Limited Edition 2010 GoTY

Thanks marykate for letting us in on this article!!! It won't be long now, Lanie is set to be released January 1st.

By JUDY NEWMAN

608-252-6156

Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2009

Lanie, a 10-year-old from Cambridge, Mass., will be the 2010 Girl of the Year doll for American Girl, Middleton, starting Jan. 1. She is described as a city girl who learns how to have fun outdoors. Through Lanie, American Girl is working with the National Wildlife Federation to encourage today’s girls to improve their health by tearing themselves away from their computer screens and discovering nature. American Girl
Lanie will debut Friday as American Girl's 2010 Girl of the Year and she has a message for girls and their families: go outdoors.
Lanie, described as a 10-year-old who lives in the Boston suburb of Cambridge, Mass., enjoys science and learns about nature through activities in her backyard. American Girl, the Middleton-based subsidiary of toy giant Mattel, is pairing with the National Wildlife Federation to get the word out.
"There's a growing concern that kids today are spending less time outside than any other previous generation," said American Girl spokeswoman Julie Parks. "That can lead to obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder, even depression. It's something we wanted to address with girls."
Coincidentally, the National Wildlife Federation began a publicity campaign this fall called "Be Out There," encouraging children to play outside. Their parents may have grown up climbing trees and skipping stones, but today's children have lost the connection to nature, a relationship that can boost their physical, mental and emotional health, the federation says.
"Kids are spending four and a half to five hours a day online, watching TV, texting and playing games," federation spokeswoman Meri-Margaret Deoudes said. "It's like we've made a total shift in the way our kids play."
The organization's effort is a "perfect fit" with American Girl's new doll, Parks said.
In the book written by Jane Kurtz that accompanies the new doll, Lanie learns how to plant and grow a vegetable garden and how to identify birds by their call. She also has a pet rabbit.
"We know (girls) are interested in nature and they love animals. They can enjoy the wonders of nature in their own backyard. They don't have to go to some exotic place," Parks said.
The National Wildlife Federation has prepared a curriculum for teachers to use and is working on two "microsites" with American Girl, one with tips for parents, the other aimed at children.
American Girl is holding a photo contest, asking girls to go outside and take photos of nature or wildlife. The contest is open until March 15, and 25 winners, chosen at random, will each receive a Lanie doll and book, valued at $95 for both. More information will be available at www.americangirl.com/girloftheyear, starting Friday.
American Girl also is selling sets of girl-and-doll T-shirts with nature themes. One dollar of each of the $29 sets sold will go to the National Wildlife Federation's "Be Out There" campaign.
"It's important to be in the natural world, connecting with the larger world in 3D," Deoudes said.
The blonde, hazel-eyed Lanie is American Girl's eighth annual doll of the year character. Dolls with that designation are only available for one year and have fewer accessories than the company's traditional, historic-based dolls.
Last year's doll of the year, Chrissa, also represented a cause, fighting against bullying.
Parks declined to give out revenue figures for the doll of the year. "But it is an important part of our business and a very popular line with our customers and fans," she said.
Overall, American Girl product sales were flat for the first nine months of 2009, compared to a year ago, but income was $3.2 million for the period, up from a loss of $7.4 million for the first nine months of 2008, Mattel said.