American Girl's Newest Doll is Homeless

I absolutely love AG dolls. Unfortunately my son has no interest in them!

I think the message of this doll is fine. All the dolls tell a whole story. Just saying she is homeless is setting people off. She has a wonderful story with her. Yes, she is expensive but if you are someone who already buys AG dolls, why not buy her and get your child interested in good causes? You never know when it could spark a child to get involved in charity. The money is going to be spent either way....better on her than a mindless video game.

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If you see the movie, you will understand. I don't think this doll looks like the girl in the movie.According to the movie, I believe she and her mom are living in a shelter and she hides it from the other girls at school because she is embarassed. Then Chrissa befriends her and they work through the issue together. It's a little out of context here and again, I don't feel like the doll represents the story. If you want to get a kick, read the comments from the kids who purchased the doll on the AG website. One was upset the bangs can't be styled. I'm not thinking they are making the connection.

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It is a $95.00 dollar toy... Quite a bit of an investment to be thrown into the closet two days later...

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The dolls background story is about moving to a new town and new school and being bullied. Nowhere on the American Girls website does is say she is homeless, living in a car!

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Savagemouse. It's just dreadful you will living in your car in 2 months. Perhaps you could cut down on some expenses to save money, like your subscription to AOL, and sell your computer to buy shoes for your children.

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American Girl, formerly known as Pleasant Company, used to be an excellent company. Pleasant Rowland founded this company in order to teach American history through an 8-12 year old girl's point of view. The original company had wonderful, lasting quality dolls and clothes to go with them. Pleasant Company became a subsidiary of Mattel in 1998. Mattel bought the company and the quality is very poor now, with mass producing instead of being carefully researched and produced as it was originally. The original goals of the company have gone down the drain along with the products. Mattel is only interested in making money, hence a new doll every year. It would be totally awesome if Mattel would donate a part of every 95$ spent to homeless shelters, but I doubt that will happen.

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What I would like to know is, who actually sits around and thinks these things up? That's what boggles my mind. As a woman who used to play with dolls and barbies, A LOT, I consider myself an expert and I can truthfully say, WHAT A DUMB IDEA! Do the people who create dolls actually understand how kids play with them? Half the time the clothes are LONG GONE within 2 days. If you love your doll you buy or make tons of other clothes and you forget within 2 hours what the original name or purpose is of the doll, you make it yours. To try and push some sort of social awareness or conscious on these young children is just bizarre, they don't want to hear about this crap at this age. Why in all that is holy in this world would you shove all this social responsibility on little girls and force all this heartache about homelessness on these innocent children. You know, I REALLLY hate the way our country and most of the world has become. My heart just bleeds for kids today. Thanks to buttheads like this who do stuff like this, CHILDREN HAVE NO CHILDHOOD, THEY HAVE NO INNOCENCE ANYMORE!!! And it's the fault of every social activist of any level who want to shove social awareness, violence, sex, drugs and every other disgusting thing a person can think of right in the face of babies. Why must we make little adults out of our children and toss them right in the middle of all our adult problems? Why can't we let kids be kids. Stop trying to make them read at 8 months like the commercial says, stop teaching the facts of life at 3 years old and stop selling dolls that push social issues to 6 year olds. It's too much. And then these VERY SAME IDIOTS who buy this crap for kids and don't protect them and force adult issues on them wonder why their 13 year old is having sex, using firearms, doing drugs to deal with the pressue, getting drunk and growing up and trying to be an adult at 14 years old. Today, if a child doesn't have a social conscious at 8 years old we think something is wrong with them or if they aren't "green", or give to charity. Do people realize there are CHILDREN out there AFRIAD to celebrate their birthdays because they are on 9/11? These kids are afraid people who think less of them if they have fun, have a party, celebrate and not spend the day in mourning. They're afraid to accept gifts. Isn't that sad. They are afraid how society will judge them. So people, if you see no harm in giving your little girl a doll who is suppose to teach her all about homelessness, think again, think what you're asking that child to take on. Do you REALLY want her at 4 or 6 or 8 worrying about the problems of the world yet? Don't we all have to start far too soon as it is? Teen years get bad enough, let them be children for a few years yet without expecting them to solve all the problems you haven't been able to yet.

