Learning History With Molly

An American Girl on the
Home Front film.

       "Molly McIntire is a young girl living in a fictional city named Jefferson, Illinois during the later years of World War II. Her father is stationed in England as a doctor caring for wounded soldiers, and her mother works at the Red Cross. She, her 15-year-old sister, Jill, her 13-year-old brother, Ricky and her 6-year-old brother, Brad, are all cared for by their housekeeper, Mrs. Gilford, and she must cope with the many changes that the war has brought. Molly also realizes that she, too, has a part of helping soldiers. Despite those changes, Molly has some leisure activities as well, such as skating, tap-dancing, movies and summer camp. Molly's series focuses on patriotism and the changes that come with wartime. 

       Molly was one of the original three dolls offered by Pleasant Company and is the only doll to be sold with eyeglasses. In early July 2013, American Girl announced plans to archive Molly and Emily. Both were archived on December 31, 2013, though Molly's mini doll and books were re-released in February 2018 as part of the BeForever line."  Wikipedia

• Meet Molly McIntire an American Girl
• Listing of Molly's Books
• Author Valerie Tripp
  
• Learn the meaning of the name Molly

       Emily Bennett is a British girl who is sent to America by her family to protect her from the intensity of the English battlefront during World War II. Originally a minor character temporarily residing with the McIntires in the book Happy Birthday, Molly!, Emily's character was expanded in a book by Valerie Tripp called Brave Emily for her debut as the third doll in the Best Friends collection on September 5, 2006. Emily's debut coincided with the premiere of the Molly made-for-TV movie. Since Emily is a minor character and not Molly's best friend, she was marketed instead as "Molly's English friend". As Emily is a part of Molly's collection, she was archived along with Molly.

• Emily Bennett's play accessories and dresses
• Opening Emily Bennett from American Girl Doll
• Opening Emily Bennett Doll and her accessories

Original Molly doll
by Pleasant Company
and costume.

Our Artifacts for American Girl, Molly McIntire and WWII:

• Sample War Ration Books
• Sew Super Sweet Sleeping Bags 
• A Doll Sized LIFE magazine from 1944 (includes 6 pages)
  

Online Learning About English Children During WWII, and for Emily Bennett:

• The doll's Full English breakfast...
• Evacuation of children during the World War II
• An evacuee tells her story
• Rationing In Britain
• Seeds of Destiny Documentary, 1946
• The Wartime Farm Christmas Special 1944

More Craft Projects for Molly McIntire Fans:

• Bi Plane Wood Model Kit
• Cardboard Tube Telescope
  

Online Learning About Themes in Molly's Books:

• The National WWII Museum in New Orleans
• Tillamook Air Museum
• Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)  - and The Lone Star Flight Museum 
• Michigan's last surviving WWII fly girl recalls her time in the sky, blazing new paths 
• Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II - and Operation Pied Piper  - and interview with a child evacuee
• The Holocaust for Kids
• Nancy Drew Book Related Collectibles

 WWII Movies, Documentaries, Tributes:

• Flyover honors WWII airmen who saved lives of British children
• Empire of the Sun (1987) film and 10 Great films about children in wartime reviews
• Veterans Return Home from WW2- US Army Documentary 1945
  

Popular Music in Molly's World:

• Andrews Sister Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
• Soundies: Black Music from the 1940s
• Glen Miller - Chattanooga Choo Choo - Sun Valley Serenade, 1941
• "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman and Band and Dancing too!
• Peggy March - "I will follow him"(14 years old)
• Top Swing Hits 1930s and 1940s

American Girl Doll, Molly McIntire's Fan Videos:

• Review about Molly McIntire
• Molly's Outfits from American Girl
• Comparison between Pleasant Company Molly and a BeForever Molly
• Retired Molly Items from Ebay
• American Girl Dolls, Molly McIntire and Emily Bennett: Books and Accessories

Advanced Reading: Historical Fiction about young women during WWII:

• My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York, 1941 by Mary Pope Osborne 
• Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941 by Barry Denenberg 
• The Diary of a Young Girl, also known as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the family's only known survivor, just after the war was over. The diary has since been published in more than 60 languages.