View source for Maryellen Larkin

:''"Maryellen" redirects here. For the doll, see [[Maryellen Larkin (doll)]].''

{{Infobox character
|name = Maryellen Larkin
|image = Image:Maryellenlogo.png
|imagewidth = 250px
|fullname = Maryellen Larkin
|born = May 7th, 1945<ref>''[[Taking Off]]'', pg. 1: ''Exuberantly, Maryellen sprang ahead of the other girls... "My birthday is Saturday, May seventh, which is coming soon, in three weeks and a little bit."'' The only year for May 7th to fall on a Saturday in the 1950s was [http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=1955&month=5&country=1 1955]. This is later confirmed by a date written as April 12, 1955. </ref> 
|nickname = Ellie (with variations by [[Joan Larkin|Joan]])<br>
Sport (by Dad)
|serieslocation = Daytona Beach, Florida
|timeline = Summer 1954 - January, 1956<ref>''[[The Runaway]]'' starts in January 1956.</ref>
|firstappearance = ''[[The One and Only]]'', ''[[Maryellen: The One and Only]]''
|father = [[Stan Larkin]]<ref name="dad">''Taking Off'', pg. 86-87:''<br>"What model did you buy, Stan?" Mr. Fenstermacher asked.<br>"The twenty-four-foot Trade Wind Double," said Dad.''<br></ref>
|mother = [[Kay Larkin]]<ref name="mom">''[[The One and Only]]'', pg. 34,: ''[Betty and Florence would] say to Mom, "My goodness, Kay! Your house really stands out from the rest."''</ref>
|siblings = [[Joan Larkin]]<br>
[[Carolyn Larkin]]<br>
[[Beverly Larkin]]<br>
[[Tom Larkin]]<br>
[[Mikey Larkin]]<br>
|otherinlaw = [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Jerry Ross|Jerry Ross]], Joan's husband
|grandparents = [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Grandpop and Grandmom|Grandpop]]<br>
[[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Grandpop and Grandmom|Grandmom]]
|friends = [[Davy Fenstermacher]]<br>
[[Karen King]]<br>
[[Karen Stohlman]]<br>
[[Angela Terlizzi]]<br>
[[Wayne Philpott]]
}}
'''Maryellen Larkin''' is the fourteenth [[Historical Character]] and the first initially [[BeForever]] exclusive character, representing the 1950s. Maryellen was released in '''2015'''.

==Personality and Facts==

Maryellen (nicknamed Ellie) is an enthusiastic, optimistic, ambitious, and imaginative girl. She longs to stand out but often feels lost in the shuffle of her big, busy family. (She is often annoyed by the fact that when people meet her for the first time, they ask which sister she is in order, instead of treating her uniquely.) Her favorite TV shows include ''Davy Crockett'' and ''The Lone Ranger'', and she dreams up episodes where she gets to be the hero.<ref>[http://www.americangirlpublishing.com/product-category/online-catalogue/historical-characters/maryellen/ American Girl Publishing]</ref> Maryellen is seen as cheerful and curious by people meeting her for the first time.<ref>''[[The Sky's the Limit: My Journey with Maryellen]]''</ref>

Maryellen had polio when she was seven years old during [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_polio the Polio Epidemic of 1952]. This resulted in one of her legs being weaker than the other, and she also has cold-sensitive lungs. Despite her disability, she is a fast runner and excellent swimmer, and also enjoys roller skating. She is very skinny for her age<ref>''Taking Off'', pg 7; "Maryellen was as skinny as a flagpole, so Mom was using lots of pins."</ref> and has a nose like her sisters.<ref>''The One and Only,'' pg 91: "I could have guessed you were a Larkin," [Mrs. Humphrey] said.[...]"I'd recognize that Larkin nose anywhere."</ref>

She's quite energetic, tends to take charge, and is quite the leader. Maryellen is always full of big ideas and imagination, though this often gets her into trouble. She uses most of her ideas to bring attention to herself; however, this often causes disasters wherever she goes, because she impulsively follows through with her ideas without much thought. Maryellen is often considered "wild and tomboyish" by her sisters; some of her closest friends are boys and she's always playing the same things they do. She secretly wishes people would take her ideas seriously. She really wants to impress her parents, especially her mom, and wishes she was seen as a responsible woman with great clothes, like her sisters; to her, her older sisters have much more glamorous lives than her. Maryellen is used to receiving hand-me-downs due to being in a large family, and since she has two older sisters she often ends up having to do everything after they have. She is interested in fashion and wants clothes and outfits that are "chic and grown-up looking". She is not very tidy or organized, a contrast from her two older sisters. 

