Random House Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, will launch a publishing program with American Girl. 

The books will be available in Little Golden Book and leveled reader formats for children ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 8, respectively, bringing American Girl stories to the youngest generation of readers.

"We're excited to be working with American Girl on this new line of books," says Chris Angelilli, vice president and editor-in-chief, licensed publishing, Random House Books for Young Readers. "American Girl is an iconic brand that has introduced generations of children to important moments throughout American history. We're eager to share these stories even more widely with these new books."

The first release in the Little Golden Book format, Happy Birthday! (American Girl), will publish on August 10. Happy Birthday! will feature ten of American Girl's historical characters –Courtney, Melody, Molly, Nanea, Rebecca, Samantha, Addy, Kirsten, Josefina, and Felicity – celebrating their birthdays during unique periods of U.S. history. 

Samantha Helps a Friend (American Girl) and Freedom for Addy (American Girl) will be the first releases in Random House Children's Books' Step into Reading leveled readers format, respectively publishing on July 13 and August 24. Two holiday-themed titles will be released on September 7: Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) and Molly's Christmas Surprise (Step into Reading). 

"American Girl is proud to partner with Random House Books for Young Readers to publish new stories featuring our iconic historical characters," says Jodi Goldberg, content development head, American Girl. "We are thrilled with the addition of these charming adaptations of our classic stories in a format that's just right for children beginning to read. Together, American Girl and Random House have delighted children with over a century of storytelling — nurturing a love of reading for a lifetime."