American Girl Facebook Chat with Erin Pitt

On July 29 2014, American Girl held a chat on their official Facebook page with Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight star Erin Pitt (who played Girl of the Year Isabelle Palmer). Erin stated in the chat that she was doing it from her home in Canada.

The questions began at 8pm and Erin started answering them quickly. Here are some of the questions she answered and her answers to them. This is only about half of the questions. The answers are written exactly how she wrote them however the questions may have been edited to correct English grammar or shorten them to get to the point.
Q: How long have you been a dancer?
A: I've been dancing since I was 2 years old - 13 years!
Q: What state are you from?
A: I'm not from a state, I'm from Toronto, Canada!
Q: Do you have a pet?
A: I do have a pet - a water frog Lellow and a dog named Chanel!
Q: How long have you been dancing and do you really enjoy sewing?
A: I do enjoy sewing? I make a lot of my clothes actually!
Q: What have you made and do you plan on learning how to quilt?
A: I would love to learn how to quilt!
Q: What was the hardest part of the movie?
A: The hardest part of the movie - messing up my pirouettes.
Q: What was your favorite scene?
A: My favorite scene - the dance off!
Q: Do you like Miley Cyrus?
A: Miley Cyrus is a very talented artist!
Q: How do you like inspiring little girls everywhere to be confident and follow their dreams?
A: I love inspiring girls by being a role model for the,!
Q: What level dancer are you?
A: I'm in Level Elle in Vaganova Ballet
Q: Do you sing?
A: I do know how to sing. I take lessons and am trained classically/
Q: Can anyone take ballet and any suggestions about beginning lessons?
A: Anyone can take ballet, as long as you love it because it's hard work!
Q: What is your favorite style of dance?
A: My favorite style of dance is contemporary, but I love all styles!
Q: Do you have an Isabelle doll?
A: I do have an Isabelle doll!
Q: Do you do any other sports?
A: No, I don't do any other sports. I'd love to try lacrosse, but I'm too busy!
Q: How long did it take to film the movie?
A: It took 6 weeks to film the movie, including 2 weeks of rehearsals.
Q: What is your favorite AG film?
A: My favorite AG film - I like them all!
Q: It that your real hair in the movie?
A: In the movie, it's mostly my real hair but I did get extensions to make it look fuller!
Q: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
A: I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters!
Q: What are your favorite colors?
A: My favorite colors are turquoise, pink and yellow!
Q: Are you close with your movie family?
A: Yes, I'm very close with my movie family. I talk to them almost every day!
Q: Do you like One Direction?
A: I do like One Direction! I'm going to their concert on Friday :)
Q: Have you been in the Nutcracker?
A: I have been in the Nutcracker! I was Clara.
Q: Was it fun leaning the BFF jam?
A: It was super fun learning the BFF jam!
Q: Did you really dye your hair pink?
A: My hair is naturally blonde, but the pink highlights were extensions.
Q: What was your favorite outfit?
A: My favorite outfit would have to be the dance off outfit and I also loved the snowflake costume!
Q: When is your birthday?
A: My birthday is September 22, 1999. I'll be 15!
Q: Do you ever feel like Isabelle?
A: I do sometimes feel like Isabelle and unconfident, but then I pull myself together!
Q: Do you have an interest in acting or did you do it just because it was a dance movie?
A: I have an interest in acting - I've wanted to be an actress since I was 6.
Q: Do you do gymnastics?
A: I don't do gymnastics. Dance is my true love!
Q: Do you have any AG dolls?
A: I only have Isabelle, but if I could have another American Girl doll, it would be another GOTY!
Q: Do you think you pass as a 9 year old?
A: I think I passed as a 9-year-old... a lot of people ask me if I'm that young.
Q: Where did you learn to dance?
A: I learned to dance at many different studio in Canada.
Q: Was it easy to play Isabelle?
A: It was easy to play Isabelle because I could relate to her in many ways.
Q: What other actress or actor would you want to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with Rachel McAdams, she's a great actress!
Q: I know you do ballet but are you on pointe?
A: Yes, I've been on pointe for 5 years!
Q: What is your favorite school subject?
A: My favorite subject in school is science. My least favorite is history.
Q: Who is your role model?
A: My role model is my mom!
Q: Have you been on a tv show?
A: I've been in Camp Rock 2 [as a junior rocker] and another movie called Against the Wild, as well as many Canadian tv shows.
Q: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
A: Favorite ice cream flavor... I can't have dairy so I love lemon sorbet. If I could eat it, probably mint chocolate chip!
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: In my free time, I love hanging out with my friends and sewing.
Q: When did you first hear of American Girl?
A: I first heard of American Girl when I was 11 and started watching the movies.
Q: How long have you been acting?
A: I've been a professional actor since I was 9.
Q: Were the dances hard to learn?
A: The dance moves weren't hard for me to learn because I had such great choreographers.
Q: What is your favorite song from the movie?
A: My favorite song from the movie is You Are Your Own Star!
Q: What is your favorite holiday?
A: My favorite holiday is Christmas!
Q: Do you like Broadway?
A: I love Broadway musicals... my favorite is Mama Mia
Q: What is your favorite thing about Isabelle?
A: I loved how Isabelle pulled herself together to achieve great things and found her own way to shine!
Q: What is your favorite Isabelle doll outfit?
A: My favorite outfit for Isabelle is the one she comes in.
Q: Do you have any of the McDonalds set?
A: I don't have the McDonald's set, but AG is going to send them to me!
Q: Is it fun to go to a performing arts school?
A: Going to a performing arts school is fun! Everything revolves around the arts.
Q: Did you get to keep your outfits from the movie?
A: No, I didn't get to keep the Isabelle outfits I wore in the movie.

