20. American Girl

American Girl by President Ellen L. Brothers et. al. (American Girl Publishing, Inc.) Above: Nov/Dec 2010 issue

Genre

Magazine

Review

American Girl is a general interest magazine with much of its content created by its own readers.  In the Nov/Dec 2010 issue, girls sent in craft ideas and told stories about their Christmas experiences (one girl gives gifts to children at the hospital, two other girls received a huge package at school that contained their father who'd been deployed overseas).  The results of a dress design contest were included.  Two girls interviewed each other about their efforts to help Haiti following the earthquake.  And two readers' short stories are reprinted in the issue.  The magazine is heavy on simple, but stylish crafts (a bracelet from ribbon and the cardboard tube from a duct tape roll, Christmas ornaments, no stove grilled cheese sandwiches, and no-needle knitting), and on quizzes ("in which school subjects are you an expert;" and "what kind of shop should you own" were the more formal quizzes reminiscent of a 17 or Cosmopolitan -- with the answers at the back -- but there were also rhetorical question based quizzes).

Dress designs by American Girl readers

Opinion

The magazine's use of mostly reader generated content seems potentially very empowering.  And empowerment seems to be the magazine's watchword.  While many of the magazine's elements are reminiscent of publications like 17, American Girl seems to focus more on intellectual pursuits.  The simple crafts might encourage readers to try more challenging ones as they get older.  The publication of short stories written by readers may encourage more writing.  Even the quizzes here seem pitched more at inspiring girls to see their intellectual strengths rather than figuring out what eye-shadow is most complementary to their skin tone.  The quiz on what shop you ought to own ends with four options -- a Smoothie & Juice Bar, a Sporting Goods Store, a Craft & Hobby Store, and a Pet Supplies Store.  These options already seem to provide a wider definition of what it could mean to be a woman than, say, Cosmopolitan (though an even wider range of options would be nice).

Ideas

The magazine would be great for both inspiring simple craft activities that could be done at the library and for helping girls (& boys) explore possible career options and fields of study that interest them.  You could use all of the magazine's various contests to inspire patrons to create -- whether it's fashion designing, providing craft ideas, or writing stories.