I got an American Girl doll [1] from my grandmother for my sixth birthday, and I can't remember loving something more than I did my Molly doll. She was more than a plaything to me, she was a friend as I grew up an only child [2], and reading her books and making up my own stories for her is part of what I believe fostered my creativity and love of reading and writing as a young child.

Now American Girl is releasing a new doll in their BeForever line [3], so that this generation [4] of children can continue to discover the joys of having something as special as an American Girl doll.

Maryellen Larkin is from Daytona, FL, and the stories in her books take place in the 1950s — think diners, jukeboxes, and poodle skirts — so your little can explore a different era (the era most voted for by American Girl doll-lovers young and old). The books written for the doll, by Valerie Tripp, will help your child to explore life for a young girl in the '50s.

While Maryellen feels the pressure to conform to social standards, she also strives to stand out and be true to herself, even when that means going against expectations. Through Maryellen, Tripp shows how trends of the 1950s — such as the burgeoning of suburbia, "the baby boom," geographic and economic mobility, new technology (like TV and rockets), rock 'n' roll, and lingering postwar prejudice — shape the life of one girl.

Read through to see photos of the brand-new addition to the doll line, the books that correspond with her, and some of her supercool accessories that will connect your kiddo to the fabulous '50s in a modern way (like the television set that actually hooks up to an iPad!).