Win American Girl Doll Saige From ChiIL Mama-Final 4 Days

Saige Copeland & ChiIL Mama's Sage--both creative, artistic, 9 year old American Girls!

American Girl's Saige and ChiIL Mama's Sage even have similar colored dogs!

We couldn't be more excited that Saige is the American Girl of the year 2013!
Click below to enter to win a Saige doll & book set ($110 value) from ChiIL Mama through midnight 1/31/13:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


**Click here for loads of our past American Girl coverage including photo filled features, our video interview with author, Valerie Tripp, and more!**




Check back with ChiIL Mama throughout 2013.   We're setting up a Saige horseback riding feature, an interview with a Chicago based children's book illustrator who is an artist like Sage's grandma, and even a hot air balloon adventure once the weather warms!

We'll have many more American Girl features this year including more author interviews, giveaways, and photo features.   So follow us so you don't miss a thing.   

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube & Google + to be the first to know about nationwide giveaways, Chicago shows, and more.

American Girl Saige Giveaway & Welcome Party Photo Feature #giveaway

Welcome Saige, American Girl of the year 2013!!   

Saige Copeland & ChiIL Mama's Sage--both creative, artistic, 9 year old American Girls!

We had a blast at American Girl Place in Chicago yesterday on 1-1-13, for Saige's debut party.   Check out our original shots here then head on down yourself.   Free doll sized Saige tee's, posters, and crafts are going on 9am-1pm daily through January 4th!!  



It was fun for ChiIL Mama's daughter, Sage, to be there on launch day.   We've NEVER heard her name so many times in one place!   All over the store we heard a chorus of excited girls saying:

Saige is so beautiful.   
Saige rocks!   
I've been waiting my whole life for a doll like Saige.  
I can't wait to get Saige.   
Saige is so cool.   
Saige is my favorite girl.
Saige has awesome hair.
I love Saige.



We had fun following creative clues and acing the Saige Scavenger Hunt to win a poster.  



We also picked up our free doll sized Saige tee and made a hot air balloon craft. 


  




We couldn't resist picking up her adorable dog (He's big, shaggy, black and white...and not unlike my Sage's dog!) and we were happy to see he's a soft body (unlike earlier AG pets) and comes with a leash.   

We also bought the super cool art set, which my Sage is paying for herself out of her "helpful works" money.  

I also couldn't resist the gorgeous sweater dress, accented with a southwestern flair belt.   It's a beautiful blue/purple like the color of flowers on Sage plants like May Night Sage and others in the Salvia family.  It's soft, 100% cotton and doesn't have scratchy seams--all big bonus points in our book!   Saige's accessories and outfits are cool, colorful and artsy. 

My Sage is now determined to save up and earn extra money so she can buy Saige's hot air balloon later this year.   It's pretty impressive and would look great hanging in her room.

Check back with ChiIL Mama often for more photo features, our author interview and the latest news on Saige related events!

We're also sooo excited to be giving away a Saige doll & book set right here at ChiIL Mama, like we did for American Girls of the year Kanani (2011) and McKenna (2012).   


Enter right here for your chance to win through midnight 1/31/13.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Disclaimer:  Thanks to American Girl for giving us a Saige doll/book set for our readers and one for review.   All opinions are our own.

Check out ChiIL Mama's prior Saige coverage here.

MEET SAIGE, GIRL OF THE YEAR 2013, AT AMERICAN GIRL PLACE® CHICAGO!

                      Come ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama and her 9 year old daughter Sage in Chicago, to welcome 9 year old Saige Copeland, American Girl 2013 Girl of the Year, at American Girl Place Chicago on Tuesday, January 1!! 

**Girls visiting the store during Saige’s debut week, 

from January 1 through January 4, 

will receive a free doll-sized Saige t-shirt**

We got a press sneak peek at Saige's book a month ago and had to sit on it till now. As a mom of an artistic, 9 year old Sage who adores American Girl dolls.....we can't tell you how super stoked we are to welcome Saige--the new girl of the year for 2013!!!! We'll have a full review for you, photo filled features, an author interview and live coverage of the big release party at American Girl Place Chicago January 1-4th.

American Girl's 2013 Girl of the Year is almost here! Arriving January 1, Saige Copeland is a spirited, talented 9 year old girl who comes to realize that the arts — both of today and long ago — are worth preserving. Through Saige, girls will discover the power of creativity and imagination to help them overcome challenges, large and small.

        

We just finished reading the first Saige book by Jessie Haas and highly recommend it.  The arts are hugely important to our family and our society.  Saige is an endearing character and my creative, artistic daughter's elated to have her as her namesake! 

