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Minidolls

Mini dolls of several Historical Characters (Classic versions).

Mini Dolls are smaller versions of 18" dolls and Bitty Baby dolls.

18" dolls have been mostly focused on the Historical (and BeForever) Characters as well as Historical Best Friend Characters; there have also been small releases of Girl of the Year, Contemporary Characters, and Truly Me dolls. 18" Mini dolls are generally available through American Girl directly and many places where American Girl books are sold. Sometimes they are sold in bundles at discount warehouse stores such as Costco with a full set of character books. Felicity, Kit, Molly, and Samantha were also sold with their movies.

Miniature Bitty Baby dolls, with one exception, have been part of the modern doll line. To date, there has never been a miniature version of any WellieWishers dolls.

Historical Mini Dolls As an Accessory (1995-2000)[]

The first mini dolls were released in 1995 and originally were advertised as dolls for the American Girl Dolls of Today. The five available at the launch were:

Each came with a mini-pamphlet and abridged, hardback copy of the character's meet book that were not sold elsewhere.[1] Each 6" doll had fixed glass eyes, wigged hair, and came in her meet outfit at a cost of $20. A set of all five was available for $90. Mini dolls, like their larger counterparts, had soft cloth bodies, neck strings and jointed vinyl limbs.

Clothing was fully removable. The Molly mini doll came with small silver plastic glasses, but no other accessories were available for mini dolls, such as miniature meet accessories.

A mini Josefina was available after her release.

As a Separate Line (2000-2014)[]

SamanthaMini2004

The Samantha Parkington mini doll, prior to the BeForever revamp.

With Mattel's purchase, the dolls were modified both in marketing and features. Dolls were advertised as smaller versions of the full sized dolls as well as remaining as dolls for dolls.

The most striking difference between Pre-Mattel and the original Mattel mini dolls are that Mattel dolls had painted on eyes and rooted hair. The mini dolls were not easily rewiggable.

Clothing was modified to fit on a smaller, less bulky scale; for example, Kit's sweater and cardigan came as one piece.

Mini dolls for Kit Kittredge, Kaya'aton'my, Julie Albright, Rebecca Rubin, Cécile Rey, Marie-Grace Gardner, and Caroline Abbott were each released at the same time as the main doll was launched. When Felicity Merriman's meet outfit was changed in 2005, the outfit on the mini doll was changed to match.

Dolls were also released for the Best Friend Characters: Ruthie, Emily, Nellie, Elizabeth, and Ivy.[2]

Around 2005, the buttons on some clothes was replaced with embroidery. Book covers changed to match the full sized versions and remained hardback even when larger hardback books were phased out.

The price on mini dolls eventually rose to $24. Originally, it was possible to purchase all the mini dolls at a discount as each new doll became available, with the group price rising to include the new doll. After Julie was launched, only the Historical Characters were sold as a group at a cost of $183. This was discontinued with the release of Rebecca's mini doll and dolls are now only available to be purchased individually.

BeForever and Historical Mini Dolls (2014-present)[]

MiniSamanthaBeForever

The BeForever Mini Doll of Samantha Parkington.

With the launch of BeForever, Mini Dolls were changed to all vinyl with flange joints and all older Mini Dolls were retired. If a character was not part of the BeForever line, the mini doll was not initially rereleased in a new form. Cécile and Marie-Grace's mini dolls were retired entirely. New outfits were released for dolls that changed meet outfits and will fit on older dolls. Costs rose to $25. Dolls are bundled with an abridged copy of the first volume in their Classic Series. Josefina's Mini doll was not initially available. As characters are released, so are their mini dolls, including rereleased characters; however, no mini dolls have been made yet of any characters released after or including Courtney Moore.

Felicity, Kirsten, and Molly's mini dolls were rereleased with the BeForever modifications in the Classic Meet Outfits and an abridged copy of their one-story meet books for a limited time in 2016. Felicity and Molly were later rereleased in their newer outfits and remain available. Kirsten remains available in her classic meet outfit.

