American Girls are a collection of dolls that encourage children to read and learn about history while playing. In the historical line of dolls, each doll comes from a different time period and has a book series along with a collection of clothing and accessories that help the kids learn about what that character's life was like in that time period. As American Girl dolls became more popular, they added a "Just Like You" line of dolls where you could pick a doll that looked like you and write your own stories in the provided blank books.

American Girl dolls are much more popular now than they were when we were younger. When we first heard about American Girls, there were only three available: Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. There are now many more historical dolls, an annual Girl of the Year doll and collection, and a Girl of Today line (similar to the Just Like You dolls that they had). There is also much more merchandise available now, and with the internet, shopping for the dolls has become much quicker. It was always so exciting when a new catalogue would arrive in the mail, and we would look through it with our friends and pick out all the things that we liked, although we would never be able to get them all.

Our cousin introduced us to these dolls when she showed us her Kirsten doll. When she showed us the catalogue, I immediately fell in love with Molly, and received her for Christmas later that year. Samantha was my sister's first doll, which she received the following Christmas. Although we don't do that much with our dolls anymore, they still sit on our shelves in our rooms and we like to change their clothing every once in a while.

- Liz