Retiring. Oops! "A r c h i v i n g"......

I'm sick. I'm going to vent right now.

The American Girl company is retiring Kristen Larson. Oh, excuse me, I was corrected on the phone just now: she is being archived. What's the difference? They are closing her out and not going to sell her anymore. I didn't even know they did that to Samantha last year!

If you don't know what I am talking about and you don't have girls or granddaughters, then you can skip this post. But if you DO, then please read on!

These are the best dolls EVER.

They are character dolls. They come from a different time period and they teach values and morals and life skills. They are collectors items.

My story:

It was 1990 and my dear friend and neighbor introduced us to these dolls under the original company, Pleasant Company. The entire mission of this company was to introduce girls to dolls that could teach history and values along with play. They recommended a young girl be at least 8 years old, which I agree with. They need to be able to read. Natalie was 7 at the time and I had her look at the catalogue for a whole year and dream about which doll she wanted. She could only pick one, and that would be her collection for many years to come.

She chose Kirsten, a young girl who immigrates with her family from Sweden to America. Each Christmas, birthday, Easter, etc. she would get another 'piece' to add to her collection. She is 25 now, and STILL will set out a 'scene' with the doll according to the season for decoration. And the books. OH, the BOOKS! The stories, the lessons taught and learned! Don't underestimate them.

I remember vividly one night after Duff and I had already turned our light out and were in bed. The door flew open and Nats ran in to us sobbing. She choked out, " Why didn't you tell me her friend dies!?" She couldn't put the book down and was reading with a flashlight under the covers! Clearly moved by the true to life story, she cuddled in between us and we had the most tender, beautiful conversation about friendship, death, coping. Not to give anymore away, the books tell about moving, adjusting, learning, accepting, achieving.

These are quality products. Well made. Reasonably priced for what you get and the craftsmanship. See, yes they really are collectables!

Christine has Kit Kittredge.

A girl living through the Great Depression. (kind of appropriate these days...) Same kind of life lessons. Working together, doing your part, doing without, friendships, unconditional love.

Natalie completed her collection a few years ago. We are still working on Christine's. Even though they are older and don't play with dolls anymore, they look forward to the next installment every Christmas of their collection to complete their set.

Please look into these dolls before they 'archive' more of them. They do offer modern/current day dolls, but I think they should discontinue those, and stick with the character dolls.

How's that for an endorsement?