American Girl has a new girl - Rebecca!



Photo from AmericanGirl.com

 And Rebecca is - gasp - a Jewish doll! She even lives on the Lower East Side! I'm sure my girls will insist on one of these, and don't think it's lost on me that American Girl knows I will be much more likely to buy them a $95 Rebecca then a $95 Kit or Julie.

I just read a truly fascinating article in The New York Times about an American Girl's Journey to the Lower East Side. This article explores the research and painstaking attention to detail that went into the creation of new girl on the block Rebecca Rubin. The article ends by expressing my thoughts exactly on this new addition to the American Girl Family:

The company hopes the doll will appeal to everyone. If a blond Christian girl in North Dakota enjoys pretending she is living in a tenement on the Lower East Side in 1914, helping her Bubbie make latkes for Hanukkah, American Girl will be happy to sell her a toy menorah.

And no, they're not kidding about the toy menorah:

Sabbath Set. Photo from AmericanGirl.com


Rebecca was introduced for sale to the public in May, 2009.  Not coincidentally, Manhattan's Salute to Israel Parade was also held the same day.