One of the latest additions to the American Girl line of dolls is a young environmentalist trying to clean up the Anacostia River.

Written by noted children’s book author Sharon Dennis Wyeth, “The River and Me” focuses on Evette, a biracial preteen girl hoping to heal a rift in the two sides of her family by cleaning up the Anacostia River, which has tributaries that run through several communities along the Route 1 corridor before it begins in Bladensburg.

Written by noted children’s book author Sharon Dennis Wyeth, “The River and Me” focuses on Evette, a biracial preteen girl hoping to heal a rift in the two sides of her family. A native of D.C., Wyeth was inspired to write the story — which takes place during the coronavirus pandemic — after being approached by American Girl by thinking about her own childhood swimming in the Anacostia, a popular activity for African Americans who were barred from many public pools.

In 1971, D.C. banned swimming or wading in the Anacostia and other local waterways over concerns about pollution, although some are studying where it could be brought back.

While working on the book, Wyeth worked with former Mount Rainier resident Katrina Lashley, who works at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum and helped create an “urban waterways” exhibit about the river.

The book and related doll are part of a new collection featuring girls from D.C. who are designed to be role models for civic engagement.

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