This heartwarming story deals with changing friendships, family responsibilities, overcoming obstacles & accidents, and talented tweens discovering what they are capable of.   As a family that counts 2 big dogs among our beloved family members, we especially enjoyed the close relationships between people and animals featured in Jessie Haas' Saige book.   This was a great family read and we treasured the time spent enjoying it together.

A spirited, imaginative girl who loves painting and horseback riding, Saige uses her talents and creativity to bring her family and friends together to raise money for an after-school arts program. Guests attending the special launch celebration will be the first to see the brand-new Saige doll, accessories, and books, and learn about Saige’s inspiring story of turning passion to persuasion to promote the arts in her community. 

We can't wait to pick up the sequel.

Girls visiting the store during Saige’s debut week, from January 1 through January 4, will receive a free doll-sized Saige t-shirt and will have the opportunity to participate in several free activities inspired by Saige’s world, including: 

    Saige Drawing Demonstrations: Girls will learn drawing tips from local teaching artists, who will share basic techniques while they draw horses, dogs, landscapes, and other objects inspired by Saige’s stories.

              

Horse Collage & Hot Air Balloon Crafts: Girls can let their creativity                          

soar, just like Saige, as they create a horse collage or paper hot-air balloon.

              

Saige Scavenger Hunt: Girls will learn about Saige as they go on a fun-filled scavenger hunt, collecting fun facts about the new Girl of the Year along the way. 

         

Photo Opportunity: Girls can capture a memory of their visit by getting their picture taken alongside a colorful Saige-themed hot-air balloon display.

     American Girl Place Chicago, 835 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

About American Girl:

                                          American Girl Brands, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT, www.mattel.com), the world’s leading toy company. Since American Girl’s inception in 1986, the company has devoted its entire business to celebrating the potential of girls ages 3 to 12. American Girl encourages girls to dream, to grow, to aspire, to create, and to imagine through a wide range of engaging and insightful books, age-appropriate and educational products and unforgettable experiences. 

American Girl's Read-A-Palooza With Marie-Grace, Cecile, Jaedyn & Sage

Real life 9 year old American Girls, 
Jaedyn (http://www.missloriscampus.com/)  
and Sage (http://www.chiilmama.com/) have a reading play day at Chicago's Ping Tom Park in Chinatown with 9 year old American Girl Dolls, Marie-Grace and Cecile.

There are two weeks left of American Girl's Read-A-Palooza, so there's still time to do something great for Save The Children and for your daughters through September 3rd.   We've given away 5 American Girl books to one of our lucky readers and we've been posting about Read-A-Palooza since it began in May.   For more information about Read-a-palooza and American Girl’s partnership with Save the Children click here.




We've been rockin' the reading all summer long and thoroughly enjoyed reading up on Marie-Grace and Cecile, American Girl's historical figures from 1850's New Orleans.   Recently, we met up with fellow blogger and mom extraordinaire,  Miss Lori and her daughter, Jaedyn.   Our girls are the same age (and coincidentally the same ages as Marie-Grace and Cecile).   The girls became engrossed in the adventures of the best friends from the past, and had a blast climbing trees, jumping from rocks, and laughing together.




We adore Marie-Grace and Cecile--close friends and the first historical American Girl Dolls to be released as a duo.  New Orleans is steeped in colorful history and one of our favorite places to visit.   American Girl's attention to detail, research, accuracy and quality make their historical books come alive in a way parents can trust and girls can't put down.   The duo were released in fall of 2011.  In their six-book series set the new characters—one African American and one Caucasian—show the power of friendship and community as they reach across the boundaries of race and class to help their families, friends, and city during a time of great need. 



We're fortunate to be raising savvy, urban kids in a major city, so multiculturalism and an appreciation for diversity comes naturally.  Our children are growing up color blind, where friends are friends, and skin color is as irrelevant as different colors of eyes or hair.  Still, it's fascinating and vital for our girls to read about the past history, the deep south and the costs and rewards of friendship between two other young girls from our country's past.   These stories are compelling, compassionate, and girl centered.  Much of this history is being skipped in schools and the personal twist the characters bring, makes learning about the past fun.






We've read both Marie-Grace and Cecile's introduction books and their mysteries this summer, which we could NOT put down.  I was thrilled that my reluctant reader got super excited and engaged with the books and has been carrying them with her everywhere and devouring them.   American Girl is committed to not only entertaining but educating girls and helping them grow intellectually, physically, and emotionally. 

Here's a sampler of our favorite recent American Girl releases and where you can buy them, too. 

•  ADVICE:  A Smart Girl's Guide to Liking Herself-even on the bad days

• CONTEMPORARY FICTION:  Innerstar University Series--"a book staring YOU with more than 20 endings" and an on line play component. 

