American Girl Doll Talk: The Podcast for Fans of American Girl Dolls!

Hello American Girl fans! We hope you are enjoying the start to a new year! We were both able to get back in the studio to publish another podcast episode. We look forward to sharing a great interview we had with Nancy Holyoke. She has written a bunch of Smart Girl's Guides for American Girl, including A Smart Girl's Guide to Manners. Ever wonder what the polite thing is when you are served food you don't like? Or what to say in an uncomfortable situation? Mrs. Holyoke shares some expert advice with us all in this episode! In this episode, we mention Christa's trip around the world in 2012 and Mia's newly adopted family member! We included some pictures below. Thank you so much for listening! We love hearing from you! Contact us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why! Also, what are some of your favorite winter activities? Thanks! 16: A Smart Girl's Guide to Manners with author Nancy Holyoke   Mia's New Brother!   Pictures from Christa's Trip!       

Earlier today we published a video podcast of our interview with Mary Casanova, author of the 2012 Girl of the Year McKenna books (among many other books!). We are posting this audio-only version of the episode for those who do not have the ability to watch videos on their mp3 players. Here's the audio! Enjoy! Let us know what you liked about what Mrs. Casanova talked about! 15: Ringing in the New Year with Friends and Mary Casanova, author of McKenna books!

Hello American Girl fans! A couple years ago we got some friends together for Christmas and made a video podcast celebrating the holiday. It just so happened that all of us were together again over New Years. So we decided to do another video podcast! It's crazy to see how much older everyone looks! In addition to the fun with friends, this episode includes our interview with the amazing Mary Casanova! We've heard from many listeners that her previous interview was one of their favorites and we're excited to bring this episode to you! Mrs. Casanova talks about the 2012 Girl of the Year, McKenna Brooks. Plus she answers questions that some of you submitted! You can watch the video below or sync it through iTunes if you have subscribed to our podcast. We'll also publish a separate episode that is audio only for listeners that don't have access to video iPods or iTunes. Have you checked out the McKenna microsite on AmericanGirl.com? We invite you to try the McKenna's Take the Challenge to identify your strengths. It's fun! Leave a comment with what your top 3 strengths are! It will be fun to see what people find! Thank you so much for listening! We love hearing from you. Contact us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Thanks! Ringing in the New Year with friends and Mary Casanova, author of McKenna books! For audio only:

Well, girls, it's time to unveil the 2012 Girl of the Year: McKenna Brooks! In this episode we interview Susan Jevins who is the Senior Public Relations Associate at American Girl. Ms. Jevins tells you everything you need to know about McKenna and the launch that American Girl is planning in 2012! Next week we are scheduled to talk again with Mrs. Mary Casanova, who wrote the McKenna stories. As we mentioned in a previous post, if you have a question you'd like to ask Mrs. Casanova, let us know! If we're able, we'll include your question in the interview (and we'll mention your name)! What a fun year it's been with Kanani! It's going to be so sad to see her go! But we've LOVED the McKenna stories and know you're going to love her and her friends as well! We hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Have a great finish to 2011! 14: Introducing McKenna Brooks, the 2012 Girl of the Year!

Hello American Girl fans! We're so excited to share another podcast episode with you! It's no longer a newsflash that American Girl released two new historical characters: Cecile and Marie-Grace. What is a newsflash is that in this episode, we have the privilege of sharing with you an interview with the authors of the Cecile and Marie-Grace books: Denise Lewis Patrick and Sarah Masters Buckey! They were so fun to talk with! We hope you enjoy the interview! In this episode we also read some listener mail and talk with Gracie and Breanna. And we announce the winner of our reef trigger fish contest! TA-DA! Who won? You gotta listen! Their Girl Doll Talk tote bag will be in the mail soon! P.S. We captured the drawing on video and will publish a separate video podcast of when we drew the winner's name! Would you like to have an interview on our show about your site? You can learn more at http://girldolltalk.gotop100.com/. Do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 13: Introducing Cecile and Marie-Grace with authors Denise Lewis Patrick and Sarah Masters Buckey

