As long suspected, American Girl is retiring yet another classic historical doll. Being discontinued is none other than my personal favorite, Molly McIntire and her friend Emily. Molly will be joining Samantha, Kirsten, and Felicity in the American Girl vault.
Molly
Molly’s story begins in 1944. Living under the umbrella of World War II, Molly goes through a lot of things that girls today can still relate to. Molly’s father enlists as an Army medic, her family is strapped for cash and common day items that used to be easy to find are suddenly in short supply. American Girl put together a pretty nice introduction to Molly for their YouTube channel. You can watch it below.
I love Molly as a character. In fact, she’s my favorite American Girl doll, hands down. While I realize that Molly was released way back in 1986 with the Samantha and Kirsten at her side and has been available since then to doll collectors and kids alike, I don’t think Molly should be retired. I’m not saying that only because she’s my favorite, but also because Molly’s stories take place in 1944, which is a time period that really does mirror a lot of what we in the States (and I’m sure abroad) have had to go through in the past few years.
Not only that and maybe most importantly, many of us still know people who grew up in or around World War II, so Molly’s story gives us a little more insight into what those who are still part of our lives had to to go through back in the 40′s. My grandparents were born in the 1930′s and grew up in a world very similar to Molly.
Something important to note is that the books will still be available to the general public. Thankfully, Mattel doesn’t take away the book series attached to the dolls they reitre. Still, I feel sorry for the girl who picks these books up this time next year when there is no dolly counterpart.
Emily
It occurred to me that once Molly is retired, I won’t actually have many ties left to American Girl. I still would like to add a Kit or Ruthie to my collection, but I don’t actually like many of the other historical dolls, nor do I want a Just Like Me doll. If you would like to get your hands on a Molly before they are officially retired, check out the American Girl website and order yours now. I waited and waited until it was too late to get Kirsten and still kick myself!
Molly
With that, I’ll ask you: what do you think of Mattel retiring Molly and Emily? Do you have any memories of Molly and Emily that you’d like to share? Write you thoughts below and share them with the world!
