Mini Dolls

Mini Dolls are smaller versions of the Historical/BeForever Characters, Best Friend Characters, and Girl of the Year dolls.

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

As an Accessory (1995-2000)

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 are not sold elsewhere.^[1] Each doll had fixed glass eyes, wigged hair, and came in her meet outfit at a cost of $20. Mini dolls, like their larger counterparts, had soft cloth bodies, neck strings and jointed vinyl limbs.

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 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. 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.

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

When Felicity Merriman's meet outfit was changed in 2005, the outfit on the mini doll was changed to match. 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 individually.

BeForever 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. 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.

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.

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 are 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 are generally only available through websites such as Amazon.com or physical stores such as Barnes and Noble or Target; they are 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 be sold at a discount on American Girl's online store.) They are also sometimes sold in warehouse bundles with the 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 have 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 only available at stores.

Tenney Grant also received a mini-doll, but her companion Logan did not; neither did Z Yang.

Girl of the Year Mini Dolls

Saige Copeland	Isabelle Palmer	Grace Thomas	Lea Clark

Gabriela McBride	Luciana Vega

Modern Mini Dolls

SmartGirlsFriendshipKit — A mini doll with the Smart Girl's Guide Kit: Friendship Troubles set.

Starting in 2019, modern mini dolls were released as components to the Smart Girls Guide Kits. Purchasers can pick a single doll from a selection of six various dolls to come with the set. Dolls come dressed in a miniature version of the Stay True to the Real You Tee, jeans, and blue flats. They are not available to purchase separately from the sets.

These dolls are categorized as follows:

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

25th Anniversary Limited Edition Mini Dolls

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. 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. When the dolls were retired at the end of 2011, the shelf remained available.

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
May: Molly McIntire in the Evergreen Velvet Dress with Molly's Surprise
June: Josefina Montoya in the Christmas Dress and Mantilla with Josefina's Surprise
July: Kaya'aton'my in the Adorned Deerskin Dress with Kaya's Hero
August: Kit Kittredge in the Christmas Outfit with Kit's Surprise
September: Julie Albright in Julie's Christmas Outfit with Happy New Year, Julie! and Rebecca Rubin in Rebecca's Hanukkah Dress with Candlelight for Rebecca
October: Cécile Rey in Cécile's Special Dress with Meet Cécile and Marie-Grace Gardner in Marie-Grace's Party Outfit with Meet Marie-Grace

Visual Gallery of the 25th Anniversary Mini Dolls

Samantha Parkington	Felicity Merriman	Kirsten Larson	Addy Walker

Molly McIntire	Josefina Montoya	Kaya'aton'my	Kit Kittredge

Julie Albright	Rebecca Rubin	Cécile Rey	Marie-Grace Gardner

30th Anniversary Limited Edition 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 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, a unique stand that poses the doll in a walking style (similar to the poses on the older 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

Kaya'aton'my	Josefina Montoya	Addy Walker	Samantha Parkington

Rebecca Rubin	Kit Kittredge	Maryellen Larkin	Julie Albright

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. Felicity, Kit, Molly, and Samantha were also sold with their movies.

References and Footnotes

↑ The only exception was the 2009 and 2015 releases of the Doll School kit, which came with a mini Meet Rebecca paperback book.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ In the case of Saige, her only two books.
↑ Kirsten is the exception, as she is wearing her Winter Skirt and Blouse rather than her Saint Lucia Gown.
↑ Cécile and Marie-Grace are the exceptions as they come with abridged copies of their Meet books.
↑ Kaya was not given a new outfit and was once again given her Adorned Deerskin Dress.

[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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