There has been a lot of talk lately about the new Girl of the Year from American Girl. Isabelle is a fair-skinned, blonde, hazel-eyed ballerina who likes to design clothing. There's certainly nothing wrong with any of these traits (or with the doll--she's very cute), but there's also nothing at all exciting or new about Isabelle. At first glance, she seems an awful lot like McKenna. As a consumer, this doesn't bother me. Since I only have
one American Girl doll, I'm not relying on the Girl of the Year to add something new to my collection. As an impassioned observer of the doll world, however, Isabelle is disappointing. The Girl of the Year series seems like a wonderful opportunity to introduce a character that is surprising, timely or unique in some way. Mattel could have done something to represent the incredible diversity of this country--while keeping the popular ballet theme. I mean, just watch the wonderful documentary,
First Position, and pick almost any of those amazing young women as an inspiration.
Anyway, I am bringing up this topic not because I want to upset people or spark a debate, but simply because I want to draw a contrast and explain my rationale for this review. Discussions about the lack of diversity in the Girl of the Year series made me think about doll diversity on a larger scale. This thought process led me to discover a new 18 inch play doll that represents a minority I have never seen portrayed in the doll world before.
Meet Gracie, a doll designed to resemble a child with Down syndrome:
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| "Grace" by Extra Special Dolls. |