Many of the questions were repeated over and over by people who obviously weren't seeing what other people were asking. Questions like how old she was or if she liked Isabelle were asked constantly despite Erin already answering them. Another thing was people asking questions that could easily be googled, like where she is from, how old she is, how many siblings she has, etc. Chats like this should be used to ask questions that can't be easily found on the internet.

On the bright-side, Erin seemed to answer more freely than the author Lawrence Yep who had a chat several months ago. Even though she seemed less controlled, her answers to questions were pretty typical and weren't very interesting. Honestly the most interesting thing I learned was that she can't have dairy and that's not exactly super interesting or exciting to learn.

American Girl Authors Summer Book Tours

This summer many of the AG authors will be doing tours to many of the AG stores to promote their book series. Each author will be listed with their schedules and what girl(s) they wrote for below. All events are at the AG stores in the cities listed. Also, the DC store is actually in Virginia (just an FYI).

Most events are from 11am-1pm or 11:30am-1:30pm but check the AG website here to double check. Some places are also offering brunch with the offer so check to see if that is available too. I wish Valerie Tripp was coming to the DC store but I think I'm going to try to go to Lawrence Yep's and maybe Sarah Masters Buckley, too.

Sarah Masters Buckley (Maire-Grace books)
Atlanta - June 22
Washington DC - June 26
NYC - June 27
Boston - June 28

Kathleen Ernst (Caroline books)
NYC - June 6

Jacqueline Dembar Greene (Rebecca books)
Columbus - June 19
Chicago - June 20
Minneapolis - June 21
Kansas City - June 22

Megan McDonald (Julie books)
Minneapolis - June 8

Denise Lewis Patrick (Cecile books)
Denver - June 7

Valerie Tripp (Molly, Kit, Josefina, Felicity, and Samantha)
San Fransico - June 29
Seattle - June 30

Lawrence Yep (Mia and Isabelle)
Washington DC - June 13
Dallas - June 19
Houston - June 20

American Girl Online Chat with Author

On Wednesday May 22, 2014 at 8/7c American Girl hosted a "chat" with author Lawrence Yep who wrote both Girl of the Year Mia and Isabelle's book series.

AG held the chat on their Facebook page. It was not very clear prior to the beginning of the chat how we would be able to chat with Mr. Yep. I got on and went to the the AG page, hoping they had clearer directions for the chat. A few minutes after 8pm, AG began the chat.

You just posted a comment on this picture and Lawrence Yep answered from the AG account. People generally asked the same Isabelle-related questions. I eventually figured out that refreshing the page every few minutes was more beneficial than every few seconds; the chat was pretty slow. 

My biggest complaint was that it seemed like AG was controlling which questions Yep did or did not answer. Several people asked how he felt about AG getting rid of the only historical Asian doll (Yep is of Asian descent) and Yep never answered those questions. He also ignored another question about on of Isabelle's friend's original nationality. Several people (including myself) asked how to become AG authors and he ignored those questions. 

Yep will be doing a AG book tour this summer, as will many other AG authors (I will make a separate post for their information). I am considering attending the one at the DC store (the store is really in Virginia, just FYI)

Yep's schedule -

NYC store - May 30

DC store - June 13

Dallas store - June 19
Houston store - June 20

American Girl retiring 4 dolls and bringing 1 back?

