American Girl (book series)

The American Girl series, by various authors, is a collection of novels set within toy line's fictional universe. Since its inception, American Girl has published books based on the dolls, with novels and other media to tie in with their dolls. The books follow various American girls throughout both historical eras and contemporary settings.[1]

American Girl

Author	Various, including Susan S. Adler Dan Andreasen Chryssa Atkinson Emma Carlson Berne Sarah Masters Buckey Mary Casanova Evelyn Coleman Kathleen Ernst Erin Falligant Jacqueline Dembar Greene Alison Hart Elizabeth McDavid Jones Amy Goldman Koss Jane Kurtz Kirby Larson Megan McDonald Denise Lewis Patrick Connie Porter Kathryn Reiss Janet Beeler Shaw Valerie Tripp Lisa Yee Laurence Yep
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	American Girl
Published	1986 - current
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)

The historical novels that have corresponding dolls are referred to as the Central Series. There is also the Girl of the Year line of characters from contemporary settings.[2]

A related series entitled History Mysteries, also known as Mysteries Through Time and/or Mysteries through History was released by American Girl in 1999 and discontinued in 2004.

Central series

Kirsten (1854-1856)

1. Meet Kirsten: An American Girl. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1986. ISBN 0937295019
2. Kirsten Learns a Lesson: A School Story. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1986. ISBN 0937295094
3. Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1986. ISBN 0937295183
4. Happy Birthday, Kirsten! A Springtime Story. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1987. ISBN 0937295329
5. Kirsten Saves the Day: A Summer Story. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1988. ISBN 0937295396
6. Changes for Kirsten: A Winter Story. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef. Pleasant Company, 1988. ISBN 0937295450
7. The Runaway Friend. By Kathleen Ernst. Illustrated Jean-Paul Tibbles. American Girl Publishing, 2008. ISBN 1593692994
8. Kirsten's Short Story Collection. By Janet Beeler Shaw. Illustrated by Renée Graef, Kim Lewis, Susan McAliley, and Philip Hood. American Girl Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1593693230

Samantha (1904-1906)

The Samantha novels were first illustrated by Nancy Niles. Later editions were illustrated by Dan Andreasen.

1. Meet Samantha: An American Girl. By Susan S. Adler. American Girl Publishing Inc., 1986. ISBN 0937295035
2. Samantha Learns a Lesson: A School Story. By Susan S. Adler. American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1986. ISBN 0937295124
3. Samantha's Surprise: A Christmas Story. By Maxine Rose Schur. Pleasant Company, 1986. ISBN 0937295213
4. Happy Birthday, Samantha! By Valerie Tripp. American Girl, 1987. ISBN 0937295353
5. Samantha Saves the Day. By Valerie Tripp. Scholastic, 1988. ISBN 0590450794
6. Changes for Samantha. By Valerie Tripp. American Girl, 1988. ISBN 0937295477
7. Nellie's Promise
8. The Curse of Ravenscourt
9. The Stolen Sapphire
10. Clue in the Castle Tower
11. The Cry of the Loon
12. Danger in Paris
13. Samantha's Short Story Collection

Molly (1944-1946)

1. Meet Molly
2. Molly Learns a Lesson
3. Molly's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Molly!
5. Molly Saves the Day
6. Changes for Molly
7. Brave Emily
8. A Spy on the Home Front
9. The Light in the Cellar
10. Clues in the Shadows
11. Molly's Short Story Collection

Felicity (1774-1776)

1. Meet Felicity
2. Felicity Learns a Lesson
3. Felicity's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Felicity!
5. Felicity Saves the Day
6. Changes for Felicity
7. Very Funny, Elizabeth
8. Peril at King's Creek
9. Traitor at Williamsburg
10. Lady Margaret's Ghost
11. Felicity's Short Story Collection

Addy (1864-1866)

1. Meet Addy
2. Addy Learns a Lesson
3. Addy's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Addy!
5. Addy Saves the Day
6. Changes for Addy
7. Shadows on Society Hill
8. Addy's Short Story Collection

Josefina (1824-1826)

1. Meet Josefina
2. Josefina Learns a Lesson
3. Josefina's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Josefina!
5. Josefina Saves the Day
6. Changes for Josefina
7. Secrets in the Hills
8. The Glowing Heart
9. Josefina's Short Story Collection

Kaya (1764-1766)

1. Meet Kaya
2. Kaya's Escape!
3. Kaya's Hero
4. Kaya and Lone Dog
5. Kaya Shows the Way
6. Changes for Kaya
7. The Silent Stranger
8. The Ghost Wind Stallion
9. Kaya's Short Story Collection

Kit (1932-1935)

1. Meet Kit
2. Kit Learns a Lesson
3. Kit's Surprise
4. Happy Birthday, Kit!
5. Kit Saves the Day
6. Changes for Kit
7. Really Truly Ruthie
8. Danger at the Zoo
9. Midnight in Lonesome Hollow
10. A Thief in the Theater
11. Missing Grace
12. Intruders at Rivermead Manor
13. The Jazzman's Trumpet
14. Menace at Mammoth Cave
15. Kit's Short Story Collection

Julie (1974-1977)

1. Meet Julie
2. Julie Tells Her Story
3. Happy New Year, Julie!
4. Julie and the Eagles
5. Julie's Journey
6. Changes for Julie
7. Good Luck, Ivy
8. The Tangled Web
9. The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter
10. The Silver Guitar
11. Lost in the City
12. Message in a Bottle
13. Great Book

Rebecca (1914-1916)

1. Meet Rebecca
2. Rebecca and Ana
3. Candlelight for Rebecca
4. Rebecca and the Movies
5. Rebecca to the Rescue
6. Changes for Rebecca
7. Secrets at Camp Nokomis
8. A Bundle of Trouble
9. The Crystal Ball
10. A Growing Suspicion
11. The Showstopper

Cécile & Marie-Grace (1853-1854)

1. Meet Marie-Grace
2. Meet Cécile
3. Marie-Grace and the Orphans
4. Troubles for Cécile
5. Marie-Grace Makes a Difference
6. Cécile's Gift
7. The Hidden Gold
8. The Cameo Necklace
9. The Haunted Opera

Caroline (1812-1813)

1. Meet Caroline
2. Caroline's Secret Message
3. A Surprise for Caroline
4. Caroline Takes a Chance
5. Caroline's Battle
6. Changes for Caroline
7. Traitor in the Shipyard
8. The Traveler's Tricks
9. The Smuggler's Secrets

Maryellen (1954-1956)

1. The One and Only
2. Taking Off
3. The Finders-Keepers Rule
4. The Runaway

Melody (1963-1964)

1. No Ordinary Sound
2. Never Stop Singing
3. The Lady's Slipper

Nanea (1941-1942)

1. Growing up with Aloha
2. Hula for the Home Front
3. The Legend of the Shark Goddess

Courtney (1986-1987)

1. Courtney Changes the Game[3]
2. Courtney: Friendship Superhero (releasing 2021)

History Mysteries

The series comprises a total of 22 books by various authors and forms a companion series to the popular American Girl books; unlike Girl of the Year and other lines, they do not come with any doll or toy and acts as a stand-alone novel set in a particular period in American history. The characters were generally older, ranging from ages ten to fourteen, and the books were marketed as for ages ten and up. Many of the authors from this series later moved on to write for the Central Series. Several books from the series were later re-released in digital form by Open Road Integrated Media.

Titles in order of publication:

1. The Smuggler's Treasure by Sarah Masters Buckey (set in 1812 in New Orleans)
2. Hoofbeats of Danger by Holly Hughes (set in 1860, the Nebraska Territory)
3. The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (in North Carolina in 1918)
4. Voices at Whisper Bend by Katherine Ayres (set in Pennsylvania in 1942)
5. Secrets on 26th Street by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (set in Chelsea in 1912)
6. Mystery of the Dark Tower by Evelyn Coleman (Harlem, 1928)
7. Trouble at Fort La Pointe by Kathleen Ernst (1732, Lake Superior)
8. [4]Under Copp's Hill by Katherine Ayres (Boston, 1908)
9. Watcher in the Piney Woods by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (1865, Virginia)
10. Shadows in the Glasshouse by Megan McDonald (Jamestown in 1621)
11. The Minstrel's Melody by Eleanora E. Tate (set in 1904, in Calico Creek and St. Louis)
12. Riddle of the Prairie Bride by Kathryn Reiss (set in Kansas in 1878)
13. Enemy in the Fort by Sarah Masters Buckey (set during 1754)
14. Circle of Fire by Evelyn Coleman (1958, Middle Tennessee)
15. Mystery on Skull Island by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (1724, Charles Town, South Carolina)
16. Whistler in the Dark by Kathleen Ernst (1867 in Chicago and the Colorado Territory)
17. Mystery at Chilkoot Pass by Barbara Steiner (1897, Yukon, Alaska)
18. The Strange Case of Baby H by Kathryn Reiss (San Francisco, 1906)
19. Danger at the Wild West Show by Alison Hart (1886, Louisville, Kentucky)
20. Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic by Sarah Masters Buckey (1925, New Jersey)
21. Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (1895, Glenn Island, Virginia)
22. Betrayal at Cross Creek by Kathleen Ernst (1775-1776 in North Carolina)

References

1. Wolitzer, Meg (11 November 2007). "Meet Julie - Megan McDonald - Robert Hunt - Book Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
2. Morgenegg, Faith (21 February 2015). "Book review: American Girl of the Year 'Grace' shares her adventures in Paris". Deseret News. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
3. "Courtney™ Doll & Book". American Girl. American Girl. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
4. "Katherine Ayres | Writer | Under Copp's Hill". www.katherineayres.com. Retrieved 2017-03-04.