American Girl Beforever Maryellen Larkin from the 1950s and Melody Ellison from the 1960s!

I know! There is so much to look forward to. I don’t know if I can wait any longer. I want to know more about next year’s releases.

LikeLike

Thanks for reading my blog. I like to speculate on new releases and cover whatever news I find in the underground. 🙂 I appreciate readers who enjoy the same thing.

LikeLike

They will. She is due to come out August 27th. Stay tuned Sammie!

LikeLike

That would be amazing news if they did. 🙂

LikeLike

No Cecile? Why no Cecile but Marie-Grace? I found Cecile to be a better developed character than MG. No offense, MG is cute as a doll, but dull.
Yes, Melody is in between Maryellen and Julie, but clearly they will touch on different subjects. Molly is sandwiched between Kit and Maryellen (even though, yes, Molly is retired).

It’s sad you don’t feel the American Girl Beforever collection needs Kaya, Addy, or Josefina. ESPECIALLY considering you’re the demographic (meaning the age American Girl is meant for). Your comment made me sad. 😦 As an American Girl owner, you’d get rid of all the girls of color. Here are two reasons why I don’t think American Girl LLC should get rid of those dolls:

1) They are American Girl’s only minority characters. The White dolls aren’t superior to the other dolls. In fact, Kaya, Josefina, Addy, Melody, AND Cecile are more important than Mary-ellen! The 1950s was NOT a huge part of American history like the Civil War, Early America, Spanish settlement, the Yellow Fever epidemic of the 1850s, or the Civil Rights Movement. As an African American myself, just listening to your comment hurts me. This is why I feel American Girl needs to promote their minority characters. There are so many children like you running around, misguided and conditioned to love a “white” world, and encouraged to think “cream-colored face and straight hair” is pretty, and “dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes” aren’t pretty. We have been taught through media to think that everyone should speak, think, and act like “English Europeans” if we are to be Americans (though honestly, the word “America” came from the Italian language, not English).

2) These characters are some of the few that come from the 18th and 19th century (1700s and the 1800s). Kaya is more AMERICAN than all the characters in the collection. The Native peoples are “native” for a reason. THEY WERE HERE FIRST. The Spanish were here before the English settlers arrived. The problem with your generation is you think history surrounds the 20th century. Life wasn’t as glam as the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Children today are so spoiled and comfortable nowadays, they only relate to other modern children who were also spoiled and comfortable. We are all very comfortable and spoiled by technology. Children need to learn about early American history, a time when life was much harsher. It helps them grow into thankful, content adults and less about money, clothes, cars, and technology. Kids today expect to be given everything, especially on birthday and Christmas. When was the last time you or some of your friends bought something for your parents or your siblings instead of asking for something? The problem is kids today don’t seem to appreciate or don’t seem to want a REAL history lesson. That is sad. And I blame some of the parents, school, and upbringing entirely.

I want to address some of these racist comments you made:
Racism: To think one race is superior to another.

You may not be an active racist yourself(meaning you may not treat people of color (black people, Asians, Hispanics) meanly), but it’s clear growing up, you haven’t been around other races that often. You seem to think that American Girl Beforever would be better with mostly white characters and that it’s fine to have just ONE character of color, if any at all. In other words, you have racist ideas and thinking deep in your brain. Deep in your mind, white people relate to you, so you think that’s all America is or mostly should be. Your parents haven’t made you “culturally” open. You even want American Girl to bring back old “white” characters but not the black ones (like MG without Cecile, which I don’t understand your reason for this at all). Some of your reasons show me that you don’t like the current dolls of color. I could be wrong, but you will have to explain yourself a little more so people won’t get the wrong idea.

“Kaya and Josefina aren’t as noticed”. CLEARLY it’s because they aren’t a) from popular modern times b) WHITE. The solution to get rid of them would clearly make most of the characters white. Are you fine with an all-white group of girls? How can you learn anything new from someone who looks just like you? You need to be more open-minded. The world has gotten so used to “blonde hair, blue eyes”, our children aren’t interested in stepping outside of what looks “normal” to them. All they care about is how something “looks”. And your idea of what “looks pretty” is a WHITE girl. I personally don’t think those dolls “not being noticed” is your only problem with them. Clearly, Kirsten or MG weren’t as noticed when they were around. And yet, you want them back? Why? You will have to explain this to me.