Today (May 20, 2014) American Girl announced that they are retiring four of their historical dolls: Ruthie (Kit's friend), Marie Grace & Cecile, and Ivy (Julie's friend). Normally entire collections are retired (Molly, Felicity, etc.) so this is a new concept.

I don't believe Ruthie was very popular so that is probably why she's getting the boot. She's cute and all but she doesn't have very much of a collection or anything. She only has pajamas and a holiday dress besides the actual doll.

Ivy is the only Asian-American historical doll so I would think that AG is going to be creating a new Asian-American historical doll. There still will be the MyAG Asian dolls but usually the historical dolls have a range of races (white, African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic-American) so AG will need a new Asian doll/character for their historical dolls.

Marie-Grace and Cecile getting pulled already is very odd. They were introduced in 2011 (around August) so they haven't even been around for a full three years. Personally, I didn't see very many getting sold at the store I worked so my guess is that they weren't selling like AG thought they would. I didn't feel the interest in learning their stories like I did with most of the other AG historical dolls. They didn't have a cool time period like Felicity, Addy or Molly or a cool story/series like Kaya or Kit. They were just kind of... there and plain.

Although I am not very interested in any of these dolls, I will probably go to the store and see if any of their stuff interests me enough to buy it. I'm falling into AG's marketing trap and doing what AG wants people to do when things get retired (go buy it before it's gone).

Samantha is coming out of the archives sometime this year so that will probably cause a big rush. She definitely was popular before AG took her off the shelves in 2009. Samantha's "year" is 1904 which means if she was 10 years old during her series, it'd be her "100th birthday" this year. I doubt that's why AG is bringing her back but I also think it's a little too big of a coincidence to ignore. I have heard rumors that her "friend" Nellie will not be returning with Samantha though...

I will update this blog or post if there is any more big news regarding the retirements/returns of any dolls.

The Historical American Girl Book Series

For years, each historical doll had the same book title with only the girl's name changed, but the newer AG dolls (like Julie, Marie-Grace/Cecile and Caroline) have been given different book titles. Kaya also has some different book titles, I believe that's due to the fact she was not living in a colony/town and her story was so different than any other AG.

Each book has a page or two in the front displaying each (main) character and a little description of their personality under their picture. In the back of the book (after the story), there is a historical summary of the time with pictures, going into detail that wasn't necessarily relevant to include in the story. Often there is a "sneak peak" of the next book in the series, meaning there are two-four pages, usually of the first chapter of the next book.

Each girl had a "Meet ____" book as their first book in their six-book series. The "Meet ___" books would usually be about introducing the girl, her family and friends, and her situation/historical time period. The second book would be titled "_____ Learns a Lesson". Each girl usually gets into trouble for something like being too adventurous, not lady-like enough, not following directions, etc. The next book would be "______'s Surprise" and is usually centered around the holidays and the girl getting some sort of unexpected present or outing. The fourth book would be "Happy Birthday ___". Every AG doll's birthday is in the spring. I suppose they did this for the ease of continuity and being able to continue each series like the ones before. Every girl ends up getting a pet for their birthday (usually a puppy).The fifth book would be "_____ Saves the Day" which is fairly self-explanatory; each girl would do something to save someone or some kind of event/celebration they were at or hosting. The final book in each series would be "Changes for ____" in which something would happen that basically wrapped up the story for each girl. The only two titles that are consistent over every series is "Meet ___" and "Changes for ____" (except for Marie-Grace/Cecile but their series is just weird in general because they share it). [Girls who did not have a "typical series" are listed at the end of this post.]

Each historical girl who has a prominent and consistent friend would have a book for their friend too. Julie's friend Ivy has her own book that comes with the Ivy doll, "Good Luck Ivy". Molly's friend Emily has "Brave Emily". "Nellie's Promise" comes with Samantha's friend Nellie. Felicity's friend Elizabeth comes with "Very Funny Elizabeth!". Kit's friend Ruthie has "Really Truly Ruthie".

Recently, the historical girls have been getting mystery books. They're geared for higher-level reading, with less pictures and longer chapters. Kaya, Josefina, Kirsten, and Addy have one mystery book each. I was a little surprised that Kirsten even had one since she's been gone (retired) for so long. Caroline has two. Felicity, Marie-Grace and Cecile, and Molly each have three (although Marie-Grace has two and Cecile has one technically).Samantha and Julie each have four. Samantha and Kit lead with five.