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Homeless is excatly what I would be if I bought these dolls for my girls. Have you seen the price for these dolls. I'm putting it in there college fund. It will last longer.

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savagemouse: I really agree with your statement. That is absolutely true. The only part I disagreed with was the ending....Christ.

Today, too many of us use Christ or God or Jesus in derogatory ways. They should be held in awe if you are a Christian. Using them as an exclaimation is only using them wrong. I am not trying to make you feel bad. Your post was great and your thoughts on helping others are right one target. God bless you! I am not just saying this to you, but to everyone one of us who use His Name wrongly. Some use His Name in cursing. You never hear anyone using Allah or other religious icons names in a derogatory way. Only the One who gave His life for us. No other name is attacked like that.

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Amber, I think Kelly was using the comments on how most of America sees homeless people. Most do not realize that a majority of homeless are not about dirt and such. That was an attempt at levity. The fact that the doll was dressed nice is not how the usual homeless person is observed today. Most homeless that most of us are accustomed to are people with carts full of stuff and wearing raggity clothes. People do not realize that many of these people are mentally ill and were set out of mental hospitals in the 80's. There was a lot said back then about the hospitals and the mentally ill being put on the streets. The part about the squirrels tail was not meant to be making fun. It was just just meant to put a light slant to a bad situation. It is all in how we read things I guess. Then again, I am not voicing everyone's opinon. Just mine.

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To each his own, but I would never spend $95 bucks on a homeless American Girl doll. I'd rather take my daughter down to the shelter, where we could serve food together and then leave a nice monetary donation, like $95, so a real homeless child could get some new shoes and a doll of her own.

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I don't need to buy an expensive doll to teach my daughter good morals - I do that myself !

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Where's the "who's my daddy" doll? You know, the one that wonders why all these "uncles" come to visit mommy when daddy's away on business.

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Exactly who is this monstrosity marketed to? The homeless, to make them feel better about their circumstances? Or the wealthy to make them feel some sort of sympathy for others? The homeless just want food and shelter, not $95 dollar dolls...and doesn't the premiss of this doll strike fear of a similar plight in the kids fortunate enough to be able to afford it? Buy this one fast...it wwill be a collectable in short order when someone with a clue pulls it off the market.

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Exactly who is this monstrosity marketed to? The homeless, to make them feel better about their circumstances? Or the wealthy to make them feel some sort of sympathy for others? The homeless just want food and shelter, not $95 dollar dolls...and doesn't the premiss of this doll strike fear of a similar plight in the kids fortunate enough to be able to afford it? Buy this one fast...it wwill be a collectable in short order when someone with a clue pulls it off the market.

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First of all the idea of a homeless doll selling for $95.00 goes beyond the realm of unbelieveable straight into Saturday Night liveish.

Secondly, if I was a girl with a troubled family the last thing I would want is a doll who was troubled. Little girls and most children want fantasy...happiness, sweetness and light in their playthings. Disney hit a homer with whole princess thing!

And Lastly, if my young daughter was not from a troubled home and I could afford this doll then the last thing I would want is to introduce the troubles of a grown up world to my seven year old, who looks to adults to fix things and make things all better.

Sheesh....political correctness gone too far.

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Where's the crack pipe and cum stains?

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Why not invent the Prostitute Patty or Knocked up Nicky and her 8 friends who have a pack to become young mothers together? Girls need to hear stories of these plights also, so why not make a doll (for someone else to make a HUGE profit on) to teach these girls about strong issues in our world (yah know, instead of their parents teaching them!!) Then they could make the Rich Bitch Becky doll and her story would be of her parents buying her expensive dolls to teach her about life instead of taking time out of their busy rich lives to spend some time with their kids and teach them things.....poor Becky!! And then there is Heroin Helen....and........

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way too FUNNY!!!! is the next one the aids infected meth whore ?the ebola -flesh rating virus-infected supper model ? the track marked , gingavitus , noze breathing ,foreign motel worker ? or the butch dike with the crew cut

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Playing with dolls is encouraging imagination and creativity in children. Giving a child a "homeless" doll just conjures up fear that that child may become homeless also. Not good. Thumbs down to this crazy idea.

Besides that, even as a single mother, I was able to keep a roof over my children's heads and food on the table. I find it really difficult to accept that any parent would allow their family to become homeless. Unacceptable.

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