“The story you are about to read is about how one woman broke every rule in the male-dominated toy industry … and built an empire that would forever change the culture of girlhood in America.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find any millennial who hasn’t heard of American Girl.
As a child, I poured over the yearly magazines, learning as much as I could about these semi-fictional worlds. We never had money for an American Girl Doll – but gosh dang was I enamored by the whole shebang.
The beautifully made dolls with their seasonal outfits and multi-faceted accessories – from lunch boxes to furniture to treehouses! The surprisingly robust historical fiction stories that taught thousands of girls about their ancestors, and the ever-expanding worlds based on eras of American history.
They were a status symbol – and one that thousands of girls (and their mothers) coveted.
This book traces the brand back to its very origins – how it went from a glimmer of an idea in Pleasant Rowland’s head to the multi-million dollar Mattel-owned company that it is today.
“Rowland’s simultaneous, multi-pronged approach was riskier and it was a huge part of what ultimately made her company so successful.”
For context, this year I’ve also read The Making of American Girl and while I definitely walked away with a greater understanding of the dolls, you could also tell that it had a very positive spin. It focused on the design origins and less on the business side of the brand.
This book focuses on the business side – providing context, comparison, and occasional snark towards American Girl and other powerhouses of the day (i.e. Barbie or Cabbage Patch).
I do think that some of the snide seemed unwarranted, often alleging that Pleasant Rowland was domineering or meticulous to an unreasonable degree. Which, to be fair, I’ve never worked for her so I don’t know her professional style but I imagine that you aren’t always your most genial self when launching a brand and maintaining a multimillion dollar company.
Swinging back to the meticulousness, her attention to the most minute details is what really sold me on the company. I picked up my first American Girl book fully expecting a “doll with accessories” sort of story and was blown away by the heart, soul, and attention to detail.
“Nothing felt like an afterthought – the dolls weren’t based on the books, the books weren’t based
One thing that I loved were all of the casual tidbits thrown in this book that only elevated my opinion of the company.
For example, I learned that Addy Walker originally came with a real dried drinking gourd and only after hand-scooping and drying thousands of them did Pleasant Rowland (owner of the brand) acquiesce to the impracticality of the endeavor and allow for a plastic replica to be made.
And that Samantha Parkington came with a real 1904 penny and that the company was purchasing the pennies for 30 cents each. And that the company literally bought so many pennies from collectors that the collectors ran out. They had to decide between going for the 1905 penny or a replica (with the replica being distinct enough from US currency in order to avoid counterfeit claims).
Granted, no company is perfect and this book does spend quite a bit of time with the Felicity Controversy, which honestly felt good to talk about. I know that when I read the stories for the first time, I was shocked by how Felicity and her family owned slaves…and she chose to free a horse.
And I do think the book was weighted a bit too heavy towards the beginnings of the company, the post-Pleasant era (when it was sold to Mattel) felt much sparser compared to the origin story sections. But I still learned quite a bit about how expanding and diversifying the brand allowed it to flourish for over forty years.
Overall, this was fascinatingly nuanced take on American Girl. I learned so much, but also have an awareness for the brand that I hadn’t before. If you are curious about a complete history of the brand, then I’d highly recommend this book.
With thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review
