The American Girl series is a series of books and accompanying dolls about fictional girls who live in different time periods in America's history. The American Girl series was first created by The Pleasant Company in 1986, founded by Pleasant T. Rowland. Today, the dolls and books are made by Mattel, a large toy company. Each doll has her own line of accessories that includes a series of books about her life, furniture, clothing, pets, and things that she would use or play with. For some dolls, a doll of her best friend is included in the collection. Four of the dolls have had movies made about their stories.