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Young Women of Color in Mattel’s American Girl(s) series:
Addy: Addy Walker was the fifth Historical Character of the American Girls, representing the Enslavement and Civil War Era. Addy’s series of books was released in Fall 1993.
Josefina: Josefina Montoya was the sixth of the Historical Characters of the American Girl Dolls, representing the history of New Mexico under Mexican Rule (prior to ownership by the United States after the Mexican-American War). Josefina was introduced to the American Girls Collection in September 1997.
Kaya: Kaya’aton’my was the eighth Historical Character of the American Girls, representing early Native America. Kaya was released in 2002. Her stories are set prior to permanent settlement of the area by Caucasians. The stories are post-Western contact, as evidenced by the fact the tribe has horses and her grandmother has pock-marks from prior contact that has led to disease.
Cécile: Cécile Rey was the eleventh Historical Character of the American Girls, representing 1850s New Orleans. Cécile was released in 2011 along with Marie-Grace Gardner.
Ivy: Ivy Ling was the fourth Best Friend released; she is the “Best Friend” of Julie Albright. Ivy Ling (nicknamed “Poison Ivy” by Julie) is a ten-year-old Chinese-American girl who wants to make her family proud. She loves gymnastics and hates to mess up in front of a crowd. Although Ivy seems to have a deep connection to her Chinese heritage, Chinese school is somewhat boring to her and she doesn’t like to eat Chinese food every single day. But by the end of her book, Good Luck, Ivy, Ivy learns the value of having Chinese background.
Marisol: Marisol Luna was the third Girl of the Year doll released by the American Girl Doll company. She was released in 2005. Marisol Luna is a Latina girl who, at the start of the book, lives in Pilsen which is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. She lives with her father and mother in the very Latino-influenced neighborhood. She is bitterly disappointed when they choose to move away from her neighborhood to Des Plaines, a suburb. Not only will she be leaving her home, but her new neighborhood does not have a dance studio for her to practice at.
Kannai: Kanani Akina is the ninth Girl of the Year released by the American Girl Doll company. She was released in 2011. Kanani is a ten-year-old girl living on Kaua’i, the geologically oldest island of Hawai’i. She helps her family run a popular shave ice shop and is passionate about helping people by sharing the Aloha spirit and protecting Hawaiian wildlife, such as the Hawaiian monk seal. She has a rooster named Jinx, a dog named Barksee, and a goat named Mochi.
Jess: Jess Akiko McConnell was the fourth Girl of the Year released by the American Girl Doll company. She was released in 2006 and is of Japanese-Scottish descent. Jess Akiko McConnell is the ten-year-old daughter of two archaeologists fro
The last American Girl of my era was Kaya. A teacher gave me one of the Addy books for my birthday, and I wanted an Addy & Joesphina doll sooooo bad. My mom was not into paying $100 for a toy. She did, however, get me every last book.