307). Yet American Girl dolls, perhaps because of their expense but also because of their reliability seldom provoke such mutilation. "I have to confess -- I have an emotional connection to this brand," admitted one adult, female NPR commentator, reviewing the film, stating that it was impossible for her to give an objective review of "Kit Kittredge, American Girl" because of her own love of the Kristen doll, as a girl, a doll that had traveled far from Sweden to settle in colonial America (Baker 2008). "She has the same name as me...I like playing with them [better than Barbies] because they're more like me," said an eleven-year-old interviewed by the NPR reporter, explaining why she adored the brand and couldn't wait to see the film

Even while some might be cynical about the fact that "a Kit doll, complete with book and accessories, will currently run you $105" and the spin-off movie's "insistence on the nobility of the indigent might be a tad...

Little girls may love the 'realism' of the dolls, mothers may love the escapism of the asexuality of the world, but the American Girl brand and its films seem designed to endure.
Works Cited

American Girl Official Website. December 5, 2008 http://www.americangirl.com/

Baker, Jesse. "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl." June 19, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91680901

Catsoulis, Jeanette. "Wholesome life lessons for budding Reporter. The New York Times. June 29, 2008. December 5, 2008 http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/movies/20kitt.html?ref=movies

Chin, Elizabeth. "Ethnically Correct Dolls: Toying with the Race Industry."

American Anthropologist. New Series. 101. 2 (Jun., 1999): 305-321

Not a Doll, but a Lifestyle." The New York Times Slideshow. June 29, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/29/movies/0629-SCOT_index.html

Scott, a.O. "The age of American Girl." The New York Times. June 29, 2008. December 5, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/movies/29scot.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=American%20Girl&st=cse