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American Girl introduces Bitty Baby
American Girl is launching a new picture book collection for children ages three and up. Each picture book, written by Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson, tells a story about a little girl and her Bitty Baby doll. Whenever the duo are faced with an obstacle or challenge, the girl tells her doll a fantasy story in which the doll comes to life and faces a similar problem. Told from a young child’s perspective, each story focuses on a common, everyday challenge faced by preschoolers: getting along with siblings, learning a new game or skill, feeling at home in a new place, and other issues. Each “story-within-a-story” presents a message of empowerment that helps the little girl overcome her challenge, often through a creative twist or a new perspective on the situation. The power of imagination and storytelling is at the heart of the collection.
The bright, whimsical, full-color illustrations by Sue Cornelison feature girls, dolls, and families in a range of ethnic backgrounds—as well as tea parties, tutus, talking animals, and all things beloved by little girls.
At the end of each book are two pages of parenting tips relevant to the story’s theme, created in consultation with Dr. Laurie Zelinger, a child psychologist and registered play therapist.
The five titles launching in September 2013 are:
Bitty Baby and Me (offered in four illustration versions: illustration A, illustration B, illustration C, and illustration D), in which a young girl finds a way to win over a prickly older sister
Bitty Baby the Brave where a girl and her doll have a jungle adventure in her grandparents’ big, slightly scary basement
Princess Bitty Baby about a girl who discovers that although she can’t yet read a bedtime story, she can make one up that’s just as good
Bitty Baby at the Ballet in which a girl overcomes her ballet recital jitters by dancing just for her doll
Bitty Baby Loves the Snow where a little girl finds her own way to have fun on a snowy day
Additional Bitty Baby titles will be added each year. |
