of dolls . for other uses see american girl disambiguation . american girl the current logo for american girl creator pleasant rowland original work dolls and books released by pleasant company 1986 print publications books see american girl book series films and television films see american girl film series audio soundtracks the american girls revue 2000 kit kittredge an american girl 2008 miscellaneous toys various dolls and playsets american girl is an american line of 18 inch 46 cm dolls released in 1986 by pleasant company . the dolls portray eight to eleven year old girls of a variety of ethnicities . they are sold with accompanying books told from the viewpoint of the girls . originally the stories focused on various periods of american history but were expanded in 1995 to include characters and stories from contemporary life . aside from the original american girl dolls the buyer also has the option to purchase dolls that look like them . the options for the line of truly me dolls range from eye color eye shape skin color hair texture and hair length . a variety of related clothing and accessories is also available . pleasant company was founded in 1986 by pleasant rowland and its products were originally purchasable by mail order only . in 1998 pleasant company became a subsidiary of mattel . the company has been awarded the oppenheim toy portfolio award eight times . 1 contents 1 dolls and accessories 1.1 characters 2 films 3 stores 3.1 temporary boutiques 4 magazine 5 online marketing and philanthropy 6 reception 7 wellie wishers 8 see also 9 references 10 external links dolls and accessories edit american girl molly mcintire one of the american girl dolls type doll inventor pleasant rowland company pleasant company mattel country united states availability 1986 present official website the historical characters line of 18 inch dolls were initially the main focus of pleasant company . this product line aims to teach aspects of american history through a six book series from the perspective of a girl living in that time period . although the books are written for girls who are at least eight years old they endeavor to cover significant topics such as child labor child abuse poverty racism slavery animal abuse and war in manners appropriate for the understanding and sensibilities of their young audience . 2 in 1995 pleasant company released a line of contemporary dolls called american girl of today . in 2006 the product line was renamed just like you ; it was changed again in 2010 to my american girl and in 2015 to truly me . 3 this line has included sixty four different dolls over the years . each doll has a different combination of face mold skin tone eye color and hair color length texture and or style . american girl states that this variety allows customers to choose dolls that represent the individuality and diversity of today s american girls . 2 a wide variety of contemporary clothing accessories and furniture is also available and there are regular releases and retirements to update this line . each year a girl of the year doll is released who has her own special talent . for example mia st. clair the girl of the year for 2008 did ice skating ; and marisol luna the girl of the year for 2005 was a dancer . bitty baby is a line of baby dolls targeted to children aged three and older . they are half the price of full size american girl dolls . the bitty twins line debuted in 2003 to represent slightly older toddlers and or preschoolers . the bitty twins were the same size as the bitty baby dolls . 2 they were discontinued in june 2016 . hopscotch hill school was released by american girl in 2003 . the dolls were 16 inch 41 cm tall came with jointed limbs and painted eyes and had a slimmer overall body shape . they along with the stories which came with the dolls written by valerie tripp were aimed at elementary age girls from four to six years old and were sold until 2006 . 4 a reboot of the historical characters line dubbed as beforever was launched in august 2014 complete with redesigned outfits a two volume compilation of previously released books and a journey book for each character with players taking the role of a present day girl who found her way to the past and met up with one of the historical girls . the line also coincided with the relaunch of samantha parkington whose collection was previously discontinued in 2008 . 5 6 in june 2016 american girl unveiled wellie wishers a separate doll line similar to hopscotch hill school aimed for younger children and with a focus on the outdoors positioning it between bitty baby and the beforever girl of the year truly me dolls . as the name implies dolls from the line wear wellington boots and have a body design distinct from the classic g tz derived american girl dolls . the line was released on june 23 2016 . 7 characters edit main article list of american girl characters films edit main article american girl films in 2004 american girl teamed with julia roberts s red om production company and to create the first american girl direct to video movie samantha an american girl holiday . the film spawned a franchise that was followed by felicity an american girl adventure 2005 molly an american girl on the home front 2006 along with the 2008 theatrically released film kit kittredge an american girl . in 2009 hbo premiered an american girl chrissa stands strong . in july 2012 american girl released a direct to video movie mckenna shoots for the stars . a seventh movie based on saige copeland s stories entitled saige paints the sky was released in july 2013 and a television film entitled isabelle dances into the spotlight based on girl of the year 2014 isabelle palmer was released in 2014 . a ninth film based on 2015 girl of the year grace thomas was released under the title an american girl grace stirs up success with olivia rodrigo playing the title role . 