History Literature / AmericanGirlsCollection

** Kaya is not speaking English, and neither are Josefina--they speak Nimipuutímt and Spanish respectively. The books are written in English, with added words in their native languages.

** Kaya is not speaking English, and neither are Josefina or Kirsten--they speak Nimipuutímt, and Spanish respectively. The books are written in English, with added words in their native languages.
** Kristen speaks Swedish at home and has to learn English in her series (it's a major plot point) and Singing Bird at best speaks smatterings of English. The books translate all the Swedish into English.

*** ''Kaya Shows the Way'': Kaya's sister Singing Bird is reunited with her family; however, she has pledged to remain with a woman that cared for her, White Braids, and will not be there permanently.

** Kaya is put to work as a servant for the band of Natives who capture her and Singing Bird in a raid.

** Felicity openly dislikes most girly expections of her era (like wearing dresses, being quiet, staying indoors, and sewing) and would rather ride a horse, but she enjoys Miss Manderly's tea lessons, and she is excited to go to the holiday dancve lesson (especially when she finds interest in a fine blue dress).

** Kaya is not speaking English, and neither is Josefina--they speak Nimipuutímt and Spanish respectively. The books are written in English, with added words in their native languages.

* KidsHateVegetables: In the book ''Meet Molly'', Molly [=McIntire=] is disgusted by the sight of the orange colored blob of mashed turnips that the family's housekeeper Mrs. Gilford had made for dinner and refuses to eat it. Mrs. Gilford tries to shame Molly for being wasteful and unpatriotic, as this is taking place during World War II and the turnips came from their very own "victory garden".

* DiscreetDiningDisposal: When Molly complains about her vegetables, her mom confesses to having done this with sardines on toast as a child.

** In Kit's Christmas book, her grumpy Uncle Hendrick gets a small moment when he tells Kit she can keep the money he gave her to pay for a shoe shine; she did it herself (because the store was out of business), and says she can earn more money in this fashion going forward when she asks to take other chores on for him. It's not exactly a massive expression of generosity (if Hendrick were truly generous, he'd help the family out more substantially without expecting anything in return). But despite his miserly ways, he chooses to treat Kit in a way that by his value system he thinks of as fair to her (as he says he doesn't care who does a job, as long as it's done right to his metric), rather than take a clear opportunity to take advantage of a kid who wouldn't even realize that that was what he was doing.

** When Kit brings her uncle's letters to the local newspaper, the editor is cold and abrupt with her, in clear contrast to some of the other staff who are friendly. But after reading and publishing Kit's letter, he tells her he thinks she's on track to become a great reporter and that if ''she'' has something to say in the future (as opposed to carrying mail for her constantly complaining uncle), she should give it to him directly.

** Averted with Molly for her first five books, but comes up in ''Changes For Molly''. It's less about relative ages and more about the fact that her father's letter describes the changes he expects to see in the other three children but seems to have tacked her on almost as an afterthought, mentioning her "in the same sentence as pot roast".

** Same goes for Addy. In her case, this may actually be because she is separated from her older brother and younger sister in ''Meet Addy,'' and effectively spends four of the six books in her series as an only child (though shen ever stops thinking about Sam and Esther). Plus, given the horrors the family is living through, it's hardly surprising that they'd come to rely on, rather than compete with, each other, and that the kinds of issues that lead to Middle Child Syndrome would probably not seem all that serious by comparison.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: ''Meet Kit'' has a doozy of an example which encapsulates the entire historical line. After Ruthie learns from Kit that Kit's dad has lost his job, they try to think of ways Kit can help her family. Ruthie says she's read books about what people do when they have no money, but the girls are concerned, as the characters in those books live in "olden times", and reading their stories doesn't help Kit and Ruthie figure out what they can do to improve their situation in the then-present. It's an example that works on a couple of levels, as it speaks to both the impact people made before Kit's time which made it what it was and the impact people have made since then which has shaped the present in America and throughout the rest of the world.
** In ''Molly's Surprise'', Molly specifically complains that the only dolls she has are baby dolls and that she wants one that represents a later stage of life so Molly can have pretend adventures with her...which, of course, is exactly what American Girl dolls are for many children.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In ''Changes for Samantha'', Aunt Cornelia and Uncle Gard's maid Gertrude is antagonistic with Samantha and is the one who eventually goes snooping and finds out about Nellie and her sisters staying there. After the O'Malleys are adopted, Nellie suspects that Gertrude is resentful of serving girls that would have been of her social class. But In Samantha's movie, she is much friendlier, is downright ''indignant'' on Samantha's behalf when Miss Frouchy accuses her of stealing, and is happy for Samantha when her speech is chosen for the school assembly; she also has nothing to do with the discovery of Nellie and her sisters, as in the adaptation Bridget becomes seriously ill and Samantha ''has'' to come clean to get Bridget medical attention.

** In ''Molly's Surprise'', Molly specifically wants a doll that's not a baby doll that she can have (pretend) adventures with... not unlike, say, an ''American Girl'' doll.

