Kit's Winning Ways

Short story collection published in 2006; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Rane, Renee Graef, Susan McAliley, and Phillip Hood

Plot

Ruthie's mother has entered her in a tennis tournament, but Ruthie knows she's not as good as her mother thinks she is, so she asks Kit to be her doubles partner. While Kit does enjoy tennis, she knows that playing with Ruthie will mean going to the country club. Her family used to be members, but can't afford it anymore. Kit doesn't want to be embarrassed and tries to decline, but Aunt Millie refutes all her excuses (she can sew Kit tennis whites from old sheets, she can help with Kit's chores, etc). So Kit agrees. There are a few awkward moments at the club, but Kit's able to have fun playing tennis. That is, until Roger the classroom bully shows up. He taunts Kit, saying she's a loser from a long line of losers: her dad lost his job, her brother lost out on going to college, her family lost its money. His teasing gets to Kit so much that it throws off her game. Charlie makes some time to practice with her though, and she gets her confidence back.

Even then, another visit from Roger destroys the progress she's made. Charlie is there to help again though: he says to use the energy she has from her anger toward Roger as fuel for the tournament. She follows his advice, and the extra energy hones her focus. She and Ruthie return serve after serve, and she's so focused that when she and Ruthie win the final game, she almost doesn't realize that they've won the tournament. And to think, Roger inadvertently helped!

Looking Back

Tennis was yet another way people could pass the time during the Depression: it was cheap, good exercise, and there were lots of open areas to play it. As people's periods of unemployment stretched longer and longer, tennis courts often fell into disrepair. The 1935 Works Progress Administration put Americans to work fixing up public areas like parks, and tennis courts were high on the priority list. Whether they played tennis themselves or not, most people enjoyed watching the sport or reading about in the paper. One popular sports hero was Helen Wills, who started winning tournaments in her teens. She popularized what we now think of as a tennis outfit: a short-sleeved polo shirt, an above-the-knee skirt (practically scandalous when she first wore one in the 1920s), and a visor. She retired from professional tennis in 1937 in her mid-thirties to pursue other interests, like writing and art. When Wills started playing tennis as a teenager, it was widely believed that tennis was too strenuous for girls and women, but her father, a doctor, thought otherwise. His confidence and her talent and dedication paid off: in 1924, Wills became the first woman to win the gold medal in Olympic tennis.

Misc

I wouldn't be surprised if Ruthie's "dilemma" about the tournament was partly a ruse to help Kit have some fun without making her feel like a scrounge.

Kit's Home Run

Short story collection published in 2006; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Rane, Renee Graef, Susan McAliley, and Phillip Hood

Plot

Kit and Stirling are playing catch in the yard, talking about their favorite baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds. While going for a wild throw, Kit crashes into Mrs. Howard's rose trellis, crushing the plants. Mrs. Howard is upset, and scolds the children for playing such a rambunctious game. Don't they know that Stirling is delicate, and that girls shouldn't do such unladylike things? Kit's genuinely sorry about the rose bushes, but things Mrs. Howard is exaggerating about baseball being bad. Stirling's health isn't as bad as she thinks it is, and baseball is fun plus good exercise. Kit uncharitably thinks to herself that all Mrs. Howard does around the house is clean her room and tend the rosebushes. She doesn't do any other chores, now that Aunt Millie does them. Stirling himself has a job selling newspapers: he's more useful than his mother.

A short time later, Kit and some of her friends play a pick-up game of baseball. Kit hits a home run with the bases loaded: a grand slam! But in diving for home, she ends up with a black eye and a cut lip. Her dress is covered in dirt and blood, but her wounds are fairly superficial at least. She heads home, but once there remembers that the only person home is Mrs. Howard. How is she supposed to help Kit? But Mrs. Howard, who volunteers at the hospital, quickly gets Kit cleaned up and inspects her injuries, gently comforting her as she does so. Kit's split lip needs stitches, and walks her to the hospital (no money for a cab). Kit's grateful for Mrs. Howard's fussiness now; it's nice to be taken care of when not feeling well. Mrs. Howard admits that it's nice to feel useful again. While they're waiting for a doctor, Mrs. Howard rinses out the washcloth Kit's been holding on her lip using the sink in the back of the gift shop. She and Kit chat a bit with the owner, who mentions that his wife is home with their two-week-old baby, and the plants in the gift shop have been suffering for it. Kit points out that Mrs. Howard is an avid gardener, and ends up getting her a job at the gift shop. Mrs. Howard doesn't mind baseball so much now!