“Addy doesn’t teach young girls any propef vocabulary” Why do you think Addy speaks the way she does? Think about that and you will understand and value Addy’s stories. That’s what Addy is teaching you. Addy couldn’t have a decent education. Put yourself in her shoes and imagine being her. That’s the point of the story! Slave masters WANTED people to look DOWN on them. Just like Harriet, her snobby desk partner who looked down on Addy because she didn’t look and speak properly. YOU, and other children of school age, clearly know that Addy doesn’t speak properly, so that clearly doesn’t need to be taught to you. So think about the other lessons you can learn from her character. These are history books, not English ones. They are teaching you how times were. Addy’s books help people appreciate education because, when reading it, children realize not everyone was fortunate to have it. Addy’s stories have more than that to teach. It also teaches you not to judge and look down on other people, just because they are “southern” or “black” or uneducated or different in ANY way. Finally, Addy’s stories teach about one of THE most IMPORTANT events in American history: The Civil War! I also just want to mention that Addy’s speech is the only part that isn’t “proper” English. The narration (the parts not in quotes) are proper. The solution is to look at those people who aren’t educated and try to help them as best you can, not ignore them or think poorly of them. We would never learn about history if we judged every book on proper speech. There are many history records in the world, in museums, that were NOT written by great speakers. But they are still apart of history and they tell us about those time periods.

To add, I don’t understand how you want Felicity to return when she clearly doesn’t speak English the way we do today either. XD What “speech” can children learn from her?

This isn’t racist, but…

“she teaches them to speak like your a southerner”

Not everyone in the South spoke like that. Today, some people in the south don’t speak that way either.

I understand you’re 10, but you’re old enough to type comments, so I feel you’re old enough to be spoken to as you typed. You should always take responsibility for what you say on the internet. Be prepared for other people to disagree with you. If you can’t handle the responsibility of what you typed in a comments’ section, don’t comment. Otherwise, I (and others) will speak my mind, I don’t care how old you are. I see no need to curse at you as nothing you said is worth that. I’m not bullying you. But I do feel the need to redirect your thinking on such a sensitive topic. Clearly, you KNEW what you said was going to cause some hurt, which is why you’re asking people not to cyber bully you. I’m not that kind of person, but some readers may be that way.

Thanks for commenting anyway, though your comment made me sad. 😦

LikeLiked by 2 people

I teach 10 year olds. Honestly, they are more advanced than you can imagine. Perhaps I thought of my own children and how they can be. Still, I’ve reviewed my post. Perhaps I was too hard on Sophie. Still, there are other children who read my blog who were highly offended by what was said. I still feel someone should encourage girls to be more open-minded.

If Sophie doesn’t understand racism, isn’t NOW a good time to teach a child about it? Especially because the next American Girl touches on it? If she doesn’t understand heavy subjects, how is she supposed to understand the American Girl books, books that touch on such heavy subjects? It’s up to the community to teach her differently.

“Generationnext,
Look here. Sophie is TEN. She isn’t going to understand beans
about racism and all the other junk you mentioned in your post. Most little kids do not worry so much about their race. Only the adults
complain about it, and then the kids copy the adult’s self-put-down
behavior, and don’t realise that they are turning themselves into
whiners who can’t get over their race.”

Well, it’s not so much about me whining about my race. But so much that all of those girls don’t sell well and I love those dolls and I know other little girls who do. The idea to get rid of them is mean in my eyes.

You may call me a whiner, but you are a white privileged person. You couldn’t possibly comprehend the lack of dignity those of a minority class experienced. You wouldn’t possibly understand what a little ten year old black child thinks when she reads this post. “No one likes girls like me”. But all you can say is “poor little Sophie”.

