Central Series Story Patterns

The patterns within the books--both in story plots and covers--in the Central Series books for Historical Characters were perpetuated from the release of the line in 1986 through Kit Kittredge's release in 2000 and 2001. Each parallel book in the individual series had a specific cover style which varied only by the character and era, in part to help display items available in the Historical Collections and show parallels among characters.

Plots generally loosely aligned.

Meet Books

Meet Book Example: Meet Kirsten.

See: Meet Books

Each meet book is titled Meet Name: An American Girl. These books were always packaged with the Historical Character dolls to introduce the character's world along with the doll. The book establishes and introduces the character, their family and often some friends, additional characters (some of which may only be present for that book), and the setting and historical era. The book is often set in late spring, summer, or early fall, so as to neatly connect to the following school book.

The character starts out in a position in life that is either actively changing or about to change for them over the course of the book; this position is not always positive (e.g. Addy's enslavement). The character experiences a conflict, change, or personal dramatic issue related to the era's historical events, which becomes a major issue or theme for them through for the series. These range from small in personal scale (e.g. Molly's conflict with Ricky, missing her father who is overseas, and displeasure with the changes the war has brought to her household; Samantha's desire for connection to Nellie despite class difference and displeasure with Jessie leaving the household unexpectedly [to her],) to great character significance (Addy and her mother's escape to freedom after the forced loss of her father and brother Sam and need to leave Esther behind for safety, Kirsten's cross-Atlantic immigration from Sweden and the struggles and losses she has on the trip, Kit's father losing his employment and the resulting financial risks to the family forcing changes in the household). The character will, whether from outside forces pushing them or internal need and desire, start on the path of transition into the changes in their life that will carry through the series along with the theme.

In the American Girl of Today writer's guide, it is explicitly stated that each character is given a big problem that will carry throughout the six books--i.e. the themes of their stories.

Initial Meet Cover Design: The character is initially viewed sideways to the right, walking in front of a location, with her head turned towards in a three-quarters view. She wears her meet outfit and at least some of her meet accessories. Updated covers before the BeForever changes did not change this much, except for Molly McIntire who was now shown in her Halloween Hula Costume.

When Kit was released, a set of all seven Historical Characters' meet books was available for a short time in a boxed set.

School Books

School Book Example: Felicity Learns a Lesson.

Each school book is titled Name Learns a Lesson: A School Story. The book takes place in the fall, often within a short span of time after the events of the meet book. The main character continues or starts a new year in formal education of the era (in some cases for the first time, such as Addy) and, if she has not already met or knows her Best Friend in the first book, meets them here--e.g. Kirsten and Singing Bird, Felicity and Elizabeth. There is also at least one peer character who will cause some degree of conflict with them in the setting--e.g. Kit and Roger, Addy and Harriet, Samantha and Edith. Josefina is the exception to both; the conflict is with her sister, and no other peers are shown or introduced.

During the course of the book, difficult situations occur that challenge the character in new ways, often unexpectedly (e.g. the flood wiping out several of the Montoya ranchero's sheep flocks, Samantha dealing with Nellie's distress at her own lack of formal education and the conflict in her wanting to be close friends with someone below her class, Kit's internal conflict with her family's new boarders and her desire for them to leave so she can have her house back to what it was). The character both learns their educational lessons and a personal lesson outside of a classroom setting that expands or changes their perspective and helps to lead to personal maturity and growth, which may include the "rival" who will cause conflict. (This does not have to be direct conflict; e.g. Molly has a conflict with Alison Hart, but this is more on her side than Alison's as Molly and her friends don't wish to cooperate with Alison's project after Molly's idea was rejected.) Oftentimes, the outside lesson reflects or is influenced by larger scale historical events occurring, such as the pressures of the Great Depression on traditionally male breadwinners and their families, conflict between new freedmen and wealthy and/or free black children, or the displacement of North American Indigenous people by incoming white colonizers. The character uses the lessons they've learned near the end of the book, often to praise or reward (e.g. Addy denouncing Harriet's class prejudice and working hard in her education to win the class spelling bee and reuniting with Sarah; Josefina not only understanding, but convincing her sister Francisca that her aunt Dolores's new ways and becoming literate does not mean forgetting their mother's lessons--and in fact seeing how they can be used to always remember things Mama taught them; Felicity standing up for her growing patriot beliefs in her own way while maintaining her desire for her gentlewoman lessons and growing friendship with Elizabeth.)

