American Girl (book series)

The American Girl series, by various authors, is a collection of novels set within toy line's fictional universe. Since its inception, American Girl has published books based on the dolls, with novels and other media to tie in with their dolls. The books follow various American girls throughout both historical eras and contemporary settings.
The historical novels that have corresponding dolls are referred to as the Central Series. There is also the Girl of the Year line of characters from contemporary settings.
A related series entitled History Mysteries, also known as Mysteries Through Time and/or Mysteries through History was released by American Girl in 1999 and discontinued in 2004.
The Historical Characters line featured dolls representing girls from various historical eras. Each doll had a series of six books that followed a standard structure, which were known as the Central Series. These books covered topics such as school, holidays, birthdays, and overcoming challenges. They also had a standard naming convention of Meet (Name), (Name) Learns a Lesson, (Name)'s Surprise, Happy Birthday, (Name)!, (Name) Saves the Day, and Changes for (Name). The series began to deviate from this rigid naming structure in 2002 with the introduction of the character of Kaya, whose lifestyle did not include birthdays or a formal winter holiday. Despite changing the naming structure, the series continued to have six books that covered about two years of the character's life. In 2014, American Girl rebranded the Historical Characters line into Beforever. With this rebranding came a modification of the series structure. The books were condensed into two volumes, which each covered three of the original books. New characters were released with two books in their series. In 2019 the line was changed back to the Historical Characters name. The books were republished without Beforever on the cover, but the two volume structure remained.
In addition to the Central Series, some characters received mysteries. These are set either during the central series or after the events of those books. They are longer than the original books, and often cover heavier or more nuanced topics. There are also short stories, which also take place during or after the main series but are much shorter, and often corresponded with outfits or accessories for the dolls. The characters available during the Beforever branding also received "My Journey" books which were "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" (or gamebook style) stories where a modern girl went back in time to meet the main character. There are assorted other books related to the historical characters, including ones showing what happened between books, explaining historical context, or other stories, that vary based on character.
Kirsten Larson (1854–1856)
Samantha Parkington (1904–1906) The Samantha novels were first illustrated by Nancy Niles. Later editions were illustrated by Dan Andreasen.
Molly McIntire (1944–1946)
Felicity Merriman (1774–1776)
Addy Walker (1864–1866)
Josefina Montoya (1824–1826)
Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge (1932–1935)
Kaya'aton'my (1764–1766)
Julie Albright (1974–1977)
Rebecca Rubin (1914–1916)
Cécile Rey & Marie-Grace Gardner (1853–1854)
Caroline Abbott (1812–1813)
Samantha Parkington (1904-1906)
Molly McIntire (1944-1946)
Felicity Merriman (1774-1776)
Addy Walker (1864-1866)
Josefina Montoya (1824-1826)
Kit Kittredge (1932-1935)
Kaya'aton'my (1764-1766)
Julie Albright (1974-1977)
Rebecca Rubin (1914-1916)
Caroline Abbott (1812-1813)
Maryellen Larkin (1954-1956)
Melody Ellison (1963-1964)
Nanea Mitchell (1941-1942)
Courtney Moore (1986-1987)
Claudie Wells (1922)
Isabel and Nicki Hoffman (1999)
Kirsten Larson (1854-1856)
Samantha Parkington (1904-1906)
Molly McIntire (1944-1946)
Felicity Merriman (1774-1776)
Addy Walker (1864-1866)
Josefina Montoya (1824-1826)
Kit Kittredge (1932-1935)
Kaya'aton'my (1764-1766)
Julie Albright (1974-1977)
Rebecca Rubin (1914-1916)
Cécile Rey & Marie-Grace Gardner (1853-1854)
Caroline Abbott (1812-1813)
Maryellen Larkin (1954-1956)
Melody Ellison (1963-1964)
Nanea Mitchell (1941-1942)
Kirsten Larson (1854-1856)
Samantha Parkington (1904-1906)
Molly McIntire (1944-1946)
Felicity Merriman (1774-1776)
Addy Walker (1864-1866)
Josefina Montoya (1824-1826)
Kit Kittredge (1932-1935)
Kaya'aton'my (1764-1766)
Kirsten Larson (1854-1856)
Samantha Parkington (1904-1906)
Molly McIntire (1944-1946)
Felicity Merriman (1774-1776)
Addy Walker (1864-1866)
Josefina Montoya (1824-1826)
Kit Kittredge (1932-1935)
Kaya'aton'my (1764-1766)
Julie Albright (1974-1977)
Rebecca Rubin (1914-1916)
Cécile Rey & Marie-Grace Gardner (1853-1854)
Caroline Abbott (1812-1813)
Melody Ellison (1963-1964)
Nanea Mitchell (1941-1942)
There are some books that incorporate stories and characters from multiple of the Historical Characters series.
Beginning in 2021, to celebrate their 35th anniversary, American Girl released several Little Golden Books which retold stories from the Historical Character's books for a younger audience. The books combined stories from different series under a common theme, such as birthdays or holidays.
Lindsey Bergman (2001)
Kailey Hopkins (2003)
Marisol Luna (2005)
Jess McConnell (2006)
Nicki Fleming (2007)
Mia St. Clair (2008)
Chrissa Maxwell (2009)
Lanie Holland (2010)
Kanani Akina (2011)
McKenna Brooks (2012)
Saige Copeland (2013)
Isabelle Palmer (2014)
Grace Thomas (2015)
Lea Clark (2016)
Gabriela McBride (2017)
Luciana Vega (2018)
Blaire Wilson (2019)
Joss Kendrick (2020)
Kira Bailey (2021)
Corinne Tan (2022)
Kavi Sharma (2023)
Lila Monetti (2024)
Tenney Grant
Z Yang
The series comprises a total of 22 books by various authors and forms a companion series to the popular American Girl books; unlike Girl of the Year and other lines, they do not come with any doll or toy and acts as a stand-alone novel set in a particular period in American history. The characters were generally older, ranging from ages ten to fourteen, and the books were marketed as for ages ten and up. Many of the authors from this series later moved on to write for the Central Series. Several books from the series were later re-released in digital form by Open Road Integrated Media.
Titles in order of publication:
Girls of Many Lands was a collection of dolls and books focusing on girls from different historical periods and countries around the world. The line was aimed towards an older demographic than the Historical Characters line, as they were smaller more delicate dolls, and longer books with more complex themes. The line had eight characters total, and was available from 2002 to 2005.
The Wellie Wishers line of dolls was introduced in 2016 to appeal to a younger demographic. Books can be purchased with the dolls, or separately. The books focus on the main characters playing in their backyard and visiting fantasy worlds.
Titles in order of publication:
There is a line of Scholastic Reader books that retell episodes of the animated series, or contain information about the show. These include: