American Girl began creating Girl of the Year (GOTY) in 2001. The first GOTY was Lindsey Bergman. She began selling in mid-2001 and was retired in mid-2002. Unfortunately, there was a lack of sales for Lindsey and there was not a new GOTY for 2002. American Girl tried reintroducing GOTY again in 2003 with Kailey Hopkins. She was sold from 2003 to mid-2004, with no replacement GOTY in 2004. After Kailey, all GOTYs sell for their one year, beginning on New Year's day and going until supplies run out or New Year's Eve (whichever comes first).
Lindsey is a Jewish girl who loves to help but sometimes helping others can get her into trouble. Her book includes her brother's Bar Mitzvah and her attempts to help others. Lindsey didn't have much of a collection, mainly just a laptop and scooter. Lindsey was the only Jewish American Girl until Rebecca Rubin in 2009. Due to Lindsey's lack of sales, it is difficult to find her for sale.
Kailey lives in California and loves to swim and surf. Kailey and her friends fight to save the tide-pools near her house from developers. Kailey had a little more of a collection than Lindsey. Kailey had a wet suit and bikini set, dog (named Sandy), boogie board, and a snorkel set.
Marisol is an avid dancer who moves to a suburb without a dance studio. Her book caused a little controversy when a passage from her book painted a real town as an "unsafe" place and upset the residents. Marisol was the first GOTY to have a starter collection. She had four dance outfits: tap, ballet, spotlight, and jazz. Her accessories are a stage and tiara, her dance duffel bag including her cat, and her silver trunk.
Jess goes to Belize with her parents who are archaeologists. She is home schooled and is in 4th grade. Jess goes on adventures with her new friend from Belize and they foster a parrot. Together the girls find historical treasure. Jess is the first multiracial doll (Scottish-Irish and Japanese-American parents). She is also the first doll whose story takes place outside of the US. Jess is also the first GOTY doll to have an official middle name (Akiko). Jess' collection includes a 2-in-1 kayak outfit, pajamas, travel accessories, kayak, motor scooter, and a tree swing.
Nicki lives with her parents and brother but her mom is pregnant with twins so Nicki has to help out a lot more around the house and ranch where they raise pigs. Nicki has to train a service dog that her mother was supposed to train before becoming pregnant. Nicki must learn to balance school, family, chores, planning a gala, and training a dog. She also enjoys art and skiing. When Nicki's mom finally has the twins, Nicki gets to name them and she chooses Rebecca and Kristine (after her two best friends). Nicki is the first GOTY to have more than one book. She also had a lot of items in her collection: ski outift, ranch outfit, tie top and shorts, gala outfit, ski gear, straw hat, horse tack box, Jackson the horse, and a dog-in-training.
Mia is the youngest in her family of four kids and has three older brothers who all play hockey. Mia used to play hockey but really wants to be a figure skater even though her brothers tease her endlessly about it. She must learn to be herself and get along with her "enemy" Vanessa who is also a figure skater. Most of Mia's collection is skating related. She has a silver skate dress, practice outifit (comes with skates), performance outfit, 2-in-1 skate outfit, pajamas, accessories, hair clips and case, purple skates, bedroom accessories, bedroom furniture, and an ice rink. Mia was the only doll to get her own PC game. Like Nicki, Mia has two books. Almost all of Mia's collection had sold out by mid-December of 2008.
Chrissa deals with bullying. She moves to be closer to her grandmother who raises mini-llamas and spins their hair into yarn. Chrissa has two "companion dolls" and is the only GOTY to have companion dolls. They are her two friends, Gwen (a homeless classmate) and Sonali (a former class bully). One of Chrissa's gtandmother's llamas give birth and Chrissa names the new baby llama "Starburst". Chrissa was the first GOTY to get a movie (direct to DVD). She has a large collection consisting of a warm-up set, swim team gear, sundress, pajamas, snow outfit, pet llama, party treats, party table, craft studio, and snow gear. Chrissa had a device called the "Chrissa's IM-Me for Girls" which was a keyboard and base that allowed instant messaging. The device was owned by Mattel (parent company of American Girl).
2010 - Lanie Holland
Lanie loves nature and self-proclaimed scientist, keeping a notebook full of facts and notes. She likes to incorporate scientific words into her everyday vocabulary. When she grows up, Lanie would like to research deep in jungles and being an expert scientist. Lanie's collection had a lot of outfits; she had a butterfly outfit, garden outfit, nightgown and stuffed orangutan, red tee, blue tee, green tee. white tee, and nature outfit. She also had accessories, a camper and gear, hammock, raccoon and can, wildlife set, and a nature set.
Kanani is a native of Hawaii who loves to share the aloha spirit. She is an animal lover and has several pets. Her parents own a shaved ice shop which Kanani helps out at. Kanani is the second GOTY to be multiracial (her parents are Japanese-Hawaiian and French-German). Unlike previous American Girl books, Kanani's books are written in third person. She has the longest hair of any American Girl doll (it goes down to her to her mid-thigh but has some curls and waves so it's actually longer than it looks!). Like Kailey who lived near the ocean too, most of Kanani's clothes and accessories are beach/island-related. She has a beach outfit, aloha outfit, a luau set, pajamas, party outfit, accessories which includes her pet dog, paddleboard, monk seal, shaved ice stand, lounge chair, and ukulele.
McKenna is a gymnast in Seattle, WA who really wants to become an Olympic gymnast. She struggles in school and has two younger twin sisters (Mara and Maisey). McKenna had a movie called "McKenna Shoots for the Stars" which was released July 3, 2012. McKenna is the only doll to have something that was not generally available; her warm-up outfit was only available with purchase of her starter collection. Understandably, a lot of McKenna's items were related to gymnastics. She had a practice wardrobe, pajamas, school outfit, fancy outfit, performance outfit, accessories, her dog Cooper, rain gear, cast and crutches, gymnastics beam and bar, bed, and team gear.
Saige loves art and horseback riding and is very upset when her school decides to cut the art program due to lack of funding. She is creative and full of ideas but hates public speaking which is what she needs to do to find funds for the art program. Saige must also learn how to deal with her friend's new friends who she doesn't really get along with. She is the first GOTY to get a mini doll (like the Historical American Girls). Saige also had a movie called "Saige Paints the Sky" which is also the name of her second book. Saige had a sparkly dress, parade outfit, pajamas, sweater outfit, tunic outfit, accessories, dog, hot air balloon, horse, parade saddle, parade hat and helmet, painting set, and a picnic set.
Isabelle is a ballerina who lives in Washington DC and goes to Anna Hart School of the Arts with her older sister. Isabelle likes to make dance costumes and has a lot of anxiety during her first year at her new dance school. She is the first GOTY to have three books and is also the first to have an app. She also has a movie although is hasn't been released yet or been given a release date. Its title is "Isabelle Dances into the Spotlight" and is supposed to be based on her three books. Isabelle's collection is extremely different from an American Girl doll, GOTY or Historical or My AG, in the fact most of her clothes are sold in single pieces to mix and match. She has pajamas, a performance set, coral sweater, rosette leotard, wrap sweater, purple leotard, practice top, dance skirt, funky leggings, sparkly skort, scrunch pants, tutu, legwarmers, accessories, kitten, dance case, studio (when it's open, it's where she makes her clothes and when you close it, it looks like a dance studio wall with mirrors and barre), and a dance barre.
love the blog
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that McKenna and Kanani both had apps before Isabelle!!! But awesome blog!!!!
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