In the American Girl of Today writer's guides, it is explicitly stated that each character was intended to learn two lessons: an educational school lesson and a larger lesson about herself or her world.

Initial School Cover Design: The character is seated facing left (opposite to the direction of the meet book), at her 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.

Holiday Books

Holiday Book Example: Molly's Surprise.

Each winter holiday book is titled Name's Surprise: A Christmas Story. They were planned to be titled A Surprise for Name: A Christmas Story before changing. These books take place around the Christmas or winter holidays as the first seven Historical Characters all celebrated some personal form of Christmas celebrations, though Kirsten's book centers dominantly on St. Lucia Day instead.

The main character generally wishes for something personal and pleasant to occur that is a difficult possibility due to their circumstances, such as a gift or celebration. They then have something disappointing happen to them around the holidays that makes them personally sad or worried about their circumstances, causing them to put aside their wish for that worry. There is often conflict with others or themselves (e.g. Kit is overly concerned that Ruthie's support to her is "mooching" and learns her family may be evicted from their house after the holidays, resulting in a later fight with Ruthie who wants to continue their traditional holiday get together for normalcy while Kit is upset by her circumstances; Kirsten constantly worries her family will not get to go into town to pick up their trunks in time for her to hold a secret St. Lucia Day celebration or have Sari back, and then is caught in a dangerous snowstorm overnight with her father in the task of retrieving them; Josefina wants to find the doll Niña that has been passed down through her and her sisters, but the family is later horrified to find that the altar cloth Máma embroidered for the holidays years ago has been severely damaged due to the previous book's floods).

This disappointment or another connected to it is almost always resolved by the end of the book, though not necessarily in the way the character intended at the beginning. (e.g. Addy does not purchase the scarf she intended to buy from the second hand store as Momma's gift with her hidden funds as she donates them, but is able to make one with the leftover hem from her gifted Christmas dress from Mrs. Ford; Molly's grandparents are unable to make it for the holidays and thus they cannot have the traditional holidays they have had before but she and Jill are able to surprise their family with the box sent from Dad; Samantha does not get to attend Ida Dean's holiday party due to Cornelia's visit or help in decorations as she wanted, but learns that Cornelia is not as stuffy of a person as she fretted she would be and does get to do some activities on a smaller scale.) The main character is given or participates in some sort of surprise during the story, sometimes caused by their own actions to help bring the surprise about; often, one additional surprise they did not expect also occurs by someone else, greatly delighting them (Addy's Poppa returning to her and Momma and the gift of the oil lamp from Mrs. Ford; Ben offering to escort Felicity to the ball when Father cannot, even though it is being hosted by Loyalists; Josefina receiving the updated Niña from Clara who has come to accept that she has something from her late mother other than the doll.)

In the American Girl of Today writer's guide, it is explicitly stated that each character hopes for a material or personal gift and then faces a problem that makes her realize that family and friendship are the best gifts of all.

Six of the characters--Josefina Montoya, Kirsten Larson, Addy Walker, Samantha Parkington, Kit Kittredge, and Molly McIntire--had their holiday books printed as part of The American Girls Holiday Treasury.

Initial Holiday Cover Design: The character faces forward in full profile; she is holding something special from her holiday story (often her gifted doll) and wears her holiday outfit. There is a holiday-themed background of some type (such as a tree or decorated hearth).

Birthday Books

Birthday Example: Happy Birthday, Addy!.

Each birthday/springtime book is titled Happy Birthday, Name!: A Springtime Story. With all of the books being set in the spring, this resulted in the first seven characters released all having spring birthdays. The earliest birthdays shown were Josefina's on March 19th and the latest being Kirsten's on June 8th, causing all the character's birth dates to fall between the Spring Equinox (or very close to it) and the Summer Solstice. While Addy did not know her exact birthday other than being born in the spring, she spends the book trying to find the perfect day to select as her own and ends up picking a significant historical date (April 9th, the formal end of the US Civil War). All characters turn ten years old on their birthday.