Girls who don't have a "typical series"
Kaya -
"Meet Kaya"
"Kaya's Escape" instead of "Kaya Learns a Lesson"
"Kaya's Hero" instead of "Kaya's Surprise"
'Kaya and the Lone Dog" instead of "Happy Birthday Kaya"
"Kaya Shows the Way" instead of "Kaya Saves the Day" (same idea though)
"Changes for Kaya"

Caroline -
"Meet Caroline"
"Caroline's Secret" instead of "Caroline Learns a Lesson"
"A Surprise for Caroline" (I don't know why they wouldn't just use "Caroline's Surprise.)
"Caroline Takes a Chance" instead of "Happy Birthday Caroline"
"Caroline's Battle" instead of "Caroline Saves the Day"
"Changes for Caroline"

Marie-Grace and Cecile - [I would like to state that I have not read any of these girls books so I do not know which books are supposed to be in place of the "typical" books.]
"Meet Marie-Grace"
"Meet Cecile"
"Marie-Grace and the Orphans"
"Cecile's Gift"
"Marie-Grace Makes a Difference"
"Troubles for Cecile"

Rebecca -
"Meet Rebecca"
"Rebecca and Ana" instead of "Rebecca Learns a Lesson"
"Candlelight for Rebecca" instead of "Rebecca's Surprise"
"Rebecca and the Movies" instead of "Happy Birthday Rebecca"
"Rebecca to the Rescue" instead of "Rebecca Saves the Day" (again, same concept, different wording)
"Changes for Rebecca"

Julie -
"Meet Julie"
"Julie Tells Her Story" instead of "Julie Learns a Lesson"
"Happy New Year Julie" instead of 'Julie's Surprise"
"Julie and the Eagles" instead of "Happy Birthday Julie" (her birthday is still celebrated in this book)
"Julie's Journey" instead of "Julie Saves the Day"
"Changes for Julie"

UPDATE - after the launch of AG BeForever brand, the dolls each have three books.I believe they are the same as the original six but now they are put into the first two books. The third book for each doll is called a Journey book and is about a girl of the present time getting transported back into the time of her doll (ie Kaya, Kit, Samantha, etc). 

Kaya -
"The Journey Begins"
"Smoke on the Wind"
"The Roar of the Falls"

Caroline -
"Captain of the Ship"
"Facing the Enemy"
"Catch the Wind"

Josefina -
"Sunlight and Shadows"
"Second Chances"
Josefina does not have a Journey book

Addy -
"Finding Freedom"
"A Heart Full of Hope"
"A New Beginning"

Samantha -
"Manners and Mischief"
"Lost and Found"
"The Lilac Tunnel"

Rebecca -
"The Sound of Applause"
"Lights, Camera, Rebecca!"

Kit -
"Read All About It"
"Things Turn Around"
"Full Speed Ahead"

Maryellen -
"The One and Only"
"Taking Off"
"The Sky's the Limit"

Julie -
"The Big Break"
"Soaring High"
"A Brighter Tomorrow"

American Girl Doll Face Molds

Author's note: I am only identifying each mold and which historical/Girl of the Year each mold was used for. If you have a Look Like Me/My AG doll, feel free to post a description or email me (americangirlemployee@gmail.com) a picture/description and I will tell you which mold was used!

American Girl dolls don't just have different hair colors and styles/eye color, their faces are actually molded in different ways. In total there are eight face molds. I have written a little description below the pictures of each version. The historical dolls are posted with each explanation and the GOTYs are at the end of the post.

The Classic face mold was used on the historical dolls Felicity, Caroline, Kirsten, Samantha, Kit, Ruthie, Molly and Emily. This mold is the most often used on the Girl of the Year dolls (Lindsey, Kailey, Nicki, Mia, Gwen, Lanie, Saige and Isabelle). The doll is considered to have "Caucasian characteristics" so it has never been used on a doll with dark skin, although it was used on Sonali who is of Indian descent. Some of the characteristics are the nose is upturned and thin, chubby cheeks and thin lips.

The Addy face mold has only been used for Addy, no GOTYs. Her nose is wider and she has fuller cheeks to fit with "African characteristics". This mold has never been used on dolls with light skin.

The Asian mold was only used for the doll Just Like You 4. She was supposed to look "East Asian" with thin, titled eyes and a slightly wider nose than the Classic but not as wide as the Addy or Sonali molds. This is the only mold to be "retired" from the American Girl face molds.

The Josefina mold's nose was different, again thinner than the Addy mold but wider than the Classic. Her lips are also fuller and her eyes are more oval than the other face molds. Josefina mold's chin is different than the other molds too; it is longer and sharper. Her head is actually a different shape too, so some glasses do not fit on her head correctly. The historical dolls with Josefina mold are Josefina, Nellie, Elizabeth, Julie and Rebecca. The GOTYs are Marisol, Chrissa and McKenna.

