Online Newsletter #37

February - April 2007

New Items for Molly and Emily

Recently, Molly and Emily's collections were boosted by the addition of a few new items! Emily received a blue and white gingham two-piece swimsuit with sandals and a straw hat. Molly's new items include a canvas-walled Camp Gowonagin tent that fits two dolls and plays camp sounds and the Camp Gowonagin song! She also has a new sleeping bag in a duffel bag and a little "pup tent" for Bennett, which includes a rescue dog application, dog treat, and "K-9" first aid saddlebags. For pictures and prices, visit the American Girl online store.

New JLY items

The Just Like You line got a bunch of new summertime items also. They include: a flower garden dress and book set, a satin floral PJ set with book, a luau outfit set with a ukelele and book, an island vacation outfit and book set, an island scooter set, and a sand and surf set which includes a towel, sunglasses, surfboard, stickers, a snorkel, mask, and swim fins. Visit the AG online store for all the details!

New AG Boutique to be in Dallas

A Chicago Tribune article on American Girl's expansion into the "Boutique & Bistro" stores confirms the Alpharetta (Atlanta) store that was mentioned in the last issue, and it also informs us that the location of the other store will be in Dallas, Texas at the Galleria Dallas. The article gives a description of the stores and mentions that the Alpharetta store will be 22,500 square feet, and the Dallas store will be 12,000 square feet. The article also quotes the Vice President of Retail for American Girl as saying that it's possible they may open more of these stores in the future, though they want to be selective as to where the company opens them. Click on the link above for the full scoop!

Confirmation: New Historical This Year

The abovementioned Chicago Tribune article also confirms exciting news--there will indeed be a new full-fledged historical doll coming out this fall! And there's lots more news about this doll. Apparently, she and her friend will be released at the same time! According to isbn.nu, American Girl will be releasing the following titles with a publication date of August 20, 2007:

Meet Julie
Julie's Journey
Julie Tells Her Story
Julie and the Eagles
Happy New Year, Julie!
Changes for Julie
Good Luck, Ivy

We can also learn from the isbn.nu entries that Julie and her friend Ivy will be 20th century historical characters. The category under which these books are listed is "Juvenile Fiction - Historical - United States - 20th Century." There's plenty of speculation about which decade the girls are from, as well as what ethnicity and culture, as the book titles, like Kaya's, differ from the standard AG character main book titles. Watch this space for more news as it develops!

Kit Movie Update

American Girl and Walden Media, which had been set to produce the AG movie about Kit, won't be partnering on the movie after all. Instead, AG will be partnering with Picturehouse, a joint venture between HBO and New Line Cinema. According to this Variety article, the movie will be going into production this summer and will be released in theaters. The article also gives some more info about who is working on the project, including Julia Roberts, who has been involved with all three previous American Girl movies.

Thanks to Nicki Cover

Amazon.com now has a picture of the cover of Thanks to Nicki on its page for that book (click here). The site also gives a publication date of May 21, 2007.

Historical Items Retiring

Although American Girl unfortunately does not let its customers know ahead of time about retirements of items, a number of fans have gathered credible information from various sources saying many historical items will be retired sometime this year. The list of likely and possible retirements is too lengthy to list here, but the American Girl Fans Message board has a thread here with lots of information regarding the items that are or might be in danger. As always, if you are unhappy with American Girl's retirements and/or their complete lack of notification of retirements to their customers, please write and let them know.

Monthly Membership Stats

Please forgive me if I get several months behind on updating the directory. It comes with being a mom! :-) When you join, however, your email is automatically immediately entered onto the newsletter mailing list, so don't worry about that.

New members in January: 8
New members in February: 2
New members in March: 3
Total members: 474



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