A pet or animal is usually featured prominently in the story. The pet may belong to the character but not always (e.g. Addy whose "pet" actually belonged to her neighbor, M'dear, or Samantha, where Jip belongs to Cornelia Edwards), and is frequently introduced at some point in the story. Several of the birthday celebrations happen close to the end of the story and are anticipated by or planned by the character; the notable exception is Samantha, who has her party at the beginning to allow for later events to happen in another location, New York City.

The character often does something immature, self-centered, and/or insensitive that troubles another person in their life or themselves and must face the consequences of said behavior. (Notable exceptions being Addy, who is "admonished" by the racist actions of others but does not invoke these through her own actions outside of her innocence and hopeful expectations of fair treatment; and Kirsten who, while not directly admonished for childish actions, worries that her family will overlook her birthday due to the rise in work after the birth of Britta and her fretting that her friends no longer have time for her since she isn't actively attending school.) This sometimes results in a lecture, advice, or admonishment from older relatives who show disappointment or concern with the character's behavior and forced self-reflection or reconsideration. Another event later follows that gives the character a chance to demonstrate maturity, growth, and/or a change from behaviors and attitudes shown earlier (in either the book or series); often this is seen by the person they harmed or were harmed by earlier. (e.g. Molly has numerous stereotypes and insensitivities around Emily being English at her arrival and later is very unwilling to adjust her expectations of what should be part of a birthday party to include her when Emily discusses her own unique birthday traditions, but self-reflection on her attitude and further knowledge about what Emily has endured during the war in London and how it has been more affected than the US leads to Molly becoming more inclined to include her and respect her struggles).

In the American Girl of Today writer's guide, it is explicitly stated that each character faces a problem that almost ruins their birthday celebrations and, as they work through the problem, learns something about herself and growing up.

Initial Birthday Cover Design: Viewed from a slight angle, the character sits in a chair (often the one from the available Table and Chairs) facing left with something from her birthday collection in her hands or at her feet. She wears her birthday outfit and her pet is shown, and her table, dishes, and party treats can be seen in the background.

Summer Books

Summer Example: Josefina Saves the Day.

Each summer book is titled Name Saves The Day: A Summer Story. These books are set in the summer, generally outside of any formal schooling time for characters who would be enrolled in traditional education. Many of the characters go on some sort of trip or vacation to a new, distant location not seen before in the series. (Notable exceptions are Kit Kittredge who travels out involuntarily, Addy Walker who does not travel at all, and Kirsten Larson who, while she does not travel to an all-new location, does travel considerably to a nearby town for a celebration, which is not an everyday occurrence for her.)

Characters show fears, desires, or worries about their lives, interest in a previously undiscovered situation, and/or curiosity in other people or situations who may be newly introduced. There is often internal conflict the character is dealing with on a personal level (e.g. Josefina's conflict with White Americans arriving in large numbers to New Mexico, her family's traditions, and trusting the promises of the American Patrick O'Toole; Kristen's desire to prove she can help provide for her family and be brave and helpful by harvesting the honey she and Peter have discovered herself without any adult assistance; Kit's "itch" for change and excitement due to boredom resulting in her briefly romanticizing the lives of hobos after meeting Will Shepard).

At some near the middle to end of the book there is a larger, sudden problem that must be be solved immediately and leads to the character "saving the day" for herself and possibly other characters. The event may be the focus of the book (e.g. Molly's book, where the capture of her entire team during the camp Color War forces her and Susan to face their fears and shortcomings) or an accessory to the central plot of the book (e.g. Samantha's "saving" being rescuing herself, the twins and Admiral Beemis from their peril on the lake, but the major conflict being her desire to know more about her memories with her parents which took her out to explore in the first place). This event--or another--also causes a secondary event that will transition into events that are present in the following winter book (e.g. the return of Penny later means discovering her being pregnant in Changes for Felicity; the return of her elder brother Sam pushing Addy's family to find the last missing members of their family, especially Esther.)

In the American Girl of Today writer's guide, it is explicitly stated that each character is faced with a problem or fear and working through it leads her on an adventure that ends with an act of bravery that "saves the day."