Kaya's face mold is the only one not to show her teeth. According to the Nez Perce (Nimipuu) Indians believe that showing teeth shows agression, so Kaya does not show her teeth. She is the only American Girl doll with this feature; there are not any other historical, GOTY, or Look Like Me/MyAG dolls without teeth. Kaya's nose is the second widest (after Addy) and in general, is very similar to the Josefina mold. Kaya had a little dimple in her chin.

The Jess mold was used for Ivy (but her eyes were specially altered for her version) and the GOTYs Jess and Kanani. The Jess mold has almond shaped eyes, the mouth is opened slightly wider and the face is a little shorter and rounder than the other molds. The chin is more pointed as well.

The Sonali mold was used first for Sonail, then the historical girl Cecile. The mold is shaped very similiarly to the Josefina mold and the nose is wider than the Classic, but smaller than the Addy. The ears on the doll are different than the other molds. The ears are flatter and less defined. Originally, this mold was going to be used for GOTY Mia.

The most recent mold created is Marie-Grace's. Like Kaya, she is the only one out of all the dolls with this face. She has a more shallow and rounded jaw line. Again, it is very similar to the Josefina mold.

GOTY pictures
Classic -

Josefina -

Jess -

Sonali -

AG Customers

American Girl customers are interesting but they can be defined into basically two categories: demanding and understanding. Customers can be very demanding. I guess that’s understandable with the price they are paying for some of the doll things, but some people get a little out of hand and managers have to be called in.

One thing AG does not do is sell things directly off the dolls, meaning we cannot take things off of the displays and sell them. It cannot and will not be done, but most customers will not take that as a final answer. I had one man come in around Thanksgiving and he wanted the gymnastics set. We were sold out of it and I explained that to him. This man tried to guilt me into it by saying that he had just gotten back from deployment overseas and this was the one thing his daughter wanted. When I explained again that I couldn't sell it off the display he got quite angry and asked for a manager but left before the manager came out. I had a mom do that too, where she saw this furry shrug and really wanted one but we were sold out of the holiday set (what it came in). She became very angry and pointed out that there were at least three upstairs on display and they weren't actually being "used" and her daughter could physically play with it, unlike the dolls. She demanded to see a manager and argued with them about it too, but we can't sell things from the displays, so she didn't get one.

I understand that people want what they came for but if we don’t have it, we can’t magically sell what we don’t have. I have had people send me back into the stock room multiple times just to check “one more time” for whatever they want. I know it is disappointing to go somewhere and they don't have what you want, but no matter how many times I check, your desired item will not magically show up the fifth time I check. Believe me, I want to give you what you want, but sometimes we just don’t have it. Especially when it’s one of the Truly Me dolls that we don’t have, I know that can be the most disappointing.

At the register, people can get a little ridiculous about their transactions. I had one man who had three girls with him do five transactions for everything. It was so unnecessary because he paid for every transaction (none of the girls used their own money/giftcards) so they didn't even have the excuse that each girl was using their own money for their transactions. Some kids pay for their own stuff which is great but when parents insist on paying for each kid individually, it’s annoying and pointless.

Some customers are actually really nice when you tell them that you don’t have what they want. They usually are the people who have had experience in customer service or some kind of store. I had one woman tell me that she thought everyone should have to work in a store during the holidays to see what it’s like. Sometimes, especially closer to Christmas, people would wish the cashiers “good luck” for the right before Christmas and post-Christmas rush.

AG workers are supposed to ask all the customers if they need help or ask if we can do anything for them. Sometimes I hear people asking someone they came with about AG things and when I ask if they have a question, they say they're fine. That drives me a little crazy because even though I just heard them ask a question, they say that they don't need any help or have a question. I just don't quite understand why they do that; I can help them but they say they don't need help even though I know they need help. 

Many of the customers act very pretentious and assume that the AG workers should do anything and everything they ask/demand. Some customers have the workers follow them around and carry what they want to buy, like the workers are paid to be servants. We have reusable shopping bags for customers to carry unpaid merchandise for a reason. One man got so angry at the store in general that his wife had to take him out of the store after he blew up at me. They didn't come back in until after my shift was over so I'm not sure what exactly happened to that family. 

You never know what kind of customer you will get but you have to be prepared for any type of person. The best thing to do is greet everyone the same with a smile and a happy "Hi!" or "Can I help you find anything?" People can be rude, but you have to remember that they will only be talking to you for about five minutes,at most.