My six-year-old daughter’s love affair with her American Girl doll comes and goes. This Christmas, the affair was back, with a vengeance. She’d grab every catalog as soon as they arrived in the mail and start adding items to her list for Santa – yes, she still believes in Santa. But she also added out-of-production items that she had us find for her on eBay. She did question why Santa couldn’t just buy her what she wanted online, like this ukulele for $80. Sorry, kid. Santa is magic but he doesn’t have an Internet connection.

So, what did she get this year? Yep. The much-talked about Common-Core-aligned backpack set. And I can report the little tiny textbooks are replicas of the actual textbooks used in school, at least in her older brother’s school here in Miami.

She had a gift card to use as well, and she picked this — a school desk:

Yes, she wanted her doll to do homework.

There are certainly arguments for and against Common Core, but I have a kid who makes her dolls do homework. And American Girl at least deserves some credit for that, regardless of what tiny textbooks are included.