To thank Kit, Mrs. Howard saves up some of her money and takes her and Stirling to a Cincinnati Reds game. Kit's favorite player hits a grand slam, and Kit explains to Mrs. Howard that his one run allowed three other players to score. She's not sure that Mrs. Howard understands, until on the way home Mrs. Howard comments that because of Kit's home run earlier, four good things happened: she got a job, she doesn't fuss over Stirling so much, Kit's parents have more rent money coming in, and Kit got to see a baseball game. Her grand slam really was grand.

Looking Back

Baseball has long been America's national pastime. During the Great Depression, people were still interested in the sport, but many couldn't afford tickets. Because of the lost revenue, some teams went bankrupt. The owner of the Cincinnati Reds was struggling to make ends meet, and didn't want to trade his better players because the team already had a poor record. He started scheduling the games for the evening, which allowed more people to attend after they finished their work day (here in Seattle, the Mariners usually start at 7:10 on weekdays; the team was formed in the 1970s). That was a huge success, and the stadium was often sold out. Baseball stayed popular even during World War II when many players were off fighting in the war. A women's league was formed and people gathered to watch them play. Kit would have been old enough to try out.

Misc

"Kit's split lip." Say that five times fast!

The player who hits the grand slam, Ernie Lombardi, was a real player. He had a great batting average (.306, best ever is Ty Cobb's .366; Lombardi ranks #123 of all time to date) and hit 190 home runs in his career, six of them grand slams.

Happy Birthday, Kit!

Published in 2001; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Raine and Susan McAliley

Plot

Kit's collecting laundry, preparing for a boring day, when her Aunt Millie arrives from Kentucky for a surprise visit. The school she taught at shut down, and a friend has been wanting Aunt Millie to move in with her for a while, so before she takes the friend up on the offer, Aunt Millie's visiting her family. Her good humor and penchant for quoting Shakespeare infect the Kittredge home with laughter. She's also full of ideas for stretching and saving money: she brought seeds to plant, she shows Kit how to make sheets and clothes last longer with tricks like ripping a worn sheet in half and sewing the edges together, how to darn socks, how to cover stains and rips with embroidery, when to get the best deals on groceries, how being friendly can help with bartering, and all sorts of useful tricks. Kit, Ruthie, and Stirling don't want to forget any of it, and start writing up a book: Aunt Millie's Waste-Not, Want-Not Almanac.

Aunt Millie has an even more interesting idea coming up: she buys live chickens. Kit and Stirling can sell the eggs door-to-door. Kit's excited about the animals, and happy they won't be eating them. (Well, yet. I'm sure Aunt Millie wouldn't waste a chicken that's past its laying days) Her mother is a bit put off, and has seemed almost defensive about the changes Aunt Millie's making. But Kit's ready to give it a try, and enjoys taking care of the chickens. Soon there are eggs to sell, and Kit and Stirling set out. But at the first house, Kit feels embarrassed, because she knows her neighbor is thinking about how poor Kit's family has become. Stirling pipes up with how fresh the eggs are, and the neighbor buys a dozen, but Kit doesn't want to sell in the neighborhood anymore, and they walk a few streets over. They sell the eggs quickly to eager buyers and head home.

