I picked this up at Ollie's because I never saw anyone buy it on my last several visits. I've been an American Girl fan since elementary school. I've read most of the historical series and I even bought a tiny Addy after admiring her courage in her books. This visual guide was exquisite. It was the history of the American Girl company with a timeline of the dolls, books, and the accessories. I read it in one sitting and starting to skim near the end but it was fantastic. I'm going to read it one more time before I gift it as a sister present for my niece's upcoming first birthday. I'm planning to try to get her a book set of the doll she likes best. This was a great guide and I'm stoked I finally bought this book. I can truly be right whenever I quote one of my favorite Vines: "I think I know more about American Girl dolls than you do, genius."
No real reason to read or own this unless you are 8 years old or a completist. It's pretty scatterbrained and unorganized. The only organization is by current doll brand. So there are three main sections. The historical section has literal wrong facts about the dolls' stories, omits a lot of simple facts, and is generally annoying to read becuase of that. It's like the authors of this didn't even read the books, which wouldn't surprise me at all. The GOTY section is fine, but you think for a guide it would outline what was in each collection. This was a historical problem as well. It's basically all just stock photos. The Truly Me section is useless. "Look at all the types of outfits we have/had!" It's literally split up by pages into themes like sleepovers and winter activities on the things they have sold. Also, no super old items appear in this book. And, for being an "ultimate guide" there's no mention of any other lines they have sold even if they are still around. This is really kinda silly to even exist.
The information was interesting, but I was a little disappointed that it didn't have pictures of more of the original stuff. I guess I was expecting more of a glossary of all the books, products, outfits, etc, that have been released over the years. The info about the creative process was interesting.