As a mother figure, I believe in reprimanding children, not protecting them or coddling them. If you respond on my blog, I will speak to you like I would any of my readers or any of my children. I try to teach tolerance and open-mindedness. This helps them grow into compassionate, responsible adults.

I am not bullying this girl. You’re exaggerating. To bully someone is to constantly harass someone, which I am NOT doing.

“You worry way too much about it. If she liked the white dolls, what is it to you? Don’t criticize her and get mad just because she likes them and wants certain dolls to come back. Stop making it a race problem. YOU have the problem and not the 10 year old. YOU are old enough to keep your mouth shut and not tell off a little kid. She doesn’t understand as much as you think she does. I am sure most of what your long post said, went right over her head.”

How many other white girls do you think feels the same way she does? In the long run, what do you think will happen to the dolls of color because of such a viewpoint? It’s fine if she likes white dolls, but it saddens me that she shows a lack of interest in those dolls because I think they have valuable lessons to teach girls. Look at the posts above and what the American Girl place worker said. Also, think about this. Who mostly buys American Girl? White people. If white girls won’t buy girls of color, they will head into the archives. Is that really fair? I wasn’t getting angry at the girl, but I was very hurt. And just like I tell anyone, it really hurts me. In what way did I say anything offensive but the TRUTH?

I am normally NOT the type to make things into a race issue. You should read some of my articles on this page. People think I’M a racist because I don’t condone the “race card” being pulled in every case!
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/black-people-ethnitity/

How little you know of me or my work.

I am old enough to open my mouth and speak up and teach anyone who hasn’t been taught at home. No one is telling a little girl off, but someone is telling her that certain comments offend people. SHE KNEW it would, which is why she told people not to bully her. How about this: Why is a little girl on the internet in the first place? I feel that young children too openly engage with adults. I spoke to her as if she were a kid, but I will not sugarcoat the truth. She is at a age where she should learn that there are different kinds of people in the world. And if this post went over her head, SOMEONE else reading this post will recognize that dolls of color are not looked at favorably. It will help others become aware. One voice can make the difference and change the viewpoints of the future.

“Addy doesn’t use the right vocabulary” That’s her reason as to why the doll should be removed. If that isn’t racist, what is? You tell me since you think I’m just being a “race whiner”. It comes from home. No one would think about race if no one singled any races out. Let’s play the reverse game. Imagine if all the dolls in the world, including Barbie were black and there were never any blue eyed blonde dolls that look like Sophie or your daughter. Those little girls would be begging for dolls that look just like them and you know it. But what if they just didn’t sell. Use your imagination. And the few blond, blue eyed dolls that DID exist, little girls want American Girl to get rid of because they don’t “understand” the doll. Or because the doll doesn’t make money. Or if little girls thought the doll was “ugly”.

” I am sure most of what your long post said, went right over her head. I have a 9 1/2 year old niece, and I can tell you that she doesn’t get a lot of the stuff going on among the whiny adults who feel sorry for themselves because of race. Kids that young think in black and white and take things as they are. And, of course, you are old enough to understand what that means, and that it is NOT a racial statement. Only some low IQ idiot would think that it is. “

I have a nine year old cousin. I teach 10 year olds! But guess what? My cousin is black and CAN’T ignore what’s going on like your niece. She experiences people calling her hair “nappy” and calling black dolls ugly. Just look at the post above of an AMERICAN GIRL WORKER. Your niece doesn’t understand these things because no one has taught her to apparently, but it’s not because she can’t understand it. My 9 year old cousin doesn’t have a choice because the “white race” is choked down her throat. On Disney channel, in movies, all she sees are white girls and wonders why her hair isn’t straight or why her skin is dark. She can’t help but know what’s going on and ask questions.

But based on your comment, why read American Girl? Are you saying that subjects in the American Girl books are too much for children? I’m not saying anything that isn’t mentioned in an American Girl book. Education begins early and I’m not dumbing anything down.

She is a kid, but kids can be trained to shoot and kill. They can also develop subconscious racist attitudes from HOME. That’s where it begins. It starts with the youth and they grow up culturally ignorant and the cycle continues. If you want people to stop whining about racism, do something to STOP it. To me, it’s just as bad as bullying someone on the internet.

