Learning History with The Maryellen Larkin Doll

"Maryellen" cover

      Maryellen Larkin is the fourteenth Historical Character by American Girl, representing the 1950s. She was released on August 27, 2015, and is the first exclusive BeForever character. Hailing from Daytona Beach, Florida, Maryellen is an enthusiastic and imaginative girl, longing to stand out but often feels lost in the shuffle of her big, busy family. Her favorite TV shows include Davy Crockett and The Lone Ranger, and she dreams up episodes where she gets to be the hero. Maryellen has strawberry-blonde hair with bangs up in a ponytail and green eyes. All three of her books, written by Valerie Tripp, were released on August 27, 2015.

       A short film based on her stories, with newcomer Harlie Galloway playing the title character, was uploaded on the video sharing site YouTube in November 2015 as part of American Girl's venture into digital content and independent film production. In addition to the short, a direct-to-video special entitled An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas, starring Alyvia Alyn Lind as Maryellen Larkin and was released by Amazon to Prime subscribers on November 25, 2016.

• Meet author Valerie Tripp
• The Making of Maryellen - Behind the scenes
• Maryellen's book listing
• The Teacher's Guide to The One And Only (PDF)
• Learn the meaning of the name Maryellen

 Online Research for Themes Found in Maryellen's Books:

• The History of Polio and Timeline of The Disease Here
• Debbie Reynolds: her life and career in pictures and her biography
• Comic Book History: My Mother Threw Out My Comic Books 
• Timeline: Girl Scouts in History and 100 Years of Girl Scout Uniforms
• Remembering the Alamo and The Alamo in the 1950s and The Alamo official website
• Handwriting for Lefties and Teaching Left-Handers to Write

Our Online Artifacts for The American Girl Maryellen Doll:

1. Vinyl Clip Art Records for Doll Crafts 
2. DIY House Decorating from 1958  
3. Some old technologies make wonderful toys!
4. Decoupage a Spool Canister Set for Maryellen's Diner 
5. Appliances From The 1950s (European)
6. Santa's A Real Doll in 1955 
7. Whatever your child wears...her doll wears too! 
   
8. Soda Fountain/ Ice Cream Parlor Clip Art Pages 
9. Back-To-School jumpers, separates and corduroy jackets in 1956...
10. Craft a Christmas Ham from Paper Mache 
11. Crafting the T.V. dinner for American Girl doll lovers... 
12. DIY 8 Different Soda Fountain Milkshakes for Maryellen's Diner!
13. A Juke Box for a 1950s Doll Diner
14. What is inside Maryellen Larkin's Refrigerator? - listing of accessories, history and links for hand-crafted replacements  
15. Paint pretend Saddle shoes for an 18" doll
    
16. "Bite To Eat Diner" versus "Seaside Diner"
17. Retro Radios from 1950 - original advertising 
    

T. V. Shows that Maryellen loves:

• Patti Page sings Ballad of Davy Crockett, 1955 and Theme song for T.V. show
• Davy Crockett - The Real Frontier Hero
• 'Davy Crockett' TV series filmed in Smokies
• Davy Crockett and Fess Parker from 1955; watch for free here 
• The Lone Ranger 1949 - 1957 Opening and Closing Theme 
• The Lone Ranger collection at YouTube: cartoons, black and white T.V. series, and colorized versions too!

Research Popular Culture of the 1950s in the United States:

• American Bandstand 1950s Dancer Carole Scaldeferri
• Rock n' Roll The Early Days (Documentary) 
• The Women of RockaBilly 
• Voices of Doo-Wop 
• 1950s Commercials and Vintage Commercials 
• The Alberta Story: Marv's Classic Soda Shop 
• Vintage Vending - soda machine mania
• Red lips and Poodle skirts: women's fashion in the 1950s

The Popular "Rock n' Roll" of The 1950s: Jukebox Favorites (most of these are live)

• Buddy Holly & The Crickets sing "Peggy Sue"on Ed Sullivan show, 1957
• "The Leader of The Pack" sung by the Sangri-Las
• Little Richard sings "Long Tall Sally and Tutti Frutti"
• Angels sing "My Boyfriend's Back"
• Elvis Presley - Blue suede shoes, 1956
• Marvin Berry and The Starlighters sing "Earth Angel"
• Chuck Berry sings "Johnny B. Goode" 1958
• Connie Francis sings "Lipstick on Your Collar" 1959 
• Frankie Lymon sings "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"
• Bobby Day sings 'Rockin Robin'
• Ricky Nelson sings "Hello Mary-Lou"
• Fat's Domino sings 'I Hear You Knocking'
• Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock, 1955
• Little Anthony sing "Tears on My Pillow"
• The Everly Brothers sing "All I Have To Do Is Dream"
  

Teen Dance Shows From The 1950s:

• The Original Stroll - February 1958
• Dancing to the Rock and Roll Classics
• "Let's Twist Again" dance and singer Chubby Checker
• Dee Dee Sharp sings and performs 'Mashed Potatoes'
• Real 1950s Rock & Roll, Rockabilly dance teenage style! 
• Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie 

Contemporary Musical Theater About The 1950s: These are parodies folks.

• "Grease" and Review of Grease and movie trailer for Grease
• "Hairspray" and Review of Hairspray and movie trailer for Hairspray

Maryellen Larkin's Books:

• The One and Only
• Taking Off
• The Finders-Keepers Rule
• The Runaway
  

Fan Video Picks for American Girl Doll, Maryellen Larkin:

• Product Designer of Maryellen Larkin's Refrigerator
• Organizing American Girl Doll Maryellen's Closet
• Review on Maryellen Larkin by agwebkinz010

Maryellen Music Video About Maryellen Larkin, 

Part Two (Soda Shop Hop) is here.