Backyard shrine to American Girl

It's a good thing little girls like American Girl.

That's because the French family of St. Charles may have a reminder of the popular doll for a long, long time.

A 7,000-pound American Girl playhouse arrived last week in the backyard of Greg and Annette French in a raffle sponsored by HomeAid Chicago, the official charity of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago.

"We are very happy that a blessing landed for us," Annette French said Thursday, standing next to her children's new playhouse overlooking a pond.

"We thought it was breathtaking -- we never thought of the opportunity to win this," she said.

The playhouse is a model of the home of American Girl Kit Kittredge, the title character in the "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" film out this summer.

The home was donated, and the value was not disclosed.

The Frenches won the model of "Kit's Home on Abbott Place" after buying $20 worth of raffle tickets when the playhouse was on display earlier this summer at the John Hancock Center. In all, 3,500 tickets were sold.

Proceeds from the raffle will help house homeless families.

"They pulled the winning ticket with my 2-year-old daughter's name on it," Greg French said.

"It came on a forklift in four major pieces. We had to build a foundation," he said.

Luckily, their subdivision permits playhouses.

French said the playhouse is "made of the best building materials" and is equipped with electricity and even a telephone cable and outdoor lighting.

The playhouse -- one of just four across the country -- stands 10 feet tall and has enough room for the family of six to stand all at once.

The interior features Kit's attic bedroom with a comfy reading chair. On the first level is space for Kit's books and a wooden rolltop desk with a typewriter. The house has wood flooring.

The Frenches' eldest daughter, Brianna, 10, screamed when she heard the news that the family won the playhouse.

"It came with a series of Kit's books," Brianna said.

She said she saw the movie and has five American Girl dolls. And her brother, Jeremy, 11, thinks the house is "cool," too.

"We've had breakfast and lunch in here," Brianna said.

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Color Photo: Robyn Sheldon, Beacon News / From left clockwise, Ryan French, 6, his brother Jeremy, 11, and their sisters Brianna, 10, and Vanessa, 2, enjoy the American Girl playhouse at their home. ; Color Photo: Robyn Sheldon, Beacon News / Vanessa French, 2, plays with an old-fashioned typewriter in a rolltop desk inside the playhouse. Her family won the playhouse in a raffle that aids the homeless. ;