You are a privileged white person, comfortable that little white girls like Sophie can have their dream doll, while the other dolls of color will not be favored. Little girls of color will be looked down on. Their history will be looked down on. All because their ancestors were barred from an education and couldn’t speak “properly”.

“As to how Addy speaks, Sophie is right in a way. In her young 10 year old mind, it sounds wrong. And, Sophie is not mature enough yet, to see the larger picture of why Addy speaks that way. They barely touch on slavery in the lower grades. The kids are not old enough to fully grasp the deeper problems blacks had, during that time, at age 10. Adult concepts are not for young children. So, back off!! And, YOU are quite wrong about Felicity. She has PERFECT grammar and language skills, as befitting a proper young lady. Kids today, can’t even speak correctly half the time, and race is not even a factor there, now.”

I understand she has a point about Addy. Still, whether Addy was black OR white, I don’t think it’s right to look down on someone just because they speak differently. These are history books, not English ones. If Addy were a white southern bell, no one would say anything. Again, I understand how her ten year old mind thinks. But as a teacher, I teach those who judge quickly and redirect the mind to understand new perspectives. If you want to let your children run around not understanding what’s going on in the stories, that’s up to you.

Further, I still think it’s sad that people want to get rid of Addy because she doesn’t speak a certain way. I feel that Addy’s stories teach valuable lessons and help children appreciate education.

Yes, Sophie ISN’T old enough to see the larger picture. SO THAT’S WHY I’M HERE to EXPLAIN IT TO HER. I’m here to help her see the larger picture. And maybe some WHITE kids aren’t old enough to understand. But BLACK children understand perfectly because they’ve experienced the same things.

Adult concepts should be TAUGHT to 10 year olds because their Asian, hispanic, and black peers experience these things everyday. Children like Sophie should learn to appreciate all of mankind. And I have no problem redirecting someone’s thinking. After all, isn’t that what a writer does? Isn’t that the point of the American Girl brand? Isn’t that why we teach history to children? If someone doesn’t know any better, do we just ignore it and laugh it off? I don’t think I said anything rude to Sophie. I simply disagreed with her suggestions.

If girls can’t handle such concepts, why read American Girl? Oh I know why. TO LEARN. What you’re saying is that girls shouldn’t learn, and I shouldn’t teach them. You’re saying that American Girl concepts go over their heads. So why does American Girl feed it to children? Apparently, demographic studies show that girls are never too young to learn about the world. The only people stopping them are those who want to keep them ignorant. I don’t believe in keeping a child ignorant. SO NO. I will not back off.

Felicity doesn’t speak the English we speak. Instead of saying “Yes” she says “Aye”. Instead of saying, “It was”, Felicity says “T’was” which was actually a shortened form of the word and INFORMAL. My children do not understand that and always ask what language she speaks. XD Perfect grammar for OLD English. But most children think she sounds funny. The logic is still flawed. Language evolves and change. We have incorporated words from overseas you can’t imagine. We have Italian, French, and African words wrapped in the English language. No one speaks like Felicity does. You’re just making excuses for her.

“Did you know that some blacks had a white slave owner father and many could pass for white? And, later on, when marriage between blacks and whites was made legal, the same thing was possible? Did you ever think about that?? So, white is a non-issue. A person of black decent with a white father or mother is NOT all black, they are HALF. And so, you could make up your OWN story with a white doll. It’s called having a mature and active imagination that is not tainted by racist junk. “

And I also know some blacks had slaves. But that is irrelevant.

In the past, someone who was half white COULD pass for white, but they had to LIE about it. Why? Because if they sided with their black side, they would be denied certain privileges. Those black people with slave owners for fathers were raped. Why is that a good thing? Slave owners ignored slave marriages and took women that they wanted for themselves.

Making a half white doll wouldn’t be bad. Imagining what a child wants isn’t bad. What’s your point? You’re not helping Sophie’s case or yours. It’s irrelevant. Making up a doll’s story is different from actually thinking all the dolls of color should be removed because their background doesn’t fit with yours. The point of American Girl is to teach girls NEW things, not familiar things. And I have no qualms with telling a 10 year old that.