Hi girls! We had a blast celebrating Mia's 12th birthday earlier this week! Here's a fun video that has us both and piles of friends enjoying the day! And here's a crazy video that my (Christa) brother put together to celebrate Father's Day. :) My dad is one of the rappers! Have a great Independence Day weekend! We'll have an episode out in July and will announce the winners to the contest! :)

Hello American Girl fans! Christa and Mia here, with a very special episode of the Girl Doll Talk Podcast! As you know, we love interviewing authors of American Girl books. It's so interesting to learn the stories behind the people who bring our favorite characters to life. Well, in this episode we are excited to share a discussion we had with the one and only Valerie Tripp! Mrs. Tripp has authored over 50 books for American Girl and will tell us how it all started years ago. If you listen to the bloopers afterwards, you'll also learn about her soundproof recording studio at home! :) We also talk to Dr. Mary Adam from Kenya, who is part of a very cool work there called Equipping Africa. Girls, make sure to take up the challenge to help orphan girls in Kenya by sending an American Girl book that you no longer need! All you have to do is to send one or more books to: Girl Doll Talk 765 Pheasant Ridge Court, Suite 102 Lake Zurich, IL 60047 We'll take care of the shipping to Kenya. Thank you so much! Finally, we loved talking to our friends Hannah and Emma from AGFun. Girls, there is still time to send in a video or audio of you and your friends trying to say Humuhumunukunukuapua'a! Send your audio or video to girldolltalk@gmail.com and we'll select one of the entries to receive a free Girl Doll Talk tote bag! Come on, girls! Get your friends together and take your best shot! We'd love to send you a free tote bag! Would you like to have an interview on our show about your site? You can learn more at http://girldolltalk.gotop100.com/. Do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 12: An American Girl Chat with author Valerie Tripp

Quick note: Would you like to be notified by e-mail each time we have a new episode published? Just click here and we'll do that! Your contact information is never shared with anyone. Ever. Period! By now enthusiastic American Girl fans know that the 2010 Girl of the Year® is named Lanie! Welcome to the family, Lanie! The American Girl company was very generous to send us a press kit ahead of time to learn about Lanie. Keeping it a secret was not easy! Thankfully the word is now free to go out so we thought you would enjoy hearing from Ms. Stephanie, the Public Relations Manager at American Girl. In this interview you'll learn some inside scoop about Lanie and all the cool things American Girl is announcing along with her! As of January 1, 2010 the AG site will be updated with all the cool Lanie stuff you'll hear about in this interview. Check it out at http://www.americangirl.com/girloftheyear. In this episode we also read some listener e-mail from Julia and Whitley and talk with our new friend Mandy, who helps us introduce the show! By the way, do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. And how about some Girl Doll Talk accessories? Check out our store! Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! Happy New Year! 06: Lanie, Girl of the Year 2010, An American Girl Interview

Hello American Girl fans! Christa and Mia here, with another episode of the Girl Doll Talk Podcast! Well, Kanani fever continues to spread! In this episode, we talk with Lisa Yee, author of Aloha, Kanani and Good Job, Kanani. Mrs. Yee is also the author of Good Luck, Ivy. She's not only a great writer. She's a REALLY fun lady! You have to check her blog out at http://lisayee.livejournal.com/. You can learn more about this wonderful authoress at http://www.lisayee.com/. Don't miss her pictures with Peeps! Here's our picture! In this episode we also talk with the founder of a blog that is currently getting a high amount of traffic through the Top American Girl Fan Sites contest we have going: Australian Girl Fan (http://www.australiangirlfan.com/). Brittany-Amelia is a wonderful new friend from "down under" and she introduces us all to her love for both Australian Girl Dolls and American Girl Dolls! We also talk to a sweet new friend Leana (also known as Le-Le) who, along with her mom, gives their best shot at the Hawaiian reef trigger fish name! Speaking of that fish name, in our last episode we invited you to send in a video or audio of you and your friends trying to say Humuhumunukunukuapua'a! Well, in this episode we up the stakes! Send your audio or video to girldolltalk@gmail.com and we'll pick one of the entries to receive a free Girl Doll Talk tote bag! Come on, girls! Get your friends together and take your best shot! We'd love to send you a free tote bag! Would you like to have an interview on our show about your site? You can learn more at http://girldolltalk.gotop100.com/. Do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. And how about some Girl Doll Talk accessories? Check out our store! Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 11: Kanani Chat with author Lisa Yee

