2026 isn’t just the Year of the Horse (which Felicity Merriman would love) it’s also the 40th anniversary of American Girl. Whether you grew up playing with the dolls, reading the stories, or perusing The Care and Keeping of You (a seminal text for all millennial women), the American Girl brand holds a special place in the hearts of girls of all ages. Fans of the brand know that the toy line never felt like it was just trying to sell another doll, they were attempting to foster community and share stories of other empowered girls. Through the tales of characters like Samantha, Addy, Molly, Kaya, Julie, and others, many girls encountered one of their first forms of feminist awakening.
For 2026, Mattel—which acquired American Girl’s original home, Pleasant Company, in 1998—has planned several surprises to celebrate the brand’s ruby anniversary. These have already included a doll line that reimagines classic characters in the modern era, a relaunch of the original eight dolls, and an upcoming novel for adults that continues Samantha Parkington’s story, set in 1920s New York City. This May will welcome American Girl’s next offering: The Making of American Girl, a book dedicated to honoring the brand’s legacy.
The book is sure to be a hit among fans of the brand, and anyone who values and celebrates the inherent knowledge that comes with girlhood. The text begins at the very beginning of the American Girl story, with Pleasant Company founder Pleasant Rowland, who longed for a doll she could give her nieces that reflected the strides of the feminist movement. Faced with limited options (primarily baby dolls or dolls with unrealistic body proportions) Rowland set out to create something better for the girls in her life and beyond.
Featuring archival sketches, notes, documents, and ephemera from the early conception of the brand, The Making of American Girl traces each step in the creation of the beloved characters we know today. Most importantly, the dolls were never meant to stand alone, the books were always central to the heart of the company. As the text makes clear, Rowland recognized not only a lack of meaningful dolls, but also a lack of representation of girls’ stories in textbooks and children’s literature. In response, she developed a research team and advisory board to craft characters such as Addy Walker, Kaya (Kaya’aton’my), and Josefina Montoya, figures whose stories expanded what girlhood could look like.
If that isn’t enough to sell you, longtime fans will be thrilled to find that the book also includes archival fabric swatches from six original characters’ wardrobes, early catalog development layouts (yes, that catalog we were all circling through every holiday season), detailed timelines of the original six characters’ development complete with early designs and story ideas, and documentation of the creation of American Girl Magazine, a publication shaped directly by girls through letters to Rowland.
The Making of American Girl is a must-read not only for fans of the brand, but for anyone invested in studying and celebrating the creativity, knowledge, and world-building that emerge from girlhood, and in recognizing those forces as central to imagining more just futures.