Being “white” isn’t an issue. And I never said that. I’m saying that ALL girls, Hispanic, Asian, Native American AND black are just as important as the white dolls. Kaya and Josefina aren’t black, so what’s the point of mentioning slaves.

They have those dolls so little white girls won’t be culturally ignorant. The white dolls also teach black children not to be culturally ignorant. I received my first American Girl at 8 years old. Even though I don’t speak Spanish, I learned a lot from Josefina. It helped me to be more open-minded about Mexicans. I never understood what Felicity was saying. But I enjoyed reading hers. I hated that she enjoyed a plantation with slaves even at age 9, but now I understood no one taught her any better, and I wanted girls like her to know better. I was a black 8 year old when I received my Felicity. If I hadn’t read about girls different from me, I wouldn’t have grown into the culturally open person I am today. I feel American Girl has the potential to do that for young girls. Addy’s books are no exception.

“What the heck is she taking about. Nobody told me to think white dolls are better. I just like whatever doll I like.” She has both Kaya and Saige. She chose both based on looks alone. Pretty to one person isn’t always pretty to another. Deal with it. She never told me, “I like this doll because she is a minority and blah blah.” She wanted Kaya because the doll was pretty. She was 6 at the time, and we had gone to the AG store with my mom and her older sister. She still likes both of her dolls, but doesn’t play with either anymore, in favor of her iPod and tablet. The stupid devices win every time. “

A girl can choose any dolls she wants if she likes it. That’s not even the point. If a girl likes a doll, she does. It isn’t Sophie’s choices that I think are racist. It’s the COMMENTS as to why she thinks all the dolls of color should be removed, meaning no OTHER girls can have access to the dolls, and for reasons that are unfair. I can understand if she said because the dolls cost too much or because she doesn’t like those time periods (which I still would think is a shame, just not for racial reasons). Your niece likes Kaya. How would she feel if that doll was removed because she doesn’t sell well? How would the American Girl collection look if it were ALL-WHITE? That is what Sophie was suggesting. Re-read the comment. She didn’t realize it so I was helping her notice it.

Addy’s culture has to do with her race. That’s why attacking her grammar is racist. It was a part of her culture as an African American and part of the reason racism existed. Many white people thought black people were stupid because they didn’t speak the “correct” English, according to white people’s standards (though they didn’t either. Much of the English language has deviated from its original “British” origins). This is why many didn’t support black-owned businesses or listened to them when they spoke out on political issues. The other dolls, Kaya and Josefina, don’t sell well, but neither did MG or Kirsten. Why does she want to get rid of the dolls of color then?

No one tells a white girl to be racist. They form prejudices based on what they are exposed to and what they AREN’T exposed to. It’s up to others to help them become aware of the world around them. If the home doesn’t expose the child to various cultures, they grow up culturally ignorant. That happened to someone I know. There was a black girl I knew who was only raised around black people. She never had white friends or played with white dolls. She only knew one white person, and used to think the person smelled bad. So she went around thinking all white people smelled bad, like a wet dog. She grew up with that ignorant attitude. When she got to college, she asked her teacher “Why do all white people smell bad?” The white students in the class were HIGHLY offended, and said “We don’t all smell bad.” She grew up culturally ignorant. No one told her to be racist, but she was because no one taught her any different either. I don’t side with any one race. I support all, and stand against racism on all sides.

“And, you know what? Sophie NEVER even said that she didn’t want any doll of another race. YOU made that up!! You are too hung up on race. Read her post again. How you got that out of her innocent post, I have NO idea. I guess you are one of those idiots who are demanding special black this and that in our colleges now, right? I guess you can’t handle being black, or you would not be so mad at what Sophie wrote. It’s 2015 and NOT the time before the civil rights movement, so get over yourself. Perpetuating racism is stupid. YOU can move forward, if you want to.”