Compare ''Literature/DearAmerica'', another series of historical fiction books starring girls written as diaries and aimed at an older demographic (while they did not have a dedicated line of companion dolls, selected characters were made by Madame Alexander), ''Literature/GirlhoodJourneys'', a short-lived series of historical characters around the world similar to ''Literature/GirlsOfManyLands''; ''Literature/MagicAtticClub''; a line centered on girls who used costumes to experience both history and fantasy stories; ''Toys/StardustClassics'', a line of fantasy dolls and books; and Toys/MapleleaGirls, the Canadian equivalent but focused solely on modern characters.

The ''American Girls Collection'' -- generally referred to as ''American Girl'' -- is a collection of dolls, toys, and books that was first released in 1986 by Pleasant Company (founded and owned by Pleasant Rowland, an educator). The brand [[FranchiseOwnershipAcquisition was sold to]] {{Creator/Mattel}} in 1998 and fully transferred to their ownership in 2000.

** In Molly's movie, Emily's mother was killed in her family's house fire the year before moving in with Molly.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the original Felicity books, Felicity's best friend Elizabeth is a brunette, but in the movie (and later, for her doll) she's a blonde.

** One's portrayed in ''Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front'' where Molly's school hosts one. Emily and Molly end up being the last two left standing; Emily is almost disqualified until one of the judges notes that she gave the correct British spelling for her word. [[spoiler:It ends up being declared a tie between Molly and Emily after Molly's teacher, Miss Campbell, learns on stage that her fiance has been killed in the war, as everyone present agrees it doesn't seem right to continue after that.]]

* {{Bridezilla}}: Of a Mother of the Bride style in Maryellen's story. Kaye Larkin is planning to go out for her oldest daughter Joan's wedding, with home-tailored dresses and a fancy church wedding, since she and Stan Ldidn't have the wedding they wanted because of TheGreatDepression. Joan wants and succeeds in getting a nice but simple backyard affair.

* {{Bridezilla}}: Of a Mother of the Bride style Maryellen's story. Kaye Larkin is planning to go out for her oldest daughter Joan's wedding, with home-tailored dresses and a fancy church wedding, since she and Stan Ldidn't have the wedding they wanted because of [[TheThirties the Depression]]. Joan wants and succeeds in getting a nice but simple backyard affair.

* CharacterizationTags: A similar practice is used to denote MAG dolls who [[{{Expy}} look a bit too much like]] retired dolls (e.g. "Not!Mia").

* TheGreatDepression: The setting for Kit's books and [[TheMovie her movie.]]

** A large one regarding the creation of Felicity's holiday dress in the book ''Felicity's Surprise''. Felicity's mother Martha initially asks the milliner for the pattern to make the fancy blue ball gown when she sees Felicity desires it after seeing it on the doll (as it's the first time tomboy Felicity has shown interest in wanting a dress) and the milliner says the pattern can be easily sized down to fit Felicity. Martha works on it frequently but when she falls ill before the holidays, cannot complete it; it is then completed in secret by Elizabeth Cole and her mother, which surprises Felicity and lets her go to the dance in it in time. However, further historical clothing research shows that neither Martha Merriman nor Elizabeth--who is nine--and her mother Mrs. Cole would have had the skills to put the dress together at home, as fitted dressmaking was a trained skill for working-class women that was taught by apprenticeships. Housewives often did small mending and crafting such as aprons, handkerchiefs, underlinens such as shifts, and caps such as mob caps, but [[ProperLady well raised women]] like Martha and Mrs. Cole would not have the sewing skills to make an elaborate ball gown at home sewing by hand; even day dresses were generally made by dressmakers. There would have also not been a paper pattern ''to'' purchase as widespread paper patterns were not available until around the 1860s. Dressmakers of the time would have instead opted towards fold-and-cut and draping methods to shape the dress design and would have needed to fit the dress to the wearer in a more bespoke method, meaning it couldn't have been sewn without Felicity's knowledge. Also, milliners did not sell dressmaking supplies. This is explained in [[https://youtu.be/4tiGn4x-7g4 this video of a historical recreation of the Christmas gown]] by clothing historian The Couture Courtesan, who points out these historical flaws.

** Samantha's collection and ''Samantha's Surprise'' state that the doll she desires in the toy store for Christmas [[spoiler:and gets from Cornelia]] is a Nutcracker designed doll; it's carrying a mini wooden soldier which is described as "like the soldier from the ballet". However, Samantha--and indeed, America--wouldn't have known about ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' in 1904. The ballet wasn't known outside of its native Russia at the time; the first complete performance of the ballet was done in England in 1934,[[note]]It was preceded by an abbreviated version in Budapest in 1927, which was the very first time it was performed outside of Russia at all.[[/note]] while the first United States performance was in December of 1944 by the San Francisco Ballet. It's more accurate for ''Molly'' to know anything about the ballet than Samantha--and she would likely know about it more because of ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}''.

