American Girl
Chinese-American Corinne Tan Is The American Girl 2022 Girl Of The Year
And her story is full of family, love, and courage.
2022 is almost here and with it comes a bit of joy in the form of an announcement from American Girl: their new 2022 Girl of the Year. The popular brand has released several new dolls over the years as their Girl of the Year, but the 2022 celebration is a little different. This year, the American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year Corinne Tan is all about family and love.
American Girl is a personal favorite brand of mine — I grew up with the original historical fiction dolls (I, of course, had a Samantha) and recently gifted my 85-year-old grandmother the doll she always wanted (Molly, the one that grew up in the same era as her) — because of all the details that go into creating these dolls and their stories. They feel like real girls, and the American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year doll is no different.
Corinne Tan is a Chinese-American girl living in Aspen, Colorado with her mom, her new stepdad, her 7-year-old sister Gwynn, and her new puppy, Flurry, that she’s training to become a search-and-rescue dog. She loves skiing, ice skating with her little sister, her family, and in true American Girl fashion — changing the world.
Working with AAPI Youth Rising — a middle school youth organization that recently launched a pledge requesting schools to devote at least one day of the school year to Asian history and culture — American Girl made sure to include Corinne’s Chinese history as a big part of her story, along with tackling anti-Asian racism, and lessons in empathy. Corinne’s story is written by Wendy Shang, author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, and also includes strong family themes as Corinne’s world includes divorce and the understanding that even though families change, the love can stay the same.
The entire collection of the American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year is so cute. Corinne comes as a standard 18” doll with brown eyes and long, straight black hair with turquoise highlights. She comes dressed in a white cable-knit sweater, iridescent purple leggings, and a pair of blue boots with faux fur trim. You can also purchase for her a casual outfit, accessories, her dog Flurry and his accessories, her skis, as well as play sets like the ski and snack shop (Seriously, it’s so perfect) and the bedroom Corinne and Gwynn share.
This is one of my favorite things about the American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year — the theme of family is so prevalent, that Corinne’s story deeply includes her little sister Gwynn, who is also available as a 14” doll with her own accessories and outfits. As the mother of two little girls (with a third girl on the way), I am 100% obsessed with the matching pajamas for Gwynn and Corinne, as well as the bedroom play set which includes bunkbeds and adorable details and accessories so they can act out full sister relationships and stories. (The bedroom play set can also be turned around to be an actual ski slope play set. I need it.)
American Girl is known for bringing dolls to live as brave, intuitive, and creative trailblazers, and the American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year is no different. As she works through new family dynamics and confronts anti-Asian racism, all while being an example for her little sister, Corinne is teaching all American girls what it’s like to grow up with diversity, strength, and so much love.
The American Girl 2022 Girl of the Year will be available in January 2022, along with all of her accessories and play sets — including Gwynn.