8 9 a live action web special based on melody ellison s stories entitled melody 1963 love has to win an american girl story will be released by amazon starring marsai martin as the title character . 10 11 stores edit american girl place in the grove at farmers market in los angeles california american girl place is a store that sells american girl dolls clothes and accessories . the flagship and first store debuted in chicago followed by stores in new york city and los angeles . a number of boutiques followed which are smaller than the main stores ; they feature rotating stock and some have casual restaurants . there are smaller stores in north point mall in atlanta ; galleria dallas mall in dallas ; natick mall in natick massachusetts ; the mall of america in bloomington minnesota ; park meadows mall near denver colorado ; oak park mall near kansas city kansas ; 12 tysons corner center in tysons corner virginia ; 13 alderwood mall located near seattle washington ; chesterfield mall near st. louis missouri ; memorial city mall in houston texas ; the falls mall near miami florida ; 14 easton town center in columbus ohio ; stanford shopping center in palo alto california ; southpark mall in charlotte north carolina ; the florida mall in orlando florida ; franklin tennessee part of the nashville metropolitan area ; and in scottsdale arizona outside of phoenix . in may 2014 mattel american girl opened new stores in toronto and vancouver canada 15 in partnership with indigo books and music . 16 17 18 the company has also expressed interest in other overseas ventures as they are seeing orders from europe and latin america . 19 the company has also announced that they re expanding their operations in mexico with two stores at el palacio de hierro s perisur and interlomas in mexico city and a third in polanco in 2015 . 20 21 temporary boutiques edit the first temporary boutique opened in honolulu hawaii at the ala moana center running from october 4 2014 to april 2015 . during the 2015 holiday season and early 2016 temporary locations opened in san diego california mission viejo california glendale california portland oregon las vegas nevada murray utah and indianapolis indiana from approximately october 2015 to early 2016 . magazine edit the american girl magazine is run by the american girl company . it was started by the pleasant company in middleton wisconsin in 1992 22 with the first issue dated january 1993 . aimed towards girls ages 8 14 the bimonthly magazine includes articles recipes advice columns fiction arts and crafts and activity ideas . 23 girls can choose to either get a year of magazines 6 issues or two years of magazines 12 issues . online marketing and philanthropy edit american girl launched innerstar university an online virtual world featuring the my american girl contemporary doll line on july 13 2010 . access to the online world is via a campus guide bundled with purchase of a my american girl doll which contains an access code for the creation of a doll avatar that then navigates the various games shops and challenges of the virtual campus of innerstar u. in 2015 when my american girl dolls were changed to truly me dolls this website was closed down . 24 the launch was simultaneous with shine on now a fund raising effort kids in distressed situations national association of children s hospitals and related institutions national wildlife federation and save the children charities . 25 the company has also donated almost 500 000 over several years to national non profit homeless housing group homeaid . 26 these contributions are mainly through its project playhouse program . 27 reception edit the company has drawn criticism for the expense of the dolls which cost 115 without accessories as of december 2014 . 28 buyers can easily spend more than 600 for a doll outfits accessories and lunch in the company s store in new york . 29 some aspects of the doll s characters and history have also provoked controversy . some observers questioned why addy american girl s first african american historical character was portrayed first as a slave in later stories addy and her family gain their freedom after the civil war while cecile rey american girl s second black historical character was portrayed as a well to do black girl . 30 in 2005 residents of pilsen a neighborhood in chicago illinois criticized a passage in the book associated with the latina american doll marisol claiming it inaccurately depicted their neighborhood as dangerous . a senior public relations associate for american girl responded to critics saying we feel that this brief passage has been taken out of context in the book . 31 the 2009 limited edition release of gwen a homeless american girl character was also controversial . 32 33 in 2005 some pro life and catholic groups criticized the company for donating funds to the organization girls inc. which supports underprivileged girls and promotes abortion rights and acceptance of homosexuality . 34 35 the american girl place store in new york city was the center of a labor dispute with actors equity association aea . on august 3 2006 14 of the 18 adult actors at the store s now defunct theater went on strike . 36 aea reached a two year contract effective april 1 2008 . all american girl place theatres were subsequently closed in september of that year . 37 in may 2014 the company was met with criticism on social media 38 over its decision to discontinue four characters from the