Attend a Panel Discussion

Explore the historical story behind one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature with the award-winning author Valerie Tripp and the collector Blake Changnon of The Changnon Family Museum of Toys and Collectibles.

$30, Preregistration Ticket Required, $15 children 12 and under (no other discounts apply).  A tour of the HOF Christmas exhibit *An American Colonial Revival Christmas at the National Historic Landmark Corbit Sharp House is included before or after the presentation (10 am – 5:30 pm) (allow for ½ hour)

(Please note that there will not be a book signing/Meet & Greet after the panel discussion.)

*The exhibit An American Colonial Revival Christmas is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by American Girl or Mattel. “American Girl” is a registered trademark of American Girl, LLC.  All references are made for educational and descriptive purposes only.

Tented event on the front lawn of the National Historic Landmark Corbit-Sharp House, 1774

CLICK HERE for tickets!

Photos:

Valerie Tripp, Author

Peggy Sanderson Hughes and her Daughter, 1788, Charles Willson Peale, Detroit Institute of Arts

Blake Changnon (pronounced Shag-NON) is the founder, president and CEO of The Changnon Family Museum of Toys and Collectibles

About the Author

Valerie Tripp (Yale ’73; Harvard GSE ’82) is the award-winning author of American Girl books, plays, and short stories about Felicity, Josefina, Samantha, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen, as well as the Welliewisher and Hopscotch Hill School series.  Tripp also wrote a STEM series for National Geographic Kids and is the executive editor of the Boys Camp series.  She has adapted classics for Sterling Publishers and has written numerous leveled readers, songs, stories, nonfiction essays, skills book pages, poems, and plays for educational publishers.  Tripp has spoken at the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, The Daughters of the American Revolution Annual Luncheon, Yale University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and The Library of Congress, in addition to countless schools, libraries, writer’s groups, book stores, scout troops, and organizations that encourage young women such as Girls on the Run and Yes, She Can.

About Blake Changnon

Blake Changnon (pronounced Shag-NON) is the founder, president and CEO of The Changnon Family Museum of Toys and Collectibles, a digital museum dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of Pleasant Company and American Girl through one of the most comprehensive private collections of its kind.  An independent historian and researcher, Blake, his research and collection have been featured in museum and traveling exhibitions, on CBS News Sunday Morning, in HuffPost and other national media, and in the upcoming documentary All American Girls.  He regularly presents at conferences, museums, libraries and historic sites, using educational exhibits, public presentations and historical research to explore how toys and storytelling can bring history to life.