Just for Girls: American Girl Magazine

American Girl magazine’s motto for readers is “You’re great—just the way you are!” The intent of the magazine is to present self-esteem affirming stories, celebrate achievements and stimulate creativity. It is meant to be a positive and supportive force for girls during the critical pre-teen years.

Each issue of American Girl magazine includes fiction and non-fiction pieces, games, crafts and party ideas. There are also advice columns on growing up, fitting in and other social life lessons.

American Girl magazine and brand evolved from the Pleasant Company, a company started by Pleasant T. Rowland in 1986. In the beginning, the company featured historical girl characters with stories set in a different time period including Felicity from Colonial America, Samantha from the Victorian Age and Molly from the World War II era. Then the company created a catalog of dolls depicting the characters, bringing them to life with handcrafted 18-inch dolls for each character. Dolls now come with accessories, outfits and activities.

In 1992 the company expanded and launched American Girl magazine, the eighth largest children’s magazine in the U.S. according to its website. In 1998 the world’s leading toy company, Mattel, acquired American Girl and the first retail store opened in Chicago.

In 2008 the American Girl series branched out even further, hitting the big screen with the release of the feature film “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” starring Oscar-nominated actress Abigal Breslin. The movie follow the American Girl character ''Kit'' an enterprising reporter-in-training from Depression-era Cincinnati.

Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the movie a good review calling it “a smart, playful, informative pleasure in its own right — a gently thoughtful, audience-appropriate entertainment that assembles swell actors to play colorful characters who don't shy away from depicting serious hard times.”

The American Girl brand also now includes a baby doll line called “The Bitty Baby” for girls ages 3 and up. The Bitty Baby series also includes storybooks, outfits and accessories. There is also the “Just Like You Dolls”, which are dolls in different skin tones, facial features and hair and eye color to celebrate ethnic diversity and individuality. Doll clothing encourages girls to explore their personalities with a variety of outfit choices including sports, hobbies, holidays and special occasions.