- "Ivy" redirects here. For the doll, see Ivy Ling (doll).
Ivy Ling was the fourth Best Friend released; she is the "Best Friend" of Julie Albright.
Personality and Facts
Ivy Ling (nicknamed "Poison Ivy" by Julie) is a ten-year-old Chinese-American girl who wants to make her family proud. She loves gymnastics and hates to mess up in front of a crowd. Although Ivy seems to have a deep connection to her Chinese heritage, Chinese school is somewhat boring to her and she doesn't like to eat Chinese food every single day. But by the end of her book, Good Luck, Ivy, Ivy learns the value of having Chinese background. Ivy has a larger family than Julie. Ivy often doesn't understand Julie's bouts into trying to change the world.
American Girl characterizes her as "talented" and "lucky."
Family and Friends
Family
- Mr. Ling: Ivy's father, who expects his children to do their best.
- Marilyn Ling: Ivy's mother, who is studying to become a lawyer.
- Andrew Ling: Ivy's older brother who idolizes Bruce Lee and studies kung fu.
- Missy Ling: Ivy's little sister who is three years old. She owns a beat-up stuffed lion named Roary.
- Gung Gung: Ivy's grandfather, who owns a Chinese restaurant, The Happy Panda.
- Po Po: Ivy's gentle grandmother.
Friends
- Julie Albright: Ivy's best friend.
Book
In Julie's Series
Ivy plays a major role in most of Julie's books, the most prominent being Happy New Year, Julie! and The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter.
Doll
Main Article: Ivy Ling (doll)
The Ivy doll.
- Face Mold: Jess Mold (slight modifications at eyes)
- Skin: Light
- Hair: Black, straight, shoulder length, bangs
- Eyes: Brown
- Ivy has decal brown eyes, which are different from the standard brown used on most dolls. The only other doll that these have been used on is Samantha Parkington.
Meet Outfit
- Pink and green cowl-neck top
- Green twill pants
- Tan boots with embroidery
- Yellow-green underwear with a rainbow print
Meet Accessories
- Magenta beret
- Denim bag with rainbow and pink flower decals
- Gold chandelier earrings
- Chinese coin
Collection
- See: Ivy's Collection
Trivia
- Ivy was the first Asian character from the Historical Characters line, but not the first Asian character to have her own doll; Chou Spring Pearl (of the Girls of Many Lands line) and Jess Akiko McConnell (of the Girls of the Year line) preceded her.
- Ivy's hair is long at the start of Julie's series and is cut short in Happy New Year, Julie!; American Girl gave the doll shoulder-length hair.
- Ivy has a very small collection compared to the other dolls, only having two additional outfits. She has no pajamas as most of the historical dolls do, and did not receive a mini doll until 2011.
- While it is never stated what Chinese dialect Ivy's family speaks with, much of the romanized terminology used in Julie's series points to Taishanese as it was the predominant variant of the Cantonese dialect of 19th- and 20th-century immigrants.[1]
References
- ↑ Young Americans find roots in China; sfgate.com, referenced December 26, 2010.
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Ivy Ling | ||||||