Central Series

The Central Series, as defined here, are the core six books about each Historical Character.

Book Release
There have been many changes to the American Girl books through the years, almost going back to when they were first published. Not only have the covers evolved to match the current styles, but the illustrations and internal layouts have evolved as well.

The covers of the Historical books have had three major changes, but several other minor elemental changes. You can fairly accurately date the book you own by these elements.

First Cover Style
1986
 * The first three characters were introduced with parchment-colored covers. They're distinctive for the off-white spines and parchmenty-looking boxes on the front and back. This style was used through 1998.


 * Other elements that were used in each cover were:


 * A specific color was chosen for each girl and used for things like the year, her silhouette on the back cover, and the little symbol on the spine.
 * The year at the bottom of the front cover was split. So, for example, Samantha's would have "19" in burgundy on the left and "04" in burgundy on the right.
 * The back cover had a list of the different characters and then a short passage speaking to the way times have changed, but girls are very much the same.
 * The complete copy read:
 * The books in this collection tell the stories of three American girls who lived long ago:
 * Kirsten, a pioneer girl of strength and spirit who settles on the frontier,
 * Samantha, a bright Victorian beauty, an orphan raised by her wealthy grandmother.
 * Molly, who schemes and dreams on the home front during World War II.
 * You can share their worlds -- the friends they make, the struggles and successes they have in school, the excitement of their Christmas secrets, their birthday celebrations, and their summer adventures. You'll see that some things in their lives are very different from yours. But others -- like families, friendships, and feelings -- haven't changed at all. These are the important things that American girls will always share. These are the traditions that come alive in the American Girls Collection.


 * The list of the characters on the back cover had only 3 in 1986 - Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. Each had her silhouette as a bullet, followed by a brief description of her character.

1988
 * Under the title and subtitle on the front cover, the book number was added. It was also added to the spines, just above the symbol.

1992
 * With Felicity's debut, the list of characters on the back cover grew by one. Felicity's green silhouette was first, since she was the earliest chronologically.

1994
 * Addy added a fifth character to the list on the back of each book. She had an orange silhouette. Also, the passage about the timelessness of girlhood was edited for length.


 * The new version of the passage read:
 * You can share their worlds -- the friends they make, the struggles and successes, their sad times and celebrations, their secrets and adventures. You'll see that some things about growing up have changed, while others -- like families, friendships, and feelings -- haven't changed at all. These are the important things that American girls will always share. They come alive for you in the American Girls Collection.

1998
 * When Josefina debuted, the back list changed altogether. Instead of simple silhouettes, each girl had a miniature portrait next to her description. Also, instead of being in a line on the left, the portraits alternated sides.


 * The revised back copy:
 * Some things about growing up have changed, while others -- like families, friendships, and feelings -- haven't changed at all. These are the important things that American girls will always share. They come alive for you in the American Girls Collection.

Cover Style Two
2000
 * Kit's books introduced a much different cover, which was also used for Kaya. Although the illustrations used the same themes and compositions, there were several changes. They include:


 * The cover illustrations had more detailed, though faded, backgrounds that filled the entire cover, rather than a small section.
 * The title, year, book number, etc moved from the bottom of the front cover to the top.
 * The spine was colorized to match the color assigned to each girl, rather than just using the color on the symbol on the spine.
 * The back cover, rather than showing a list of all the girls, gives a description of the book, like most others do, and shows the other books for her. The other girls are still represented in a small arch of their mini-portraits at the bottom, just above a brief description of "The American Girls Collection."
 * The new version of the copy:
 * What was it like to be a girl long ago? The American Girls Collection takes you inside the worlds of girls who lived during exciting times in the past. As you read their stories, you can imagine how different life was back then. But you'll also discover that their feelings, ideas, and dreams are just like yours.

Cover Style Three
2004
 * The covers are again changed dramatically. There is no longer a primary theme to the illustration, though some of them maintain an illustration similar to the original cover's.


 * Nellie's Promise, Very Funny, Elizabeth!, Brave Emily, Julie's series, Good Luck, Ivy, and Really, Truly Ruthie are only available with this cover style.


 * Not only do the characters have a unique silhouette, symbol, and color, but they now have a special font. This font is used in their names in each title, which now is printed over a stripe of color towards the top of the cover. We no longer have the book number or sub-title on the front cover.
 * The spine is still colored, but it has lost the symbol at the top, which only appears inside the book. Also, the girl's name is shown in its special script.
 * The back cover, again, is changed. The stripe at the front of the book is echoed on the back, but rather than a solid color, it is a crop of an illustration from inside. Below it is a description of the story, then an arch of the other books in the series and a blurb about the series itself. In the lower left-hand corner is the AG Inner Star logo with the Inner Star blurb that can be found on the website and other AG products.

Patterns in the Central Series
The patterns within the books were perpetuated with the covers. Each type of story had a specific cover style which varied only by the character and era. This continued through the 2000 revamp of the covers, but was discontinued with the 2004 changes.



Meet Books
Each meet book establishes the character, their family, and the setting and era of the series. In each the characters have a conflict of some sort, ranging from the small--Molly's Halloween war with her brother--to signifigant such as Addy and her mother making it to freedom.