As Part of Courtney's Collection[]

CourtneysPleasantCompanyDoll

Courtney's Pleasant Company Doll

In 2020 with the release of Courtney Moore, her collection included at launch a mini doll of Molly in Courtney's Pleasant Company Doll, as in her stories Courtney receives the doll for Christmas 1986.

The doll is dressed in Molly's classic outfit, unlike the available Mini Molly Doll; however, it still has the newer traits of modern mini dolls (and the BeForever Style mini Molly) such as an all-vinyl body and painted eyes.

Girl of the Year and Contemporary Characters Mini Dolls[]

No mini dolls for the Girl of the Year line were made prior to Saige Copeland's release.

Mini dolls for the Girl of the Year line were typically released on January 1 with the launch of the full-sized doll.[3] Unlike the mini dolls for the Historical Characters/BeForever line, the Girl of the Year mini dolls were generally only available through websites such as Amazon.com or physical stores such as Barnes and Noble or Target; they were not sold through a character's collection or American Girl's online store (though following a Girl of the Year's retirement or during a sale, mini dolls may have been sold at a discount on American Girl's online store.) They were also sometimes sold in Costco warehouse bundles with the character's first two books.[4]

Both Saige Copeland and Isabelle Palmer mini dolls had fabric bodies; starting with Grace Thomas, Girl of the Year mini dolls were given all-vinyl bodies.

In 2016, a second mini doll of Lea Clark in her hiking outfit was released with a unique stand resembling a tropical tree. This was initially only available at stores for $34 and was later sold online at a discount.

Tenney Grant also received a mini doll, but her companion Logan did not; neither did Z Yang. Gabriela's mini doll was not available with her release; it was available by July 2017. Gabriela, Tenney, and Luciana's dolls were initially only available at bookstores and third-party retailers, but they were later sold in stores.

No Girl of the Year characters after Luciana have received mini dolls.

Girl of the Year/Contemporary Character Mini Dolls
Saige MiniDoll
Isabelle MiniDoll
GraceMiniDoll
MiniLeaDoll
Saige Copeland Isabelle Palmer Grace Thomas Lea Clark
LeaAdventureMiniDoll
Gabriela MiniDoll
Luciana MiniDoll
Mini-Tenney
Hiking Outfit Lea Clark Gabriela McBride Luciana Vega Tenney Grant

Modern Mini Dolls[]

SmartGirlsFriendshipKit

A mini doll (#6) with the Smart Girl's Guide Kit: Friendship Troubles set.

Starting in 2019, modern mini dolls were released as components to the Smart Girl's Guides Kits. Purchasers can pick a single doll from a selection of six various dolls to come with the kit. Dolls come dressed in a miniature version of the Stay True to the Real You Tee, jean leggings, pink panties, and plastic blue bow flats. They were initially not available to purchase separately from the sets; later, dolls and kits were sold separately online at a discount, and dolls were initially valued at $25 but sold for less.

These dolls are categorized as follows:

  • #1: Blond Hair, Blue Eyes, Light Skin (10) (Mini Classic Mold)
  • #2: Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Light Skin (10) (Mini Classic Mold)
  • #3: Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Medium Skin (20) (Mini Josefina Mold)
  • #4: Auburn Hair, Blue Eyes, Light Skin (10) (Mini Josefina Mold)
  • #5: Dark Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Light Skin (10) (Mini Classic Mold)
  • #6: Dark Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Dark Skin (30) (Mini Addy Mold)

All of them were retired with the retirement of the Smart Girl's Guides Kits.

In 2021 a miniature version of Just Like You 88 was included as part of the Day at the AG Cafe Set.

Limited Edition Mini Dolls[]

25th Anniversary Limited Edition Historical Mini Dolls[]

MiniDollShelf

The Mini Doll Shelf.

For the 25th anniversary in 2011, American Girl released a collectible Mini Doll line. One doll was released each month, along with the Mini Doll Display Shelf. Retail cost of the shelf is $48. It was advertised as having a place to put the nameplate stickers that came with each of the holiday dolls. Each doll was dressed in their holiday outfit[5] and came with an abridged copy of their Holiday books.[6] Retail cost of each doll was $22. The dolls were retired at the end of 2011, but the shelf remained available until it was retired in 2014.

