For fifth grader BrooklynbrSchroeder, modeling comes naturally. She's been a model since she was six yearsbrold, and she's represented by the Kim Dawson Agency, one of the oldest and mostbrprestigious agencies in the country. Recently, Brooklyn had a modelingbropportunity that was the most exciting yet: She landed a spot in the pages ofbrthe American Girl catalog.
Like many other girls herbrage, Brooklyn is a big-time fan of American Girl dolls. She got her first doll,brBitty Baby, for Christmas when she was a preschooler. She then received a JustbrLike You doll, bringing her current collection to three dolls along with anbrassortment of clothes and accessories.
“She likes gettingbroutfits for her dolls that go along with her interests and activities, likebrballet and softball,” says Brooklyn's mom, Amy. “She likes dressing them up andbrplaying with them when her friends come over.”
Last July, Brooklyn wasbrinvited to a photo shoot at the American Girl store in Dallas. Her agent toldbrAmy that this was the “crème de la crème of jobs; it's the job that all thebrlittle girls hope for.”
Representatives didn'tbrspecify how the photos would be used; they simply mentioned the photos couldbrappear in playbills, on social media, in-store signage or the catalog.
“The shoot took place inbrtheir café. They closed off half of the restaurant and had temporary walls upbrso customers couldn't see what was going on,” Brooklyn recalls. “We worebrholiday dresses that were coming out in a future catalog so we had to wearbrrobes to and from the hair and makeup room to the café; they didn't want thebrcustomers to see the new line of clothes.”
Driving home from thebrphoto shoot, Brooklyn declared to her mom: “This was the best day of my life!brIt was a dream come true.”
In October, Amy startedbrnoticing that some of the American Girl emails had a different look to them. Sobrshe started browsing around. When she did, she happily discovered some ofbrBrooklyn's photos.
“We thought that wasbrfabulous and that was how they were going to use them,” says Amy. “Then, thatbrsame day, a friend in Oklahoma received a catalog and told me that Brooklyn wasbrin it and posted a picture on Facebook. Our own catalog didn't come for anotherbrweek or so.”
When Brooklyn saw herbrphotos on the American Girl site and in the catalog, she reacted like any girlbrwould: with sheer excitement. “When my mom showed me the pictures, I screamedbrmy heart out! I feel like I'm standing on top of the world right now,” shebrsays. “And my family, grandparents, aunts and uncles tell me they are proud ofbrme.”
Amy adds that thebrexperience has been so fun and memorable for her daughter. “She had such abrgreat time at the shoot,” she says, “and now she gets to relive that day nowbrthat the photos are coming out.”