These books are always packaged with the historical dolls when they are sold.

Meet Cover Design
 * The character viewed in silhouette, walking in front of a stoop or gate of some sort, with her head turned towards the viewer. She wears her meet outfit and at least some of her meet accessories.



School Books
Each school book takes place in the fall. The main character starts school (in many cases for the first time) and, if they have not already met their "friend" in the first book, meets them here--and example being Kirsten and Singing Bird. During the course of the book the character learns a lesson outside of the classroom. Sometimes, in a small way, the lesson reflects a larger historical event or is influenced by it.

School Cover Design
 * Also viewed in silhouette, the character sits at her school desk, wearing her school outfit and with some of her school accessories. The background consists of items from a school-room setting, according to the historical era.



Christmas Books
These books take place around the Christmas holidays. Something is set up to give the character a form of dissapointment or sadness, but the sadness is resolved by the end. The main character is surprised in some way near or on Christmas by events or actions of some form. They are also all given a doll in some form as a gift.

Christmas Cover Design
 * The character holds something special from her Christmas story and wears her Christmas dress. She is viewed from the front, with a holiday-themed background.



Birthday Books
These books are set in the spring; this resulted in all the characters having spring or early summer birthdays (the latest in the calender year is Kirsten in June). They each learn a lesson about growing up and maturing in some way during the events of the book. Most of the birthday celebrations happen at the end of the book (The notable exception being Samantha, who has her party at the beginning); only Molly's is not actually seen.

Birthday Cover Design
 * Viewed from a slight angle - not quite 3/4 view or straight on - the character sits in one of her chairs with something from her birthday in her hands or at her feet. She wears her birthday dress and her pet is at her side, and her table, dishes, and party treats can be seen in the background.



Summer Books
These books are set in the summer and many of the characters go one some sort of trip or vacation to a new location. The notable exceptions are Kit, who goes on a train ride a few towns over, and Addy who stays in the city. At some point in the book, mostly near the end, the character "saves the day" in some way for other characters.

Summer Cover Style
 * An "action" shot of sorts, the character wears her summer outfit and enacts a scene from the book. (Example: Molly's rowing her canoe, Addy is chasing the thief at the fair, Samantha is in the boat in the storm, and so on.)



Changes Books
These books are set in the winter, mostly a year after the events of the Christmas books. In these books some profound change happens with the main character, not always through their own actions. These books served at the time of original publication to wrap up the characters stories fully and leave All of these books have some sort of happy ending for the characters involved.

Winter Cover Style
 * Similar to the 'meet' cover, the character walks in silhouette but is turned to smile at the viewer this time. She wears her winter gear and waves. She may be holding or wearing one of her winter accessories, and if additional clothing can be seen, it is usually one of the extra outfits in the collection. For example, Felicity Merriman wears her Work Gown under her Cardinal Cloak.

Kaya
Kaya's stories do not follow the traditional patterns or titles set by the first seven historical characters. This is because Kaya's history does not set a standard pattern. While she does have several alike events, such as a winter festival, she does not have the traditional lifestyle of the prior characters and so has a different pattern.

Julie
Julie's series, like Kaya's, does not follow the set title pattern given by previous characters. Whether this is due to the fact that the original pattern is being ignored post-Kaya's series or due to the varying events present in Julie's series is unknown. The main stories, however, are loosely equivalent--they just simply are not titled in the same format. (A major exception is that Julie's holiday book focuses more on Chinese New Year instead of Christmas.)

Kaya

 * Meet Kaya: An American Girl
 * Kaya's Escape: A Survival Story
 * Kaya's Hero: A Story of Giving
 * Kaya and Lone Dog: A Story of Friendship
 * Kaya Shows The Way: A Sister Story
 * Changes for Kaya: A Story of Courage

Felicity

 * Meet Felicity: An American Girl
 * Felicity Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Felicity's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Felicity!: A Springtime Story
 * Felicity Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Felicity: A Winter Story

Josefina

 * Meet Josefina: An American Girl
 * Josefina Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Josefina's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Josefina!: A Springtime Story
 * Josefina Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Josefina: A Winter Story

Kirsten

 * Meet Kirsten: An American Girl
 * Kirsten Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Kirsten!: A Springtime Story
 * Kirsten Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Kirsten: A Winter Story

Addy

 * Meet Addy: An American Girl
 * Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Addy!: A Springtime Story
 * Addy Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Addy: A Winter Story

Samantha

 * Meet Samantha: An American Girl
 * Samantha Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Samantha's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Samantha!: A Springtime Story
 * Samantha Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Samantha: A Winter Story

Kit

 * Meet Kit: An American Girl
 * Kit Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Kit's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Kit!: A Springtime Story
 * Kit Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Kit: A Winter Story

Molly

 * Meet Molly: An American Girl
 * Molly Learns a Lesson: A School Story
 * Molly's Surprise: A Christmas Story
 * Happy Birthday, Molly!: A Springtime Story
 * Molly Saves The Day: A Summer Story
 * Changes for Molly: A Winter Story

Julie

 * Meet Julie: An American Girl
 * Julie Tells Her Story
 * Happy New Year, Julie!
 * Julie and the Eagles
 * Julie's Journey
 * Changes for Julie