Sing Your Story

Updated: Mystery solved!

Melody's debut day give away tee or a beginning of a new TM outfit?

Hair She Is! A Melody Pre-Order

Some terrific detailed pictures of Melody and a new first: Pre-Order Melody via AG Rewards!

Unfortunately, the deal is not too sweet--a $217 package sold for $212. A $5 savings is not much to shout about. However, perhaps the real deal is the ability to have her shipped (presumably) without delay on day one of her debut.

Melody's Rewards Collection includes Melody Doll and Book, Melody's Accessories (hat, purse, glasses, campaign button), Melody's Dog Bo, her Fancy Floral Dress and her Hairstyling Set.

Melody's Fancy Floral Dress looks great in her catalog shoot. Super classy!

Check out Melody's Hairstyling Set! It includes a hair flip extension on a headband with a bow as well as a flower hand corsage.

Best close-up of Melody's hair color and texture. Also we can see she has the pinwheel style iris eyes.

A fabulous hat!

So are you in for a $212 pre-order of Melody's Reward Collection? It looks exiting, but I think I will keep my cash in my pocket for now. (AG Kitchen!)

A Mini Melody!

Mini Melody is starting to spring up! Take a peek!

Reposted with permission by the current lucky owner (thank you Ashley!!!), Mini Melody is beyond adorable! I love her shoes (with bows), socks, dress (with bows), sweet face and her hair. So toes-to-top she's a winner!

Melody may also be offered with a matching fabric bookmark and charm, which is pictured draped over the doll.

Melody Debut on CBS!

Melody Ellison doll debut! What does this mean? A peek at the actual doll? Or will it mean more, such as a surprise early spring launch of the Melody doll and collection?

Tune in tomorrow!

Melody's Melody: Never Stop Singing

Thanks to a head's up from one of Poppet & Posies readers (thank you, EsDolls!), I was able to find an image of the book cover for Melody's second book, Never Stop Singing.

This confirms that Melody's Flower Peplum Dress is part of her collection. Accessories seem to be off-white or pale beige sandals and a pink hair bow!

But the cover also could be clues to other accessories in Melody's collection--a microphone and stand! While a drum set or piano is possible as well, I would not be certain how well those would sell, especially if Melody is primary a singer and not an instrumentalist.

Melody's Medley: Flower Peplum Dress?

So many months until summer, so many tantalizing possibilities for Melody's wardrobe. Is the 1960's pink flower print a clue that this dress will be for Melody?

The sleeveless dress features a pleated peplum over a pencil skirt and a bow at the waistline. I imagine a a tasteful pill box hat, gloves and dressy shoes would make this a perfect dress for Melody to wear while singing a solo at church.

Melody's Medley: Play Outfit?

Will this colorful striped top and teal shorts be one of BeForever Melody Ellison's play outfits?

The stripes are a bit much, but remind me of Fruit Stripes brand gum from my youth.

Will the outfit (found on Ebay) be for Melody? Does the style seem mid-1960s? The teal color would definitely fit into the color palette introduced in Melody's Meet Outfit.

I like the basic cut of the shorts and the tassels on the top are adorable. What sort of shoes would you pair up with this ensemble?

Summer will be here soon!

Melody Ellison: Summer Debut Date Announced!

Melody Ellison, the newest BeForever poppet arrives this summer! I am really excited for her debut!

The bouffant! The flip! Her hair bow! Will we see a new face mold??

In the meantime her first book is now for sale as of January 1st! I can't wait to "meet" her in her book today--and to meet her as a new BeForever poppet this summer.

Melody Ellison: Back Cover Blurb

Melody's themes as listed in the rumored debut giveaway doll-sized tee pictured above (found on Ebay) are "Freedom, Community, Family and Peace." As today's news about BeForever 2016 keep rolling in on various social media sites, these themes are now taking specific shape in the details of Melody's story.

The back cover description from Melody Ellison's first book No Ordinary Sound:

Meet Melody Ellison... 

Melody can't wait to sing her first solo at church! What song will she choose? She gets advice from her big brother, who has his sights on becoming a Motown star, and she gets inspiration from the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Melody's also inspired by her older sister, who's home from college with new ideas about making things fair.What isn't fair in their cousin's struggle to buy a house. Melody learns that they're not welcome in certain neighborhoods because they're black. Just as Melody's ready to sing, an unimaginable tragedy leaves her silent. Can she find her voice when it really matters? 

No Ordinary Sound, the first volume of Melody's stories about growing up in the 1960s, shows how people can come together to create social change.

Now we just need a debut date! Can we hope for February?

Melody Ellison: New Details Emerge!

We can glean and reasonably speculate an amazing amount about BeForever Melody Ellison and her collection now that we have seen her book cover! For a discussion about the historical significance of her trademarked name, click here.

The cover from Melody’s book finally confirms that the darling blue and green hounds tooth dress sold last month on Ebay will be Melody Ellison’s meet outfit. (Love this dress!)

We will now also be able to expect a jaunty blue cap as one of Melody's accessories.

Melody’s story will be centered around 1964. Specifically indicated on the poster behind her is the “Walk to Freedom” march that was held on June 23, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan. The Walk to Freedom was one of largest civil rights demonstrations in United States history—will Melody take part in this significant and historic event?

The Record Shop sign behind her hints that the music of her era, most likely Motown Records and hits, will feature large in her story. In fact, music will be huge in her story—not only is her name “Melody” and there are hints of Motown, but the title of her first book is No Ordinary Sound.

Will Melody have a musical talent? Singing? Perhaps play an instrument as well?

Between the mentioning of the Walk to Freedom and the lure of Motown for historical significance, will Detroit be Melody’s hometown? (Yay for Midwestern girls!)

As for the doll herself, Melody will be an African American doll with a medium to dark vinyl color, though no confirmation on her exact skin tone or face mold. Her hair is a deep black-brown and that appears textured and then straightened. Her hangs down just past her shoulders with a cute little flip at the ends. It is hard to say if she has side swept bangs or if her long hair has just been styled to the side, but it looks more like side swept bangs. She appears to have dark brown eyes.

The pieces are all coming together now. The big question remains as to her launch date? Will we need to wait until August 2016 as with recent new BeForever dolls? With all of these leaks for Melody—her trademarked name, her meet dress, a possible debut in-store giveaway tee for dolls, and now her book cover—could we possibly dream of a February or even January 2016 launch??

Melody!!!

She's all over social media! A first look at BeForever 2016: Melody!

So excited! How about you??

Melody Ellison: BeForever 2016?

Melody Ellison Update: See Book Cover and Read Synopsis!

Is the newly trademarked name Melody Ellison a sneak peak at the rumored BeForever 2016 doll? American Girl officially announced many months ago that BF 2016 will be an African American doll--so do we now have her name as well?

MELODY ELLISON:  BF 2016?

The name Ellison is not without significance in African American literary history. A greatly lauded piece of literature by an AA author is the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man was published in 1952 and chronicles the struggles and frustrations of a black man in 1930s New York City who was essentially, because of the color of his skin, rendered socially "invisible."

I would like to think the choice of Ellison is a not-too-subtle nod to AA history. I do not in any way believe Melody Ellison, if she is the BF2016 doll, would be made to be actually related to AA author Ralph Ellison, but rather that the name choice would be an appropriate and interesting subtle homage to Ellison the writer as well as the AA history of struggle for "visibility."