My First American Girl Boxed Set

by American Girl (Editor), Sydney Hanson (Illustrator)

60 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2026

Reviews

[Miranda Reads]

First American Girl board books! Woohoo!!

Now you can buy these books individually BUT the cost is higher because the book comes bundled with a soft American Girl doll.

The soft dolls are really cute and their style matches the illustrated version of the characters in the books. Alternatively, you can buy all five board books together as a bundle.

Below is my review of each board book to help you decide if you want to buy all of the books or go individual book + doll.

Hello, Addy -- ★★★★★

"Sarah takes Addy to their classroom. Addy has never gone to school before."

Starting off strong with the the plot of Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story! In this simplified version, we see Addy meet her teacher, Miss Dunn, and see some of the lessons on her first day of school. When Addy goes home, she practices her letters using Momma's cookie dough - and there's even a sweet surprise for Addy on her second day of school.

I thought the author did a great job with Addy's story!! The text covered a lot of Addy's school story with just a few words and there's even a reference to wanting to reunite with her family in freedom - which I thought was a bold (and much appreciated) reference to Addy's main plot in her series. The art style is particularly adorable and I really liked how they brought Addy to life.

Hello, Josefina -- ★★★★☆

"Abuelito is coming to visit! ... I hope he brings chocolate!" says Josefina.

Josefina and her three sisters are washing clothes in the river when guess who rolls into town! Abuelito! And he did bring the sisters a surprise - it's Tia Dolores and her piano! Josefina and her family spend a very happy day singing and enjoying the music.

Now, I haven't read Josefina's story quite yet but this felt like a rather cute board book. As I said earlier, the art style is just *chef's kiss* - I love seeing all the characters on the page! The story did feel a bit simple and short but I do think that if I had read Josefina's books beforehand that I would've been able to connect a bit more to the plot.

Hello, Kirsten -- ★★★☆☆

"Kirsten puts her clothes and her doll in a blue trunk. Her family is moving to America."

Much like the plot of Meet Kirsten: An American Girl, most of this board book explains how a child would come to America during Kirsten's era. We see her pack, travel by wagon, then by boat. She arrives in New York and then takes a train and a riverboat until she makes it to her family's new home.

Kirsten is absolutely my favorite American Girl doll, so I was a bit bummed that this story focused more about the different kinds of transportation that she went on rather than a story focused on her growth or character development. The words felt a bit wooden in this one, which was a disappointment for me. On the plus side, it was adorably illustrated and there was NO Marta (so don't worry about the sad stuff (if you know, you know)).

Hello, Molly -- ★★★★☆

Then Mrs. Gilford serves something mushy and orange. It smells strange.
"What's this new stuff?" asks Molly.

Mrs. Gilford, the family housekeeper, does a great job taking care of Molly's family...but her culinary adventures leave much to be desired. After a disastrous serving of mashed turnips, Molly decides she's never going to touch them (ever). But luckily Molly's mom comes home and they are able to work through the problem together. I was a bit bummed that they left out Brad, Molly's youngest brother, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.

This board book takes on Meet Molly: An American Girl, where Molly balances what she knows is good for the country (not wasting food) with what she knows is right for her (avoiding the icky mashed turnips). I liked the broad appeal of this board book - after all, what kid hasn't sat at the table after dinner time because they have sworn off eating something-or-the-other no matter what? The illustrations were fabulous at capturing Molly's absolute disgust!

Hello, Samantha - ★★★★★

"Samantha likes to play in the garden. She climbs trees.
She crawls through the purple lilac bush."

This board book contains some of the plot from Meet Samantha: An American Girl but it seems to focus more on Samantha as a character. We learn about who she is, where she lives, and the various things she likes to do. We get to meet Uncle Gard and Grandmary but disappointingly, no Nellie.

The previous four books seem to closely follow a plot point from the original American Girl books while Samantha's story seems to focus on just explaining who she is as a character. Honestly, I think that while I enjoyed the more plot-based books. It was nice to be "introduced" to Samantha - see her family, her favorite things, and end the story on a happy note. I kinda wish the other four books took this approach to the characters.