Content area
Full Text
Felicity, Josefina, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Kit, and Molly. Seven- to twelve-year-old readers (and their parents) know them as American Girls, the heroines of books that are among the most popular introductions to American history for children. As of the spring of 2001, over 60 million American Girl books had been sold. For all of the attention given to Harry Potter, it is noteworthy that novels featuring the young wizard had been outsold by these works of historical fiction. (Girls rule!) American children evidently crave more than fantasy.1
The books introduce young readers to the American past, from pre-Revolutionary Williamsburg to World War II. Felicity lives in Virginia in 1774. Josefina lives in New Mexico in the 1820's. Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant, settles in Minnesota in 1854. Addy escapes from slavery to freedom during the Civil War. Samantha, an orphan, witnesses the pros and cons of technological change in the early twentieth century. Kit struggles through the Great Depression after her father loses his job. Molly lives on the home front during World War II.
Though written for children, the American Girl books are worth taking seriously, in part because of their very success. The books are the way in which millions of young readers are introduced to many aspects of the nation's past. Further, it merits attention that millions of young readers are being introduced to the American past at all.
There is an unvarying pattern to the books: six for each Girl. The titles in each series are identical, save for the Girl's name. Book one is Meet [Felicity or Josefina or Kirsten, etc.], followed in succession by - Learns a Lesson,-'s Surprise, Happy Birthday, -, - Saves the Day, and Changes for -. While one result is to make the books seem formulaic, the purpose is to allow readers to read not only the books of a particular Girl straight through, but also to read the school or birthday or Christmas books of every character, if they wish, directly comparing one era with another (Meet Valerie Tripp). At the end of each book is a section called "A Peek into the Past" that elaborates on the historical setting, events, and figures of the period.
The American Girls are the brainchildren of Pleasant Rowland....