It’s a mitzvah! On May 31st a brand new American Girl doll will be available for purchase. Meet Rebecca, the Lower East Side dwellin’ Jewish-American girl who is the newest addition to the doll company’s historical roster. Rebecca Rubin is a 9-year-old living with her family in New York City in the year 1914 and whose debut has been much anticipated.
Rebecca’s coming out party will be held at the New York American Girl superstore and will include tie-ins with the Lower East Side’s Tenement Museum, paying tribute to the doll’s history. There are six books that compliment Rebecca and cover her back story which includes issues such as labor conditions, immigration into the U.S., the beginning of the film industry and includes Manhattan history as the backdrop.
An American Girl spokesperson stated to the Chicago Sun Times that, "A Jewish doll has been a top request from customers for a long time…our goal has always been to choose the pivotal periods that shaped the history of our country.” She continued to say, "Two million Jews from Eastern Europe immigrated between 1880 and 1915. Most came to New York City…this is an opportunity to talk about how this influx shaped us. We wouldn't be the country we know if not for their contribution."
Rebecca is the first American Girl doll with a strong religious affiliation, although the doll company’s spokesperson points out that Catholicism plays an important roll in the background of their Josefina doll (from Colonial New Mexico).
As with all the American Girl characters you can purchase era appropriate accessories such as a wood sideboard with a Sabbath Set. And although she comes from humble beginnings, her price isn’t. She goes for $95 for the doll and the first book in the series. Or $114 for Rebecca, the first book and her hat and scarf.
Would you buy Rebecca for your little girl?
Full review of the doll coming soon.
