Junior Kassi Burns first discovered American Girl Dolls as a child on a family vacation at the Mall of America. She and her mother looked through the store but didn’t end up buying a doll until they had done research after the trip. Burns and her mother read books about different American Girl Dolls and the series that goes along with each one. 

“I picked Kirsten because her name started with a “K” like mine. After my mom read her stories to me, we found out that American Girl was retiring the Kirsten doll that year,” Burns said. “So, I got Kirsten for Christmas that year.” 

After her first doll, Burns found a passion for their stories and the back story behind them. She has now collected 62 dolls and has read almost all of the stories that go with each one. 

“ When I was little, I was mostly interested in the dolls but now I’m more interested in their stories,” Burns said.  “I’ve now read most of the books and I’ve also read up on the history of the company.” 

Burns now buys older and broken dolls to restore them and give them to other people. Burns restored and made a custom doll for English teacher Emily Rountree’s daughter last Christmas. 

“I just bought cheap dolls and fixed them up for myself, but now I’ve done them for other people too,” Burns said. 

She says that her love for American Girl Dolls is in the message the company sends to girls and the lessons in each book series. 

“It’s about the characters behind the dolls and the American Girl company,” Burns said. “I love the company because it was founded on the idea of inspiring young girls to stay young at heart, even as they grow up, and to foster a love of learning about history and show young girls how much they have in common with girls from the past.”