Clearly I said she’s not an ACTIVE racist. Re-read it again. I said she’s not someone who outright treats people of color meanly. Racism doesn’t have to be that. Some people develop racist attitudes based on their environment, based on what they’re exposed to (or not exposed to). I know she never said that she didn’t want any doll of another race. However, all of her complaints, even the one about Melody, have been about the dolls of color. Even in her other comments above. I can tell when someone is culturally ignorant and someone who has latent racist attitudes. Anyone can tell that she was raised to favor white dolls.

You think her not liking dolls of color is just harmless. It’s not. In actuality, how she views the minority dolls will carry on with her as an adult and how she interacts with people who are different in the real world. Will she see them as expendable or unimportant? If she looks down on someone who doesn’t speak English properly, how will she view people like that in the real world (who are mostly people of color)? Imagine how she will look at someone in the future. There are people in the world who speak with different accents or speak broken English. “American” English isn’t spoken like the original “U.K.” English. Will she look down on someone who speaks a different form of English? This has nothing to do with a doll. It’s how she sees them in general and how they can carry with her as an adult in the real world. You can learn a lot about a child through what they play with and what they choose as “company”. It has happened and it can. That’s why we have to teach our children about the world now. It has to do with her mindset, not her choices of dolls. Such an innocent post can hide something so deeply rooted, you can’t even find it. Just like someone can bully someone and the post be so innocent, you don’t even recognize it.

Again, how little you know of me and my work. I am the LAST person to demand black this and black that.
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/black-people-ethnitity/
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2015/09/09/ferguson-peggy-hubbard-black-lives-matter/
https://soratothamax.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/disneys-first-black-princess-the-princess-and-the-frog/

When I was younger, sometimes I couldn’t handle being black. And it is because I met people like Sophie who used to make me hate who I was. But as I get older, I realize that some people weren’t taught any better. Sophie wasn’t either. And like I said in my comment above, it’s not her fault because she doesn’t know any better. STILL, I feel SOMEONE should teach her SOMETHING. If the American Girl books can’t reach her, as long as she’s responding on my blog, I will. The Civil Rights Movement has NOTHING to do with racism. Racism can exist outside of movements. And it can be rooted in the subconscious. The people still involved with the movement are still alive and have deep scars from that period. They are still teaching their children of the time.

By you saying, “it’s 2015, move on” you act like history is irrelevant. The point of American Girl is to LOOK TO THE PAST and LEARN FOR THE FUTURE so that those same mistakes won’t be repeated. The easiest way to do that is to teach it to the younger children, who are at an impressionable age. From your point of view, why read American Girl historical fiction at all? We should all just “move on” instead of learn history, right? Me speaking out about racism is no different from American Girl books talking about it.

“She also never said she could only relate to white dolls. YOU are the one who made a false claim that she only could relate to white dolls. She isn’t racist, but you sure are. Assuming this of a 10 year old is wrong.”

She didn’t have to openly say she only related to white dolls. She clearly does without realizing it. She said before “Maryellen is pretty, but why is Melody sandwiched between Maryellen and Julie”. She also wanted to get rid of all the dolls of color and never mentioned any of the other dolls like Kit or Rebecca. Rebecca doesn’t make that much money either. And yet, she did want to remove dolls she doesn’t relate to. Relating allows someone to favor or like something. It’s a subconscious thing, meaning something she wasn’t aware of but something that could’ve offended someone far worse then it has me. You act like I cursed at the girl and banned her or removed her comments. I did not.

How am I racist? XD You are using that word out of context. Dictionary.com is useful in these situations.

“I am sure some blacks prefer the black dolls Cecile and Addy over the white dolls. It goes BOTH WAYS. WHO THE HECK CARES. I sure don’t. I’m white and I love most of the dolls, regardless of race. I choose based on what I like, and NOT based on race.”

I wouldn’t tell those black girls any different. I encourage black girls to buy the Native American, Asian, and Mexican American Girls so that they can be more open-minded. What if a black girl came and said, “Get rid of all the dolls except Addy, Josefina, and Kaya since they are the only ones who actually teach real history”. Or “replace all the dolls with native american dolls since they were in the USA first”.

