American Girl Place in Chicago has a very special event planned for Sept. 15.

American Girl is announcing a new historical character -- Julie Albright, a 9-year-old girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1970s. It is the first character in five years.

Julie's story is told in six books: "Meet Julie," "Julie Tells Her Story," "Happy New Year, Julie," "Julie and the Eagles," "Julie's Journey" and "Changes for Julie." They were written by Megan McDonald, author of the bestselling Judy Moody books.

At the same time, American Girl also will introduce Julie's best friend, 9-year-old Ivy Ling, a Chinese American girl from a large, close-knit family.

Ivy has her own book, too -- "Good Luck, Ivy," written by Lisa Yee, author of "Millicent Min," "Girl Genius," "Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time" and "So Totally Emily Ebers."

McDonald said when she got the assignment to write the Julie series, American Girl told her two things -- write a story about a year in the life of a girl between the age of 9 and 12 years old, and set it in the 1970s.

She got to choose Julie's name, where she lived (in San Francisco), her family situation (her parents are divorced), and the historical events Julie would face. It took her about two and a half years to complete the project.

McDonald said the 1970s "hardly seems like history until one begins to think that we still used typewriters, TVs without remotes and phones with cords attached to the wall."

She said she wanted to take some of the historical events of the era and bring them down to girl-size. For instance, she decided to use Julie's story to explain the impact of Title IX (equality for girls in sports) on an average girl's life.

In an interview with The Times, McDonald and Yee talked about divorce, the research that went into the books and the writers' favorite dolls growing up.

Megan McDonald:

Why would you give Julie divorced parents?

McDonald said the divorce rate rose sharply in the '70s, so she decided Julie would have to deal with her parents splitting up. She added that she was pleased that American Girl was willing to take on that issue.

Divorce is a very painful situation for children, and they all deal with it differently. Julie's teen-aged sister is very angry with their father about the divorce, while Julie tries to heal her family.

McDonald explained that divorce was symbolic to her for that time period. In the mid-seventies, a girl trying to heal her family after a divorce was parallel to the country trying to heal after the rift caused by the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate.

What kind of research did you do for the Julie books?

McDonald said she had a lot of fun doing this research. She went to San Francisco and walked around the neighborhoods to experience Julie's life.

Once she decided that Julie's father would live near Chinatown, it followed that Julie's best friend would be Chinese. Because Julie's mother has a shop selling hand-made items, she placed it in Haight-Ashbury, with its microcosm of '70s activists.

She said one of the most helpful things she'd found was a ledger her mother kept, in which she'd recorded every gift (and how much it cost) that she'd ever bought for her five daughters.

She'd also found a box of her own treasures from the '70s (charm bracelet, tape recorder, clothes, etc.) in her mom's attic. She also used things that she remembered her older sisters doing, like getting a Princess phone, making curlers out of orange juice cans and stuffing people into a Volkswagen beetle.

What was your favorite doll growing up?

"My favorite doll growing up was Hedda Get Bedda. You turn a knob on her head and make her get measles or chicken pox, then turn it again and make her well."

She said that she and her four sisters each had a bride doll from Madam Alexander. Her oldest sister had a collection of Ginny dolls, but she wasn't allowed to play with those.

They also had Barbies, of course. "I collected Barbie doll heads" she said. "We used to pop off the heads and put on plays with them."

Did you work at all with Lisa Yee who wrote the Ivy book?

McDonald said she did not work with Lisa Yee. She had mostly finished the series when American Girl decided to go ahead and give Julie's best friend a book right away.

She said she thought it was great that American Girl decided to make Julie's best friend prominent. She added that she thought Ms. Yee's job was harder than hers.

"I got to choose everything, the characters' names, where they lived, everything. She had to take a character that already had a name and a family, and bring her to life."

Lisa Yee

How did you come up with Ivy's story?

Lisa Yee said that it was fun to take Ivy and her family and give them a story. She knew Ivy's name, that she had an older brother and a baby sister, and that she and Julie had taken gymnastics together.

Because Yee is from a huge Chinese-American family, she thought she'd use that history for Ivy.

Ivy's grandparents own The Happy Panda and love to bring the family together for Chinese food. Ivy also has a large extended family with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins. Like many 9-year-old kids who dread family get-togethers, Ivy hates going because her aunts always pinch her cheeks and talk about how much she's grown.

What kind of research did you do for Ivy's book?

Yee said she started out by going to San Francisco and exploring Ivy's neighborhood.

"From there I walked to Chinatown taking the path I thought Ivy would take when she went to Chinese School and to visit the Happy Panda, her grandparents' restaurant."

She said when she found the gymnastics academy along that route; she decided that Ivy would be a gymnast.

What is Ivy's life at home like?

Both of Ivy's parents are incredibly busy. Her mom quit her job to go to law school; her dad took a second job. Ivy wants more time with them, especially with her mom. She's sad because Julie, her best friend, has just moved away.

Ivy is lonely, so she devotes all her time to gymnastics. When a family reunion conflicts with a big gymnastics meet, she's torn. Like many kids, she's assumed that her parents know how important that meet is to her, Yee said.

What would you want girls to learn from Ivy?

Yee said she hopes girls will realize they have more control over their lives than they think they do. Ivy learns to make decisions and take control of her life.

"I hope that girls learn how important their place is in their family -- as a sister, daughter, or granddaughter," she said.

What was your favorite doll growing up?

"My favorite dolls when I was a kid were Little Kiddles, the tiny dolls that were inside lockets. I loved those!" she said.

A limited number of tickets are available for the Sept. 15 event at Chicago's American Girl Place. Call (877) 247-5223 for information.

Morgan Kalbfell, 6, Valparaiso

"I have about 2,000 outfits for my dolls."

Favorite doll: Biddy Baby named Emma

New additions: Emily and Biddy twins Max and Molly

Favorite activities: Shopping at the American Girl Outlet Store in Oshkosh, Wis.

Megan Morgan, 13, Valparaiso

"I earned the money to buy my second doll myself, by saving my allowance and doing extra chores."

Her collection: Two dolls -- Kirsten (farm girl from Sweden whose family settles in Minnesota in 1854) and a Just Like You doll.

Favorite activities: Reading -- she read 13 or 14 character books from the library this summer

Valerie Black, 11, South Haven

"I like the Molly doll because she wears glasses, and I love looking at Molly's furniture in the catalogue."

Favorite activities: Member of American Girl Club at South Haven Public Library

Danielle Black, 13, South Haven

Why she chose her American Girl Doll kit: "Because she had blonde hair like me and looked like me."

Favorite activities: Reading the books and looking at the clothes in the catalogue

Ashlyn Mirise, 6, Avon, Ind.

Favorite trip: To American Girl Place on her fourth birthday. "It was one of the best days ever! I got a ballerina outfit and so did my Biddy Baby."

Her collection: She and her 4-year-old sister, Gabielle, have Biddy Baby dolls, but have decided they are ready for more grown-up dolls.