boys."? No one is asking that the name of the store be changed to American Kid or anything, but at least acknowledge your entire fan base. 

Who else is excited for Melody? And who has a little boy looking forward to the release? 

AG Rewards

I blogged about some of American Girl's recent trademarks back in May. One of these was something called "AG Rewards". I remember commenting at the time that Mr. D wouldn't be too terribly thrilled about something like that. 

Well, it looks like it's time to break the news to the poor man.

When going to americangirl.com/REWARDS it appears that the ability to sign up isn't live quite yet, but these announcements are going out in new catalogs, so we can assume that it will be soon.

What an amazing thing to pop up shortly before Melody's release! (Any day now, AG. Any day.) 

Who else is excited?

~Mrs. D

The "...And MORE!"

I wrote a post earlier about the Wellie Wishers release. I had planned to highlight some of the other new releases on the American Girl site in the same post, but decided that the Wellie Wishers deserved their own introduction post. And, honestly, these new items deserved their own post too.

For those of you ready for some camping your American Girl is ready right along with you! The largest of these new items is this Adventure Pop-Up Camper that I absolutely dread my own children seeing, because I can tell you with 100% certainty that they will want it!

Of course, you can't go camping without the essentials, and AG has provided those from the tent and campfire to the clothes you need for hiking in the wilderness. Your girls are ready for days of hiking and nights around the campfire with stories and s'mores! 

This release of new items has also seen the arrival of an outfit that leaked over a month ago on Lissie & Lilly. At the time the thought was that these would probably be released in the Fall, but I'm happy to see them a little early. I think these are really cute jammies, and I love that they coordinate with the cute Pomeranian puppy that was released last month! I think we have a couple of dollies that might need these at some point. 

There are also a ton of new Truly Me outfits for both dolls and girls, and American Girl is trying something a little new with them. They are offering these outfits as mix and match pieces that you can buy individually instead of as a full outfit, similar to Girl of the Year Isabelle's individually sold pieces. I've heard mixed opinions on this. Some people are really excited to be able to buy exactly the pieces they want from each outfit, and some people are upset that this comes out to full outfits being more expensive than they usually are when sold as a set. I tend to lean in the direction of the latter opinion. I like the idea of creating your own outfits, but the heftier price tag will cause us to steer clear of them without amazing sales or coupons. Sorry, AG. 

On the other hand, I think some of the new accessories are adorable. (Even knowing that rings get lost faster than pennies!) I particularly like the Brownie Ombre Glasses. I might need those for me. 

AG even tossed out some new releases for the Bitty Babies, maybe to make up for the fact that they are taking away our Twins, that are kind of cute. (Though the zebra/cat looking combo confuses me.)

I don't think it's actually supposed to look like zebra stripes, but it doesn't remind me of a tiger striped kitten either. 

Oh, and we can't forget that the second Melody book and the 3 book boxed set are now available everywhere! That's exciting, even if we still don't know when we'll be able to get our hands on the doll! 

It would take a much longer post to feature all of the new releases, but you can check them out here. Over all I think it was a pretty exciting day for American Girl fans. I know my little fans are excited. Mommy might be too. 

~Mrs. D 

 *All images in this post came from the American Girl website*