Kit Learns to Endure Through Hard Times in Meet Kit

Last year, my friend Libbie and I watched Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, the first big-screen adaptation of the American Girl series of books and dolls that features young heroines from a variety of historical periods. Plucky Kit is a Depression-era aspiring journalist, and her story, set in 1934, seems to resonate especially deeply during this time of financial uncertainty. We both enjoyed the movie, so when Libbie got ahold of the book collection and suggested I read it too, I happily complied.

I became familiar with American Girl when I was about 10, and I read several of the books involving pioneer Kirsten, Victorian Samantha and World War II-era Molly. Kit came along later, but her stories follow the same basic pattern. Each series features the same six titles, but with different character names. In this case, the introductory volume is Meet Kit, and it tells us everything we need to know about the young protagonist and her immediate family.

Valerie Tripp and illustrator Walter Rane fill their tale with details pertaining to the time period; as the narration or one of the characters brings up an object or concept that may be unfamiliar to modern readers, a tiny picture of it is provided in the margin. The first of these is the clunky old typewriter that Kit uses to type up the “newspapers” she writes for her father and other members of her household.

Marginal illustrations like this appear on nearly every page, while each chapter also has one or two full- or half-page paintings featuring Kit and the other characters. My favorite of these in the first book shows a sulky Kit sitting on the steps, moping after an unfair incident, while her understanding older brother Charlie tries to put her troubles into perspective.

Having seen the movie first, I found it interesting to compare some of the choices made in the adaptation. For instance, Charlie is cut out of the film altogether, and I can understand why, given the time constraints and the desire to focus as much as possible on Kit’s independence. But in the books, he is a warm, supportive presence, and he ended up being one of my favorite characters. Similarly, Mr. Kittredge has a much smaller role in the movie, but in the books, we get a fairly intimate look at his struggles to provide for his family in the wake of his job loss.

Meet Kit explains some of the reasons for the Depression and shows us how a family’s situation could go from prosperous to precarious rather quickly. Kit’s family lives in a large house, and she and her best friend Ruthie, an imaginative girl who loves fairy tales as much as Kit loves news briefs, have never wanted for anything. But the situation hits close to home when Mrs. Kittredge’s friend is evicted from her house, prompting Kit’s mother to offer a room to the woman and her delicate, artistically inclined son Stirling. This act of generosity inspires a way to stay afloat financially, a plan that means big changes for Kit, especially in terms of her living arrangements and her chore load.

Later installments deal more heavily with some of the tricks and tools Kit and her family learn for saving money and stretching meager materials. Though the stories are set 75 years ago, many of the tips have modern-day applicability, making these not only engaging tales that teach about the past but also treasure troves of thrifty advice. The friendship Kit and Ruthie share and begin to develop with Stirling is another positive aspect, as each is very different but learns to respect each other’s strengths and perspectives. Later books introduce a variety of other characters who further demonstrate the importance of treating those who are different with compassion and dignity. Meet Kit lays the groundwork for more powerful encounters and deepening relationships, and once you have met Kit and those closest to her, there’s a good chance you’ll want to visit them again.