Visual Gallery of the 25th Anniversary Mini Dolls
MiniSam25Anniversary
MiniFel25Anniversary
MiniKir25Anniversary
MiniAddy25Anniversary
Samantha Parkington Felicity Merriman Kirsten Larson Addy Walker
MiniMol25Anniversary
MiniJos25Anniversary
MiniKaya25Anniversary
MiniKit25Anniversary
Molly McIntire Josefina Montoya Kaya'aton'my Kit Kittredge
MiniJul25Anniversary
MiniReb25Anniversary
MiniCeci25Anniversary
MiniMG 25Anniversary
Julie Albright Rebecca Rubin Cécile Rey Marie-Grace Gardner

30th Anniversary Limited Edition Historical Mini Dolls[]

In 2016 for the 30th anniversary, American Girl again released several Special Edition Mini Dolls of the BeForever characters. The mini dolls are dressed in alternate outfits that had not been released on mini dolls before.[7] Caroline and Melody are the exceptions as Caroline was archived and Melody had not yet formally debuted at the time of the release. The 2016 Special Edition mini dolls came with abridged copies of their My Journey Books and a unique stand that poses the doll in a walking style (similar to the poses on the first edition meet books). Each cost $28.

The Special Edition mini dolls are dressed in the following outfits:


Visual Gallery of the 2016 Special Edition Mini Dolls
Kaya2016SpecialEditionMini
Josefina2016SpecialEditionMini
Addy2016SpecialEditionMini
Samantha2016SpecialEditionMini
Kaya'aton'my Josefina Montoya Addy Walker Samantha Parkington
Rebecca2016SpecialEditionMini
Kit2016SpecialEditionMini
Maryellen2016SpecialEditionMini
Julie2016SpecialEditionMini
Rebecca Rubin Kit Kittredge Maryellen Larkin Julie Albright


Additional Accessories[]

American Girl released two accessories for mini dolls, the Butterfly Mini Doll Tote and the Mini Doll Tote. They were designed for 18" dolls to be able to carry mini dolls.

Mini Bitty Baby[]

The first miniature version of a Bitty Baby was released in 2005 with both the American Girl of Today Baby and Stroller Set and the historical character Felicity's Baby Polly and Cradle set; these were cloth bodied dolls with similar construction to full-sized Bitty Baby dolls.

In 2021 the Caring for Baby Set was released (with a later dark skinned version in 2022); the sets, along with the accessories, included an all vinyl 8" baby doll. However, these were each considered accessory sets and not advertised as miniature Bitty Baby items. Additionally, Blix, Corinne Tan's baby brother, was released in the miniature Bitty Baby size in 2022.

LittleBittyBaby-Dark

Little Bitty Baby doll (dark).

The first item marketed as related to Bitty Baby was with the 2023 release of Little Bitty Baby Doll. The doll comes in both dark skinned and light skinned versions (which are the exact same versions included with the Caring for Baby set) with a headband, sleeper, and diaper for $26.

Three items for use with Little Bitty Baby were also released:

References[]

  1. The only exception was the 2009 and 2015 releases of the Doll School kit, which came with a mini Meet Rebecca paperback book.
  2. Ivy was not released with a mini doll at the same time her collection was released and did not get her own mini doll until 2011, four years after she was introduced in 2007.
  3. Saige Copeland's mini-doll was made available in July 2013 with the release of her movie Saige Paints the Sky; Gabriella's Mini-doll was delayed by several months.
  4. In the case of Saige, her only two books.
  5. Kirsten is the exception, as she is wearing her Winter Skirt and Blouse rather than her Saint Lucia Gown.
  6. Cécile and Marie-Grace are the exceptions as they come with abridged copies of their Meet books.
  7. Kaya was not given a new outfit and was once again given her Adorned Deerskin Dress.
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