** Samantha's collection and ''Samantha's Surprise'' state that the doll she desires in the toy store for Christmas [[spoiler:and gets from Cornelia]] is a Nutcracker designed doll; it's carrying a mini wooden soldier which is described as "like the soldier from the ballet". However, Samantha--and indeed, America--wouldn't have known about ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' in 1904. The ballet wasn't known outside of its native Russia at the time; the first complete performance of the ballet was done in England in 1934,[[note]]It was preceded by an abbreviated version in Budapest in 1927, which was the very first time it was performed outside of Russia at all.[[/note]] while the first United States performance was in December of 1944 by the San Francisco Ballet. It's more accurate for ''Molly'' to know anything about the ballet than Samantha.

The ''American Girls Collection'' -- generally referred to as ''American Girl'' -- is a collection of dolls, toys, and books that was first released in 1986 by Pleasant Company (founded and owned by Pleasant Rowland, an educator). The brand was sold to {{Creator/Mattel}} in 1998 and fully transferred to their ownership in 2000.

** Josefina's sister Francisca in ''Josefina Saves the Day'' agress to accompany Josefina into the center of Santa Fe in the middle of the night to try to prove that American trader Patrick O'Toole hasn't reneged on his trade with their father.

** Maryellen's just-before her sister Carolyn gets along great with her, as opposed to their older sister Joan.

** Many of the girls themselves serve this role e.g. like Josefina for her nephews Juan and Antonio.
** Many of the girls' big brothers or older male relatives serve as a SpearCounterpart in this role: Kirsten's big brother Lars is an easygoing guy that is fond of his little sister's wilderness knowledge and their younger brother Peter is fond of the youngest child, Britta. Addy's brother Sam watches out for her, swaps riddles with her, and later fights in the Civil War. Rebecca's older cousin Max (her mother's cousin) encourages her acting ambitions and [[MiddleChildSyndrome doesn't ignore her in favor of her other siblings]]. Melody's older brother Dwayne becomes a traveling Motown singer and invites his sister to the studio. Kit's older brother Charlie is open and honest with his sister about what their family is going through, rather than keeping her out of the loop.

* CoverIdentityAnomaly: The My Journey protagonists are flying the seats of their historically-accurate outfits when trying to act as if they belong in the era they've been been transported to (especially when they're impersonating a person they're mistaken for). The Historical Characters may initially find them suspicious but mostly chalk it up to the protagonist being a NaiveNewcomer (e.g. Addy assumes the time traveler of her book has recently escaped from slavery and so is new to the north, while Felicity assumes the traveler to her time came with the crowd protesting the gunpowder being taken). The traveler still may make mistakes by knowing things from the future--Kit's traveler, for example, sees a book of ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz'' and says it's just like [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the film]]. Kit asks what she's talking about, because it's 1934 and the film hasn't been released yet, and the protagonist has to cover her tracks.

** In 2023 the company released three Franchise/DisneyPrincess dolls based on Jasmine, Belle, and Rapunzel as limited edition dolls. In early 2024 they released three more based on Tiana, Cinderella, and Ariel (each with two additional outfits) as well as announced this would be a new core line that would be based on the Disney Princesses and include ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}''.
* CutAndPasteSuburb: Maryellen laments living in one of these, where all the houses look alike. This prompts her to try and paint the front door red.

* DadTheVeteran: Many of the fathers fall under this trope.

** Caroline's father gets involved in the US Militia.

** Kirsten has Miss Winston, who at first Kirsten feels expect her to learn English too quickly. [[BaitAndSwitchTyrant Kirsten later learns otherwise]] when she boards with the Larsons and they both get to know each other better. She still must remain stern to keep control of the students in her classroom, who range in age and skill.

** Kirsten, in every release of her doll and her books' illustrations, has thick front bangs (what fans call "pie bangs" on dolls, as they look like a pie slice from the top). However, bangs were not a fashion of the time for women or children--the most prevalent hairstyle at the time for women was a center part with the hair slicked or pulled back, with occasional wisps or curls at the side. (Other girls and women, including her mother, friends, and cousins, are illustrated with more accurate to the era center parted hair.) The guess is that Kirsten was given the same style wig--if not the same color--as Samantha and Molly; it's just never been updated because at this point, it's iconic to her look. (Later released characters that cover the same era, Marie-Grace and Cécile, have more accurate center-part hair with side curls.)
** Samantha's collection and ''Samantha's Surprise'' state that the doll she desires in the toy store for Christmas [[spoiler:and gets from Cornelia]] is a Nutcracker designed doll; it's carrying a mini wooden soldier which is described as "like the soldier from the ballet". However, Samantha--and indeed, America--wouldn't have known about ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' in 1904. The ballet wasn't known outside of its native Russia at the time; the first complete performance of the ballet was done in England in 1934,[[note]]It was preceded by an abbreviated version in Budapest in 1927, which was the very first time it was performed outside of Russia at all.[[/note]] while the first United States performance was in 1944. It's more accurate for ''Molly'' to know about the ballet than Samantha.

** Nicki and Isabel believe in finding their "girl power" (which was heavily emphasized in the 1990s). While for Isable this is often aligned with dance, pop music, and the music of Music/TheSpiceGirls, Nicki is more of the sporty and grunge side; she wants to perform skateboarding for the millenial celebration in part to prove that girls are capable of being part of the then boy-dominated sport.