Apartment "Eh?": An American's Adventures In Canada

Canadian Dollface

A coworker's daughter spent the day at Wattpad. She bounced in wearing a backpack complete with a doll poking her head out the top. The doll looked identical to Rebecca, the American Girl doll of my childhood, a WWII-era Jewish immigrant living in New York City. In reality, it was Taryn, a Maplelea (pronounced Maple-y) doll, who hails from Banff, Alberta.

"Taryn comes ready for outdoor adventure in her cozy cotton striped turtleneck, her khaki skirt with buckle closure, funky striped tights and her oh-so-comfortable hiking boots. Her long brown hair is held back with a tiny leaf hair clip.

Her friends include Léonie from Quebec City and Saila from Iqaluit.

Girl, you so fly, Canada.

Years ago, Harper's Magazine serialized an amazing piece of fiction inspired by the American Girl doll empire called "Happyland." In it, the female founder of a similar doll line starts buying up property in her old New England college town, with plans to turn it into a quaint destination for doll-obsessed fangirls. She won't take no for an answer and resorts to dirty tricks and strong-arm tactics. Obviously, the story was filled with violence, sex, and a whole lot of accessorizing.

Apparently "Happyland" was originally a book but got canned out of fear there might be a lawsuit. Publishers were scared that Pleasant Rowland, the real progenitor of American Dolls, on whom the character was loosely based, might be litigious. Which is possibly the most American thing that the American Girl dolls have ever done... besides the obvious success of instilling an entire generation of actual American girls (and Canadian girls?!) with a loose interpretation of history that is mostly tied to the consumption of cute outfits and the occasional book.