Well, we've all been waiting to learn about the 2011 Girl of the Year and she's finally available! Welcome Kanani! In this episode, we talk with Stephanie Spanos, who heads up Public Relations for American Girl. She tells us all about Kanani, including the creative and fun ways to enjoy this new doll! Also, in this episode we talk with the blog that is currently getting the most traffic through the Top American Girl Fan Sites contest we have going. Currently our friends at http://aggossipblog.com/ are on the top so we loved having the chance to interview all the founders in this episode! Would you like to have an interview on our show about your site? You can learn more at http://girldolltalk.gotop100.com/. Don't miss the special Kanani challenge we talk about in this episode! Here's a summary: one of the many things we like about Lisa Yee's Aloha Kanani book is that she includes Hawaiian words and how to pronounce them. One of the biggest tongue twisters is the name of a Hawaiian reef trigger fish: the humu­humu­nuku­nuku­āpuaʻa. (Get the book to learn more. You can also read this on Wikipedia.) We want you to record a video of you and your friends or family trying to say that word! You can record it in audio as well, though we prefer video. Be as creative or funny as you want! Send us your video (or audio with a digital picture) to girldolltalk@gmail.com. Make sure to get permission from a parent. Let us know what questions you have! We can't wait to publish you and your friends in an upcoming podcast episode! Do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. And how about some Girl Doll Talk accessories? Check out our store! Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 10: The 2011 Girl of the Year Episode: Welcome Kanani!

Hello American Girl fans! Christa's brother Barrett works with Rocket Launch Media, which does cool web videos for small businesses. Anyway, he thought it would be fun to put together this crazy little clip for Girl Doll Talk. We hope your summer is starting well! We should have our next audio podcast episode out next week. In the meantime, have a great day! Take a Leap of Fun with Christa and Mia!

Quick note: Would you like to be notified by e-mail each time we have a new episode published? Just click here and we'll do that! Your contact information is never shared with anyone. Ever. Period! A couple months back we asked our listeners which author they would most like to hear from. Since Chrissa is so loved, it was no surprise that Mary Casanova, the author of the Chrissa and Jess books, ranked very high. What did surprise us is how many other books Mrs. Casanova has written! She was so kind to send us an autographed copy of her book Cecile: Gates of Gold. Girls, as much as we love Chrissa... we like this book even more! Make sure to get your copy today! Mrs. Casanova is a wonderful woman--so nice to interview! Don't miss some of the fun bloopers at the end of the episode! If you would like to learn more about Mary Casanova, we invite you to visit her website and blog at http://www.marycasanova.com/. In this episode we also interview Hannah and Katie from AG Gossip Blog and a guy listener named Blake. Plus we read some listener e-mail! Do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. And how about some Girl Doll Talk accessories? Check out our store! Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 08: Interview with Mary Casanova, author of Jess, Chrissa, and Cecile!

Quick note: Would you like to be notified by e-mail each time we have a new episode published? Just click here and we'll do that! Your contact information is never shared with anyone. Ever. Period! So you know all about Lanie, the 2010 Girl of the Year®. But have you had a chance to read the books yet? We've read the first one and really enjoyed it! We thought it would be fun to interview Jane Kurtz, the author of the Lanie books! In this interview you'll learn more about the author who worked with American Girl to dream up Lanie, Dakota, and the rest of the characters in the series. You'll also learn some insider facts you can find in the book, and some cool stories about Mrs. Kurtz life! If you would like to learn more about Jane Kurtz, we invite you to visit her website and blog at http://janekurtz.wordpress.com/. In this episode we also read some listener e-mail from Johanna and Regan! By the way, do you have friends and family members that love American Girls? Please tell them about our podcast! They can find it here or on iTunes at http://bit.ly/GirlDollTalkoniTunes. And how about some Girl Doll Talk accessories? Check out our store! Finally, please write to us at girldolltalk@gmail.com. Let us know who your favorite doll is and why. Also, let us know if you have an American Girl doll related question. We might just be able to read your e-mail or even interview you over the phone! That would be fun to meet you! Send us an e-mail today! Thanks! 07: Lanie Mania! An Interview with Jane Kurtz, Author of the Lanie Books