Mini Dolls

Mini Dolls are smaller versions of the Historical Characters and Best Friend Characters dolls.

As an Accessory
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:


 * Felicity Merriman
 * Kirsten Larson
 * Addy Walker
 * Samantha Parkington
 * Molly McIntire

Each came with a mini-pamphlet and abridged, hardback copy of the character's meet book; the abridged mini books are not sold elsewhere. Each doll had fixed glass eyes, wigged hair, and came in her meet outfit at a cost of $20.

As a Separate Line
With Mattel's purchase, the dolls were modified, both in target and in doll features. Dolls are advertised as smaller versions of the full sized dolls as well as dolls for dolls.

Currently mini dolls, like their larger counterparts, have soft cloth bodies and jointed vinyl limbs. They are not as detailed as the larger dolls. The most striking difference between Pre-Mattel and Mattel mini dolls are that Mattel dolls have painted on eyes and rooted hair. Recently, the buttons on some clothes has been replaced with embroidery.

Clothing is modified to fit on a smaller, less bulky scale; for example, Kit's sweater and cardigan are one-piece. Clothing is fully removable. The Molly mini doll comes with small plastic glasses. No other accessories are available for mini dolls, such as miniature meet accessories or other clothing.

Kit Kittredge, Kaya'aton'my, Julie Albright, and Rebecca Rubin were each released at the same time as the main doll was launched. This is also true for Ruthie, Emily, Nellie and Elizabeth. When Felicity Merriman's meet outfit was changed, the outfit on the mini doll was changed to match.

Book covers have been changed as book covers were changed for the main books. The books that are sold with the mini dolls are hardback.

The price on mini dolls has since risen to $22. Originally, it was possible to purchase all the mini dolls at a discount as each new doll became available, with the 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 individually.

To date, there has never been a miniature version of any Just Like You, Girls of the Year, Bitty Baby or Bitty Twins dolls; while there have been smaller versions of the Bitty Baby dolls used in other products, there has not been a concentrated line.

25th Anniversary Limited Edition Mini Dolls
For the 25th anniversary, American Girl released a collectible Mini Doll line. One doll was released each month, along with the Mini Doll Display Shelf. Each doll is dressed in their holiday outfit and comes with an abridged copy of their Holiday books.


 * January: Samantha Parkington in the Cranberry Party Dress with Samantha's Surprise
 * February: Felicity Merriman in the Christmas Gown and Stomacher with Felicity's Surprise
 * March: Kirsten Larson in the Winter Skirt and Blouse with Kirsten's Surprise
 * April: Addy Walker in the Tartan Plaid Dress with Addy's Surprise

Availability
Mini dolls are available through American Girl directly and places where American Girl books are sold. Sometimes they are sold in bundles at discount warehouse stores with a full set of character books or hardbound collection. Felicity, Kit, Molly, and Samantha were also sold with their movies.