Still, I don’t run across too many black girls who prefer the black dolls. In actuality, even black girls buy and prefer the white dolls. My first two dolls were Samantha and Felicity, two dolls I felt were pretty. My mother used to tell me Addy’s hair was too nappy. A BLACK WOMAN. I used to look at my own hair and wonder why no one liked that. Now I understand why. But then, I felt ugly.

It’s great you have dolls of color. Still, there are girls, whether they have many dolls, who would rather have an all-white collection. You are just not one of them.

“She isn’t an adult. YOU ARE. You should know better. She isn’t old enough to understand half of what you even said. You should be a mature adult and
apologize for your rude behavior toward her.”

Since you’re an expert on being an adult, how would YOU have responded to that post?

I feel I acted very mature, especially considering what she would’ve gotten if she’d spoken like this to someone her age or to someone on Youtube. As an adult, I feel it is my responsibility to redirect the minds of children, especially on the internet. I feel, as the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”. I don’t know if you have children of your own or work with children outside of their home environment (they tend to act differently around peers), but I don’t feel that children should walk around culturally ignorant and if I see it, I speak up. I DO know better, and that is why I told her better. If you really want to know some 10 year olds, try teaching a 5th grade class nowadays. Let’s just say I feel the Chrissa Stands Strong movie is an example of how my classroom is.

I’m sorry I offended you or you took it the wrong way, but I will not take back what I said. Hopefully, she will think about it and maybe consider opening her mind a little more. I didn’t respond in a rude fashion. If I did, point it out and I will rephrase my comment. But I do feel it needs to be said to children, and as early as TEN.

All the texting and computers have ruined the ability to think about proper writing skills and properly write with good grammar, punctuation and spelling. And, the teachers do not enforce those skills much now. My 9 1/2 year old niece can’t spell, etc to save her life and gets away with it. She doesn’t know how to use a dictionary, and in my day, we HAD to. It’s terrible. I love her, but not how she has lower grade level skills thanks to poor teaching.

This actually gave me a chuckle. It’s true. Children today can’t spell. BUT I often felt that Addy’s speech can help them realize what happens when they DON’T get an education. To add, even at history museums, you might find journal entries from people who possibly didn’t speak what we would call “proper”, but it teaches people about the time period.

So, how can American Girl teach little white girls like Sophie about slavery and still be accurate historically? It’s a strong challenge because white girls won’t touch a book with poor vocabulary, but that was how families of slaves talked. What is your solution to this problem?

I myself, do not care much for Josefina, for example. I have no interest in her clothes, and looks and all. If she was retired, I would not care. But, I love Addy and Cecile. They have better stories, clothes, and looks. But, I bet you will turn that into a race problem too. Everyone has a right to want to have certain dolls retired or brought back, and so what if they don’t have an interest in a doll of a different race and don’t think about wanting them to come back? Don’t make it your immature problem. It is good to retire dolls and have new ones, and for a while, if there are only dolls of one race, get over it. They are just dolls!!

But your reasons for disliking Josefina has nothing to do with her speaking Spanish or because you don’t like her culture, and if that WERE the case, I would strongly suggest you reconsider, just as I am with Sophie. It’s easy for people to pick what they are comfortable with, but it takes a seriously open-minded person to try a new culture and learn about it. I still think it’s a shame that people don’t honor the 18th and 19th century dolls. It’s one of the reasons I know the historical line of dolls won’t last that long. XD After tackling the 21st century, heading farther back in history will be a challenge.

Also, the difference between you and Sophie is that you don’t zero in on one doll of color, you like some and you dislike others. Your reasons are logical, like clothing styles and content of character, things that can be changed in a person or with a new updated character in that time period.

If they don’t want me to make it my problem, why are they commenting to me? XD Clearly, they wanted to share their thoughts with me, and as the blogger, I’m not just going to ignore anyone who posts. I’ve had kids I’ve ignored before and they have told me to respond to them. That makes no sense to talk to someone and not expect them to respond back.