• MYSTERIES:   We thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend The Cameo Necklace, A Cecile Mystery, and The Hidden Gold, A Marie-Grace Mystery 

Read-a-palooza provides girls with fun activities and incentives to inspire them to keep their reading skills sharp and encourage engagement in a variety of different literacy activities! In addition, Read-a-palooza will be contributing to Save the Children through a book purchase donation. Starting May 1 through September 3, $1 from every book purchased from American Girl will benefit Save's U.S. Literacy Program.

For more than 25 years, American Girl’s award-winning books have helped millions of girls discover the joy of reading and have earned the trust of parents and educators. This summer, to celebrate books and encourage girls to keep their reading skills sharp while school is out, American Girl is introducing Read-a-palooza, a summer reading program created for girls ages 8 to 12. Packed with fun activities and incentives that encourage literacy, Read-a-palooza will run from May 1 to September 3, 2012, and also will include a charitable partnership with Save the Children’s U.S. literacy program.

If you still haven't done so yet, click here to participate in Read-a-palooza before it's too late!  Girls can download colorful bookmarks and free book-related content, such as tips and materials for starting a book club. They’ll also be able to do reading challenges and take fun, interactive quizzes. Starting in June, girls can participate in Read-a-palooza by visiting an American Girl retail store, where free reading events will be offered all summer long. 

To further emphasize the importance of reading and to help a great cause during its Read-a-palooza campaign, American Girl is partnering with Save the Children’s U.S. literacy program. From May 1 through September 3, 2012, $1 of every book purchased through American Girl (up to a maximum of $100,000) will support Save the Children’s efforts to raise literacy rates in impoverished communities by providing basic education and equipping schools and teachers with reading materials. In addition, American Girl will make its third donation of books to Save the Children this fall, bringing the value of the company’s total book donation to nearly $1.5 million.

Remember to Check back in with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We'll be running photo filled American Girl features on An American Girl Cafe Birthday Party, Caroline from 1812-the newest historical character, due for release in September 2012, and more!    We'll also have more American Girl book reviews, and exclusive author interviews coming soon.

When girls love to read...everyone wins!

McKenna Shoots for the Stars Movie & Chicago Events at American Girl Place #AmericanGirl

Summer is hot so come ChiIL Out at American Girl Doll Place Chicago!

ChiIL Mama will be running photo filled  features on A Visit to the American Girl Doll Hospital, A Cafe Birthday Party and more, so check in like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often!

Here are our favorite Chi-town American Girl Doll happenings for the next month:

Click here for a full listing of American Girl/Chicago events.

Watch our 2012 Girl of the Year® star on screen!

McKenna's new movie airs for free on 7/14 and is available right now for a fee at Comcast on demand.   Here at ChiIL Mama, Sagezilla is in team gymnastics camp 5 days a week and will be entering her first USAG (Jr. Olympics) meets this fall.   She's been doing IPDGC competitive meets for three years and even placed FIRST IN STATE in 2010.   

We've been watching the girls' US Olympic team auditions and getting excited for the summer games in London.   Sagezilla has been watching the events with our McKenna doll and two other American Girl dolls she has also outfitted as gymnasts.    She can not wait to see McKenna's movie and really relates to her books and her life.   She devoured the McKenna books and is now voraciously reading a bunch of great American Girl book titles.    We've been spending some quality Mom/daughter hammock time reading under the giant willow tree in the back yard that we planted to celebrate Sagezilla's birth, 9 years ago.

If you missed our prior photo filled features on American Girl's Summer Reading Program and on McKenna, doll of the year, check out these links or type American Girl into our side search bar for many more features:

*American Girl Read-A-Palooza Feature and Give Away

*Mary Casanova-McKenna books author-photo filled feature at Chicago book signing

*McKenna doll visits Chicago Comets, competition team gymnasts

*Kanani recap-New McKenna

*Welcome McKenna-Release Party

*McKenna Doll Give Away

   

                         

          

Meet McKenna Brooks, a determined and confident young gymnast, in this all-new, modern-day adventure. McKenna is on track to make the regional competitive gymnastics team, but off track in school, where she's suddenly struggling to keep up.

When her teacher suggests a tutor, she's embarrassed and desperate to keep it a secret from her friends. Then a bad fall at the gym sidetracks her from her favorite sport. Will she recover in time to make the team? Can she succeed in school, too?

McKenna needs to focus on her strengths to overcome her challenges — and, with the help of family and friends, find a way to believe in herself again.

Starring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Ian Ziering (TV's “Beverly Hills, 90210”), and gymnastics champion Cathy Rigby, this heart-warming story will have the whole family cheering!

Click here for a sneak peek at the movie!

Click here for ordering info