Though Maryellen likes to pretend she's her favorite heroes from TV, she's not as interested in heroes who use magic or super powers, since she's not able to use them in real life. Maryellen frequently compares her life to those shown on TV and expects her life to be more like those. She also likes to make up her own TV shows. She also shows interest in movies and music; her favorite actress is [[Wikipedia:Debbie Reynolds|Debbie Reynolds]]. Though she often wishes to perform and be the center of attention, she has a hard time speaking in front of large groups of people and often gets stage fright.

Maryellen is a great artist--her friends compare her to [[Wikipedia:Grandma Moses|Grandma Moses]]--and loves to draw and make gifts for her family. She's also highly interested in science, especially rocket science and medicine due to her history of having polio. Maryellen is open-minded and doesn't judge people by appearances or align with popular sentiment. Examples include continuing to be best friends with a boy even after being told that girls "don't do that" by Joan, and while many of her friends look down on Italians (due to Italy being aligned with Germany and Japan during World War II), Maryellen befriends an Italian girl.

Her favorite subject is geography; she's interested in foreign lands, history, and languages. Her least favorite subject is handwriting because she is left-handed and so doesn't write as well, and created her own "cursive" style to suit her. Maryellen also loves to do mental math. She had been a Brownie Girl Scout prior to the series start, and has recently graduated to Girl Scouts when she entered into fourth grade.<ref>At the time, Girl Scouts only had Brownies, Intermediates ("standard" Girl Scouts) and Seniors. The Junior and Cadette division among Intermediates was not made until 1963. [[Wikipedia:Membership levels of the Girl Scouts of the USA#History|Wikipedia Reference]]</ref> However, she has a hand me down from her sisters (like most of her clothes) and so it is the "older" version with long sleeves.<ref>At the time, sleeves were transitioning to shorter styles but longer sleeved versions still existed and were widely used. See examples here at [https://girlscoutsccc.com/2019/10/15/a-century-of-girl-scout-uniforms/ A Century of Girl Scout Uniforms]</ref> 

Maryellen's friends call her "the one, and only" because there's no one in the world quite like her. American Girl describes her as an inventive girl who stands out from the crowd.

==Family and Friends==
:See Also: [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series]]

===Family===

* [[Stan Larkin]]:<ref name="dad" /> Father
* [[Kay Larkin]]:<ref name="mom" /> Mother
* [[Joan Larkin]]: Oldest sister
* [[Carolyn Larkin]]: Older sister
* [[Beverly Larkin]]: Younger sister
* [[Tom Larkin]]:  Younger brother
* [[Mikey Larkin]]: Youngest brother
* [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Grandpop and Grandmom|Grandpop]]: Maternal grandfather
* [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Grandpop and Grandmom|Grandmom]]: Maternal grandmother
* [[Minor Characters in Maryellen's Series#Jerry Ross|Jerry Ross]]: Joan's husband, Maryellen's brother-in-law

===Friends and Other Characters===

* [[Davy Fenstermacher]]: Maryellen's best friend
* [[Angela Terlizzi]]: A girl originally from Italy
* [[Karen King]]: Maryellen's best friend from school
* [[Karen Stohlman]]: Maryellen's best friend from school
* [[Wayne Philpott]]: Davy's other best friend who follows him around everywhere

==Books==
''See: [[List of Maryellen's Books]]''

==Other Media==
* [[Maryellen and the Brightest Star]]: Short film
* [[Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas]]

==[[Doll]]==
[[File:Maryellendollface.jpg|thumb|250px|The Maryellen doll.]]
''Main Article: [[Maryellen Larkin (doll)]]''
*[[Face Mold]]: [[Classic Mold]]
*Skin: Light
*Hair: Red/Strawberry blonde, sideswept bangs, side part
*Eyes: Dark Hazel

==Collection==
:''See: [[Maryellen's Collection]]''

==See Also==
* [[Locations in Maryellen's Series]]

==References==
{{refs}}


<tabber> 
Full Historical List = {{HistoricalList}}|-|
BeForever Historical List = {{BeForeverHistoricalList}}
</tabber>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Maryellen}}
[[Category:Maryellen Larkin]]
[[Category:BeForever]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]

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''This page incorporates text from [https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Maryellen_Larkin the source wiki] ([https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?oldid=127968 exported version], [https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?title=Maryellen+Larkin&action=history contributor history]), under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ the original text license].''