A Break for Girly News!

I am old enough to remember when American Girl books and dolls came out. Naturally it was the books which first drew me in, and I can remember waiting for the newest installments to come out all through elementary school. As I aged out of the series, I continued to keep an eye on the dolls. Those beautiful dolls, so expensive for a working class family, but so exciting with all their accoutrements! It's amazing how much one doll can collect (because you know you're not collecting these things yourself, don't you?).

Now with a daughter I continue to watch the American Girl dolls, but never really thought they were worth the expense...until now. Meet Rebecca Rubin, the newest American Girl!

I am excited about this doll for a number of reasons. First, as a history major and a parent the ability to introduce history in my child's toy (as opposed to "The History of Strawberry Shortcake" ) is a large draw. According to the Times, the historicity of Rebecca's story seems to be on target, which is the first question I always need answered. Second, as a developing Jewish family the ability for my daughter to find a doll she can identify with religiously (as opposed to "Christmas for Samantha" and other holiday stories) is promising. Especially living in a rural area without the Jewish flavor that might be found in a larger community, any chance to help my daughter see Judaism around her is one worth taking.

The third reason is the doll itself. Not only is it a historical, Jewish doll, but my daughter looked at the picture and said "it's me!" She also has the light brown hair with auburn highlights, which until last week fell to the middle of her back. Knowing that I was secretly planning to purchase this doll for her birthday, I had to grin when she followed that observation up with a question: "Does she come with challah?"

Why, yes, my dear, she does! I can hardly wait till Miss Rebecca Rubin goes on sale next week. A hat tip to both Chaviva and Frume Sarah, as they both have featured this new arrival on their blogs before me.

Chag Sameach Shavuot!