On the way, they find an abandoned, starving dog. There's a note on the collar: "Can't feed her anymore." Kit and Stirling load the dog on the now egg-free wagon they've been pulling and bring her to Aunt Millie, who will surely know what to do. Aunt Millie declares that they can get the dog well, and she'll be a good guard dog. But after getting some energy from the table scraps Aunt Millie feeds her, the dog sees the chickens and chases them...into the house and through the first meeting of Kit's mother's garden party in several months. When Kit explains what happened, her mother exasperatedly exclaims that she's grateful for Aunt Millie, but feels like her house isn't her own anymore. She stops herself from criticizing Aunt Millie in front of Kit further, and says to the dog that it seems she's here to stay. After Kit and Aunt Millie clean up the party mess and the dog, Kit confides that she was hoping for some small celebration for her upcoming birthday, but now there's no chance of anything, let alone the elaborate Robin Hood theme she'd fantasized about. Aunt Millie tells her not to give up hope. After all, a few hours ago the dog was a starving mess, and now she's clean and fed and resting happily in Kit's attic room. Kit wonders what to name the dog, and Aunt Millie says there's only one name for a dog so clumsy: Grace.

Grace soon starts earning her keep, spending most of her time guarding the chicken coop. Aunt Millie also plans something for Kit's birthday, and...comes to Kit's class to announce a Penny Pincher Party and invite everyone. The class starts laughing at Kit and Aunt Millie, and Kit feels more and more embarrassed and singled out. When Aunt Millie is done, Kit walks her to the school entrance, and bursts out about how humiliated she feels, and that she wishes Aunt Millie had never come. So Aunt Millie does the adult thing and leaves without saying goodbye. Kit and her parents are able to catch her at the train station, where Kit apologizes/grovels and shows her the Almanac, and asks if she can still help with the birthday party. Kit's parents also assure Aunt Millie that they appreciate the help she's been offering (as Aunt Millie fishes for compliments). She agrees to come back home with them. Kit's classmates love the party, and she realizes that at least most of them weren't laughing to be mean but were genuinely amused. She, Ruthie, and Stirling start talking about adding a chapter to their Almanac, about how to throw a great party.

Looking Back

Many children in Kit's time were born at home, often with the help of a doctor. But during the Depression, people had fewer children. Not as many people married, because young adults were staying home to work and contribute money to their households, and those that were married often didn't feel right bringing a child into such an uncertain world. Other married couples were separated, with the husband off trying to find work. Some husbands straight left, like Stirling's father, either out of embarrassment because of being unemployed or in the hopes that a single mother could more easily receive government assistance. People in rural areas were better off in some ways, provided they had farms that could produce. They might not be able to afford electricity or running water, but they could grow their own food and trade the extra for other things like clothing (or if they had sheep or cotton, make their own clothing). People got creative with how to make ends meet. Goods such as flour were sold in cloth bags, and the bags were repurposed as cloth for all sort of clothing, from diapers to dresses.

Misc

This book is dedicated to "Tamara England, Sally Wood, and Judy Woodburn, with thanks."

Again, the later three books were published the year after the first three. I wonder if all of them will be like that now.

Millie is actually the adoptive mother of Kit's father. She and her late husband Birch took him in as a boy after his parents died, and Aunt Millie is how she's always been addressed by Kit's father and his family (except Kit's mother, who thinks it's more appropriate to call her Miss Millie because apparently people can't decide what they'd like to be called).

Really? A fourth grader lets off steam and you leave without saying goodbye or giving her a chance to apologize? I understand that Aunt Millie's feelings were hurt, but what a martyr.

One my grandmothers was born around this time, at home. And big surprise for everyone: so was her twin sister. They were both small, as twins often are. The doctor instructed their parents to keep the oven warm and leave its door open, and put the girls in a basket on the open door to keep them from getting dangerously cold, and that he'd be back in the morning to see if they survived the night. They're both still here!

Kit Uses Her Head

Short story collection published in 2006; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Rane, Renee Graef, Susan McAliley, and Phillip Hood

Plot

Kit, Ruthie, and Stirling are talking about ideas for the school newspaper when the nurses boarding at the Kittredge house notice Ruthie's "poison ivy" rash. They inspect all three children and confirm their suspicions: it's scarlet fever. They call a county nurse who imposes a quarantine on the trio. They still want to submit a column to the newspaper and Kit manages to type up an article about advice for President Roosevelt before the illness really hits her, but the nurse burns it, not wanting to spread the illness further. The next week or so is pretty miserable for them three kids, but they soon feel well enough to be bored. They're still contagious, though, so they can't leave their quarantine room yet. Because they're finally feeling better, they get pretty rambunctious, and the nurse is constantly admonishing them on her visits, telling them to "use your heads" to avoid spreading the disease to others or causing relapses in themselves. Kit's mother agrees, for their health and out of consideration for the other residents of the house.