Initial Summer Cover Style: An "action" shot, in which the character is dressed in her summer outfit re-enacting some of the "action scene" from the book. (e.g.: Felicity is riding Penny to find Ben before he is captured; Samantha is in the boat holding up a lantern as a guide through the waters; Kit is walking on the train rails back home.)

Changes Books

Winter Example: Changes for Samantha.

Each winter book is titled Changes for Name: A Winter Story. These books are set in the winter to early spring and set roughly about one year after the events of the holiday book (and about one and a half years since the events of the meet book).

Some profound change happens with the main character's life--often initially of a negative, upsetting, or depressing tone (i.e. Josefina's aunt Dolores states she may possibly be leaving the ranch since the girls have learned enough from her [and, unspoken, that she has feelings for Pápa]; Kirsten's family cabin burning down due to her bringing a wild raccoon inside and destroying a good portion of their belongings; Felicity's separation from Elizabeth due to the Patriots' overall distrust of and unjust jailing of Loyalist men, including Elizabeth's father, that makes Mrs. Cole keep Elizabeth away, along with the passing of Felicity's grandfather). The event or events leads to further maturity and helps to show the character's progress since their first book; often, their maturity, growth, or change in perspective is noted by parental figures or other adults and sometimes even by themselves, and is shown in their actions even if not outright stated (e.g. Kit's change in what she considers news reporting from typing an angry, self-centered and self-published newspaper rant about things not being "fair" at home to a well-written, skilled and sympathetic letter to the editor that is then published in the city paper; Felicity's overall contempt and disdain for Jiggy Nye due to his abuse of Penny transitioning to sympathy when she sees him at a low point and learns he has been this way since his wife passed, which allows her to offer comfort and later ask for his assistance when Penny gives birth.)

All of these books have at least one positive, uplifting event for the characters involved, ranging from small in scale (e.g. Kit's letter to the editor publication, the birth of Patriot for Felicity) to the major (e.g. Addy's immediate family finally becoming reunited in freedom, Samantha's aunt and uncle adopting Nellie and her sisters as well as Samantha informally, Molly's father returning home safely from overseas). By the end, the character theme that had been set up in the first book has been fully addressed and can be considered to be concluded (e.g. Kirsten feeling like a real American rather than an immigrant and outsider, Josefina's feelings of maternal loss and family struggles in the wake of Mama's death, Kit's eventual acceptance of changes in her family dynamics and the changes that have come due to the Great Depression).

The changes books originally served to wrap up the characters' stories and close out the look into an era, with the Looking Back section covering changes for expanded time afterwards (e.g. Felicity's Looking Back section talking about the success of the American Revolution and the early years of the independent United States, or Molly's Looking Back section talking about the 1940 and 1950s post-war American Boom [as a 1950s character hadn't been released at the time]). While some later Historical Character Mysteries and Short Stories later expanded the character's story line past the winter book, the changes book is seen as the end of the character's main story and personal arc outside of any additional later story releases.

In the American Girl of Today writer's guide, it is explicitly stated that each character goes through many changes over the course of the book that are both sad and happy and while initially unhappy by many of the changes, they learn that change--for better or for worse--helps them grow; the strength they gain from the changes helps them solve their main arching story problem (e.g. Addy's family separation due to enslavement ending with the restoration of her family and understanding that while her late relatives may be gone, they died free persons and will always be part of her life and in her memory; Felicity accepting the changes that will come with the impending revolution and accepting the differing viewpoints of others and still maintaining a hold on her personal outlook for the country's independence; Samantha's feelings of lack of family connection and desire for parental figures other than her grandmother along with Nellie's class status keeping them separated culminating into the adoption of the O'Malley girls and Samantha being taken in full time by her aunt and uncle, giving her a more "traditional" set of parents).

Initial Winter Cover Style: In parallel design to the 'meet' cover, the character walks sideways facing right but is turned more to face towards and smile at the viewer. She wears her winter coat over another outfit (and often included winter outfit accessories) and waves. Many characters have additional clothing visible; usually one of the additional outfits in the collection (Felicity wears a version of her work gown under her cloak; Addy's school skirt is visible under her coat.)