American Girl - Samantha

I still get the American Girl Catalog. It is not addressed to my children, it's addressed to me. I get it first and then I turn it over to them to be cut apart and glued into art.

That part of me that is still 10 is still in absolute love with the dolls and wants a Samantha like mad! When I was in NYC last year I found American Girl Place and was about 2 seconds from buying a Samantha doll but had to be realistic about the size of the box and the space in the luggage. That 10 year old in me was shocked and horrified to read on page 2 that the Samantha doll and all her excessive accessories will be discontinued soon!

I have the full set of Samantha's books on my girl's bookshelf. I read all of the different sets as a kid. I haven't come completely caught up since they introduced Kaya, Addy, Kit, Josefina, and Julie.

All of the books are relatively well researched historical fiction, and in the back of each book is a non-fiction section about that period in history. While I enjoyed all of the girls' stories Samantha was by far my favorite.


A turn of the century orphan who lived with her grandmother in New York Samantha had fantastic clothes I always loved to draw. Even as a kid I was all about the costumes, I just didn't realize it.

I do realize (like the catalog says) it's been 20 years, things have changed and not necessarily for the better since American Girl went from Pleasant Company to Mattel, but it's sad for me to be old enough that things I loved as a child are being sent to "the archives"!

Well I guess it's time to say good-bye to another tiny piece of my childhood! Why do I have to get old and the comforting things that have always been around disappear? It was really nice when Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake came back. :)

If anybody wants to get me the
Samantha set for Christmas feel free!