Doll Decades: Craft Your Way Through the Years (American Girl)

This was a gift for my granddaughter. She loved it.

This is a nice book for those that enjoy dolls and crafts. There are some stickers, patterns, and cardstock items included, along with a pair of sunglasses and an order pad, but you'll have to supply the extras. Those include things like duct tape, old jeans and knitted hats, gloves, ribbon, 1-liter bottles, etc. There are quite a few instructions that tell the child to ask an adult if they can cut up an article of clothing, so be prepared for that if you give this book to your child.The directions don't have step by step pictures(except for the aviator hat), so it can get confusing at times. There's a picture that does include the final product, so by looking at it, a child can figure out most things. An adult's assistance(or teen's) will probably be a great help for many younger ladies, though, at least for some parts. (Here's an example of directions: "For the body of the plane, glue an empty 1-liter plastic bottle to a 16-ounce plastic cup. Glue a 7-inch papier-mache cone to the end of the cup....." The directions assume you will look at the craft within the picture and figure out where to glue things. They're not specific. Some crafts aren't as clear in some pictures. At that point, it's almost trial and error in parts.There is educational value with these crafts. A short fact is told about each decade. It doesn't go into great detail, for sure, though. The 1930s only tells that Amelia Earhart was the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and that she had a yellow plane that she called "The Canary". That's it.While this is a cute book/set, I'd only give it to a child that really loves crafts, has the patience to spend on them and plenty of old clothes to cut up. (A trip to the thrift store with a list of clothing needed for the crafts might be a budget friendly way to go.)

While my children are young enough that we are still with 14 inch dolls, rather than moving up to the 18 inch American girl dolls, this line of crafting books for dolls is still utterly engaging and a lot of fun for children and their families. In order to make the most of this book, your child will probably need to be able to read and do some level of following instructions to make these crafts. The more likely scenario is that children and a parent will sit together and work out how to do a chosen craft to make a fun little scene for one's dolls. Most of these are not extremely size dependent and work just fine for a 14 inch rather than the bigger doll. The glasses and other accessories included worked just fine for our 14 inch doll.I really love what a fun way this is of integrating some level of history and connection with things that have happened in the past, into modern day play that feels engaging and fun. It's just a really nice way of connecting a little bit of education with a lot of connection, crafting, and together time.

So this set is kinda pricey for what you get but then again books are usually pricey and add that this is American Girl it is priced right. Plus the book comes with some items to your child started with their creations. The book goes through different decades and encourages your child to create some items for their dolls. The crafts are cute and detailed so definitely for a child 8 and up would be about right. I like that you get some items with the book which I was surprised about!

The book for this set is cute and tells girls a bit about each decade from the late 1800's up to the early 2000's It mostly focuses on fashions, music and a few other notable things from each decade. The book also tells girls how to use household items and outgrown clothing to make different outfits and accessories for the dolls for each decade. Most of the included craft items that come with the kit are just paper punch outs so it's a bit on the disappointing side that there weren’t a few more cool accessories included like the sunglasses that come with this kit. If you have a girl who will enjoy making her own outfits for her dolls this will be a cool gift for her.

This is a book of craft ideas plus lots of accessories and decals for fans of American Girl products. The book will walk you through the ages of how the role of women changed in history with suggestions on how to make clothes and accessories to dress your doll in the style. All of the crafts can be made from easily attainable items found in most homes.This set both informs and inspires your child to create and embrace the role of women from the early 1900’s up to the present. The instructions/suggestions are easy to follow without needing much parental oversight. It’s suggested age is grade level 1 – 2 but I think that all young ladies at the elementary level will love this set.

I like this book set. The book itself is well worth reading. It has full-color photography with dolls featured dressed in the styles of the different decades. Each section describes the fashions and a bit about those times.This comes with some really cute 50's sunglasses and order pad. There are craft ideas along with the book and cardstock so that fans can make little CDs, Mp3 players, roller skates and several other fashion complements, including suffragette sashes and posters.It's a cute set that encourages girls to learn a bit about history and fashion.

If your child is interested in history or has any of the Beforever dolls (American Girl's historical doll line-like Kit, Addy, Josefina, for example), then this is the perfect set for them.The kit comes with a book that covers the timeline of the 1890's to the 2010's. There's lots of little crafts that you and your child can do pertaining to each decade. The kit also comes with some things like sunglasses and suffragette sash stickers.Another great kit from American Girl.