WellieWishers! New Line Of American Girl Dolls! Available NOW

                        

     When I was young girl my grandmother whom I called MaMa subscribed to the Pleasant Company American Girl catalog, for over a year my grandmother and I would go through all the pages, look at all the historical dolls with their period attire, and accessories with awe. They were just so beautiful. My MaMa started off by buying me the Felicity books -the character that I was most drawn to-written by the wonderful Valerie Tripp. I read all the books until pages actually fell out, and my love of the written word and my dreams of writing myself all stemmed from the pages of those books.  

   My MaMa got remarried to a wonderful man, and had a huge wedding.  I was the maid of honor and my sister was the flower girl. At the wedding she gave us both an American Girl Doll, I received Felicity, and my sister got Samantha. It is one of my most prized possessions.  That doll sits on my dresser to this day as does the collection of her adventures as a constant reminder of my Grandmother, and the piece of my childhood that helped form me to the person I am today.  Clearly I have been a huge fan of the company ever since and was just beyond excited when I was invited to go to the AmericanGirl Store In New York City to welcome in their new line of dolls the WellieWisher’s.

    We received a sneak peek before the doors opened and the line was available to purchase that day, enjoying some snacks in the café, which no matter how old I am I always love, and hearing all about this wonderful line of dolls.  I also got to meet the writer of many of the American Girl books-
including Felicity- Valiere Tripp. I started talking to her and telling her how her series of books and doll Felicity impacted my life, and then I started crying like a little baby. I am not a woman who cries easily.  Thankfully Ms. Tripp was a wonderful woman and took it as a compliment instead of a crazy 30 something lady fangirling.  I was already busting at the seams when I received the invite- but to actually get to meet the author of the books I adored, to meet the woman that helped give me a lasting memory with my grandmother- was a real gift. So I am more than thrilled that Ms. Tripp has come together again to work with
American girl and to write the series of books Wellie Wishers that will go along with the collection of dolls.

    The Wellie Wishers are made for children five and up and have five girls in the series.  Willa, who has a love for animals, Ashlyn, who is a “princess-in-training and party planner extraordinaire”, Camille who is “mellow like a mermaid” and is there to listen whenever her friends need her, Emerson who loves the spotlight and making her friends smile and last but not least Kendall who is creative, always drawing and painting and full of patience. Together these girls will go on wild adventures in a series of books that include all five girls in every story.   Ms. Tripp talked about writing about the book and really showed her enthusiasm about this series, proclaiming “I JUST LOVE STORIES”, and then going on explaining how important stories are for children. “There is power in a story, the child wants to enter into the world of that story and vicariously experience that other life, that other person’s life. That’s want I want the stories of the Wellie Wishers to be like. I want to say come on in, come into this garden with this wonderful circle of friends.”  The dolls which are beautiful (full review to follow) are going to be a success with or without the books- they are beautiful full of fun accessories-every girl will want one, or all five! 

However, the books are what are going to make these dolls just as special as my dear Felicity. “When I was writing the American Girl Books” Ms. Tripp says “I learned that if my reader became friends with my character then she cared what happened to the character. I hope similarly that the Wellie Wishers characters will become a friend to this child when she is reading about them and in that way when she enters that garden with her friend she will see how they solve disagreements, how they listen to one another and use humor to apologize to each other. I want my reader to feel welcomed to just dive right into that.” 

     So as you can see the Wellie Wishers are not just a line of dolls, they will give your child entrance into a new world. The Wellie Wishers are going to be the tools that help explore their own imagination, as well as being a gateway into stepping out of themselves and start to identifying with the world and the people around them.  Five and up is the time where children do start to step outside the world within their head and start feeling empathy for others, and begin wanting to know about the world around them. This will be a wonderful way to encourage that stage in life.

     I was so incredibly honored to be invited to this event, and to meet Ms. Tripp and be introduced to this amazing line.  I really see big things in its future and cannot wait to see where the line grows. The whole line of Dolls is available now and retail for $50 (order online now and get free shipping)

and there are also books available now that are sold separately. For more information, please visit the American Girlwebsite, and make sure to look for our review of the doll and book coming up in the next couple of days!