Schoolbag and Supplies

[QNPoohBear]

Molly's school bag is made from canvas with leather like straps. The older version has more realistic looking straps. The current straps look a little less like real leather or at least Molly hasn't used her schoolbag yet! Molly's school book has color illustrations and there are a lot of pages. Her little binder feels like a real cloth binder and inside is a tiny cloth pencil pouch with real tiny wood pencils and a tiny eraser. Molly also gets a report card for all three grades she's been in so far. She also gets a conduct report on the back. Inside the front pocket are math flash cards. They feel like lightweight card stock like real flash cards.

Note: This set no longer comes with a colored pencil.

Grade: A

new school bag on the left and older one on the right

[mollygirl1944]

This set is well made and a must for anyone who collects for Molly! I have a brand new Mattel set. It came with one report card that has a conduct report for all three grades on the beck. Anyway, alll the stuff that came with is great! The little pencils are real, and the eraser really erases! Last night I was actually reading her little English book! A+++ AWESOME!

[SummerofLOV]

Does anyone know if there's a way to get Molly's name off/out of the front of the bag? I want to buy the school supplies for Emily, but I want to either put her name on them or have no name at all.

[QNPoohBear]

It doesn't seem to come out but you can by knockoff bags that are identical with no name or you could try to unstitch the leather "window" and restitch it back on.

[American Girl Rescue]

School Bag & Supplies
MSAB (F5433)
$20 (price increase to $28 January, 2012)

Molly carried her school supplies in a bright red school bag. It has a handle and a shoulder strap for easy carrying. Molly’s name is on the front, and there is even and outside pocket where she kept her milk money.
There’s plenty of room inside the book bag for her three-ring notebook that holds real paper. Snap open the rings and slip the blue canvas pencil case onto them. The pencil case has a zipper so Molly’s eraser and pencils—one colored and two regular ones—won’t fall out.
Molly has English and arithmetic homework to do. Help her practice her math with a pack of tiny flash cards. Her English book is 32 pages long. It’s filled with colored pictures and interesting exercises for you to read and do with Molly. And if Molly works hard, you can giver her and “A” on her report card.

Molly and her schoolbag and supplies

[QNPoohBear]

The strap on the bag goes over Molly's head and she can carry her schoolbag all the way to school.

[Keri]

I was surprised by the schoolbag as a gift today, and I absolutely love it. It's one of the items I always included on my wishlist when I was a kid (I love the school sets for all the dolls) and I'm tickled to have been given it.

There are so many fantastic things about the set, but also a few disappointing ones. I have Kit's school accessories, so when I opened the box, I immediately started to mentally compare them.

The bag is darling and large! I suppose I always thought it was a bit smaller than it is, but it's a great size. The books and everything fit in with just a little bit of room to spare, and it's probably large enough to use as an overnight bag if you don't want to put the books in. I love that the straps are actual buckles - I expected them to be false buckles with snaps or velcro underneath. Each buckle has three holes punched in so that you can strap the flaps down more loosely if needed. Also, the little pocket on the front is real and large enough for the pencil case.

The binder is maybe my favorite part. It's covered in cloth and the rings open and close. The pencil case and stack of paper were already inserted in the binder, which was pretty neat. I expected everything to come wrapped in its own plastic bag, I suppose. But one of the great things about the binder is that it's a lot like the ones I used in the 90s, which makes it versatile for modern girls, too.

The pencil case only has two pencils and an eraser, which is a bit disappointing. After all, Kit's pencil case has a fake fountain pen, a ruler, crayons, a pencil, and an eraser! But the case zips open and closed and is totally adorable, itself. I also love the shape of the eraser.

The reading book is really frigging cute. I love the books for dolls, and I was disappointed when Julie didn't get any, I have to say. I love the 40s illustrations in this one, and I'm planning to sit down and actually read it, because it's so cute. I was surprised that it's a paperback, though, because I had expected it to be a hardcover like Kit's geography book.

Finally, the report card. This was the most disappointing thing about the set, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's a stiff piece of paper with report card stuff printed on it, and I don't know what else I expected, but it totally underwhelms me. I guess I thought it'd be more like Kit's, with an envelope and stuff, instead of being all glossy.


If I hadn't seen Robin's review of the set, I wouldn't have known to look in the front pocket for the flash cards. One side has the eights times tables (8 x 0 through 8 x 12) without the answer, the other side has the equation plus the answers. All the flash cards are are one sheet of cardstock with perforations to separate them, a bit like the little cards that come with the historical things lately. There are 5 blank cards, and the entire thing is folded in half (two rows of nine cards) and folded accordion style before going into the front pocket. I guess that if you don't plan to actually use the flash cards, this will make it more difficult to lose any!


Overall, I love the set, but I'm a bit disappointed that some of the things didn't live up to my 15 year old expectations. (Yeah, that's how long it's been since I first saw and wanted it.)

[molly&lydia]

I got this set today after having it on backorder since October, I believe. It is worth the wait! The bag is very cute and seems sturdy. I was glad to see that Mattel has not replaced the buckle straps with velcro like they have on so many other items. However, the straps themselves seem like they might stretch over time or start to rip, at least with a lot of tugging like a child might do. Molly can carry the bag easily on her shoulder. It's bigger than I expected, but I am happy about that! The supplies are darling, though I am almost afraid to take the tiny pencils and eraser out of the packaging for fear that I will lose them! Overall, one of the best purchases I have made from AG. I give it an A. (It didn't get the plus because I am not sure how well the straps would hold up with a lot of play, but since this will be a display item only for me, it's not a big deal.) Pics:

[JustMagicMaria]

I've got a really old set (1990) with the extra, colored pencil and a new set. The old set is pictured below. I was happy to see that the set hadn't changed a lot over the years. I think this has great play value! The items really are like miniature versions of the real thing which is what I love best about AG. I would give this set a solid A!

[nomad]

I'm a bit disappointed to report that the pencils are now faux. I'll take a comparison pic with Samantha's pencils in a week or so after I get all the doll stuff unpacked and set up.

Everything else though is win! A-

[SimoneQ]

Probably my favorite Molly set. Molly and I enjoyed the exercises in the book, and she actually used the pencils and eraser to write in the notebook. Love the binder and pencil case. I filled out the report card for her