“Sorry if you do not like what I said. But, I call it as I see it. I do not expect to hear a stupid and rude rant from you about anything I have written. I expect you to grow up and think carefully about what I wrote. If you want to have your own blog, you need to be nice to whoever posts here, especially children. You can’t spew adult stuff at little kids. You deserved this dressing down. Next time, don’t go
after innocent 10 year old kids.”

Just as you call it as you see it, so do I, and clearly we have two different viewpoints and upbringing.

You don’t expect me to rant, but I never ignore a comment. I will respond to whoever I want and sometimes my posts are long-winded. I will admit that. I will try to be careful how I approach a 10 year old, but I will not change what I say or what I feel needs to be said even to a child. It’s your choice whether you ignore it or not. Here’s a suggestion: Instead of wasting your time ranting over my comment, a comment that clearly seems to get under your skin, why not ignore it? I was commenting to a reader based on “how I saw it”. It was not a rant, it was an explanation as to why I disagreed with her post. I didn’t use aggressive words, exclamations, or vulgar words. If I ranted, please point it out. YOUR comment was clearly a rant, though.

I have my own blog to release my opinions. If a child wants to post here, they have to be prepared for me to respond as I would to any readers. Otherwise, I will ban this blog to all children under the age of 21. If they are not mature enough to handle the content, then I will ban them from it. I keep it open because I’m a person who believes in freedom of speech and want to hear how people think, even a child. I don’t think what I said was mean-spirited, but I was completely hurt by what was said and expressed that. I know other little girls who were too. I even allowed YOUR comment to come through because I want to hear different viewpoints, but I have mine as well and will give it as I see fit.

Again, the little kids need SOMEONE to go after them. Too many of them have too much freedom on the internet and don’t know how their comments affect other people. I believe in teaching children to be responsible for their comments.

She knew how people can be mean on message boards. But if she had nothing mean to say, why even say that? No one can be mean to someone who isn’t mean. She may not be AWARE that she was saying something mean, but she knew that someone would be offended.

“Oh yes… You shouldn’t bring up the whole kids are spoiled thing, either. You just implied that she is a spoiled brat. How RUDE. I would say that YOU are the spoiled brat, because you can’t deal with a simple post written by a little 10 year old kid who likes certain dolls for no reason at all, other than she just likes certain dolls. She never said it was for a race reason. YOU did though. Seriously, you have mental issues. You attacked this little kid for your own selfish and racist reasons.”

Most older people think the next generation is spoiled. This is nothing new. And that point had nothing to do with racism. That was a SECOND reason as to why I don’t think they should get rid of those dolls. XD I think you’re the one making a bigger deal out of it than even I am. I do believe that we all are more spoiled today than people living in the 18th and 19th centuries. I feel that is what is valuable about the 18th and 19th century stories. That was one of the reasons I felt the dolls should stay. From my experience, children understand the least of how privileged modern society is. We have smart phones, automatic toilets, free education, grocery stores, clean hospitals, television, etc. These are things people take for granted, especially children. I believe in teaching children to understand that times were not always that easy and believe in helping them to be thankful for what they have. It’s an important lesson, and one taught over and over again in the American Girl books. Why can’t I bring this up on my own blog?

The kids in my classroom all kept saying what they wanted for Christmas and when I asked what they were giving their parents, they all said parents are supposed to give things to kids. That’s really sad. I do feel people should teach children to be thankful and grateful and understanding. The older American Girls really taught that to me at a young age. It taught me to give rather than receive. The 18th and 19th century girls also help them cope with death and harsh issues. I lost my father at 9 years old. Josefina’s story really helped me get through that period in my life. There are other girls who suffer the same things.

You said “for no reason at all”, but she actually DID give reasons. Addy doesn’t speak “proper English” and the others “don’t sell”. Remember? So clearly she just doesn’t dislike the dolls for “no reason at all”.

How can I attack someone for my own selfish reasons? What do I gain from attacking a 10 year old? XD How old are you?

Again, thank you for giving your opinion. But I stand by what I said and I feel it is the right thing to do.

LikeLike