Just in time, a batch of letters from their classmates arrives. The trio now passes the time typing up responses and offering advice for the different problems, like the student who's having trouble remembering the names of the Great Lakes or the other who can't decide on a book for his book report. Even though they know the nurse is collecting their papers to burn, they have so much fun they keep doing it.

When the quarantine is finally lifted and Kit, Stirling, and Ruthie return to school, they're shocked to find their advice printed in the school paper. They happen to see the nurse driving around later on, and flag her down to ask her about it. It turns out that she hated to see all their hard work going to waste, especially since they were keeping quiet like she asked and their advice was so funny and creative. She traced all of Stirling's drawings and retyped the letters before she burned them, and then delivered them to their teacher.

Looking Back

In the 1930s, there was no treatment for scarlet fever, and while most people recovered fine and few adults caught it, it can cause some serious complications like heart or liver damage and even death. It also opens the door to other illnesses like meningitis, which itself can cause blindness, deafness, paralysis, amputation, and death. People with scarlet fever were kept under quarantine for six weeks to avoid causing an epidemic of the disease. When the quarantine was lifted, everything the sick person had used was disinfected of burned (like the Velveteen Rabbit). After penicillin started being used medicinally during World War II, scarlet fever and related illnesses like strep throat became minor annoyances for most people instead of serious issues.

Misc

Wouldn't it have made a ton more sense to quarantine the children at Ruthie's house? No boarders there, bigger house...

When you're prescribed antibiotics, take all the doses, even after you feel better (unless you have an allergic reaction, of course). You need to kill all the bacteria, and not leave the strong ones hanging on to propagate; that's how we get antibiotic-resistant strains. Vaccines are a good way to head off diseases before they start, but there's no vaccine for scarlet fever.

The Looking Back section mentions Mary Ingalls, and how Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in By the Shores of Silver Lake that her blindness was caused by scarlet fever. Scarlet fever doesn't cause blindness, though. It's now believed that she either had a stroke or meningoencephalitis which caused her to loose her vision.

So, this whole blog is basically a big collection of book reports, huh?

Really Truly Ruthie

Published in 2008; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Raine and Susan McAliley

Plot

After Kit and Ruthie enjoy their modified day-after Christmas outing with their mothers (window shopping, a picnic lunch: all free), Ruthie and her mom pick up her dad at work. While there, Ruthie notices a file on her father's desk with a note that the Kittredge family will be evicted if they don't come up with $200 (more than $2500 today) by December 28. Ruthie knows that they think they have until January 2: "after the holidays." Kit's father is gone for about a week for a short job, and while he's going to bring pay back with him, he's going to be too late.

Ruthie rushes to tell Kit, and tries to offer her a little money, but Kit politely turns her down as Ruthie's ten dollars won't come close. Uncle Hendrick has already refused to help. Thinking quickly, Ruthie asks about Aunt Millie, who raised Kit's father. Kit agrees that she'd be willing to help, but she doesn't have a phone and there's no time to send a letter. Ruthie comes up with a plan: she'll use her ten dollars to buy train fare for her and Kit to go see Aunt Millie in person. The next day, Kit meets Ruthie at the train station, but her brother Charlie is with her. Kit told Charlie about the plan, and he's there to stop Ruthie's hair-brained scheme. Ruthie protests that she already bought the tickets, and they have to at least try. Charlie relents, but goes in Kit's place to provide a little protection.

On the way to Aunt Millie's secluded Appalachian town, Charlie comments that Ruthie is very trusting of strangers, and hopes that she doesn't have to learn the truth about human nature too soon or too harshly. Ruthie counters that she'd rather believe most people are good.

When they arrive, Aunt Millie immediately agrees to help. She gets the money from the bank and hands it to Ruthie, who Charlie says deserves the honor of carrying it. But they've missed the last train back. Aunt Millie won't let them give up though. She gets the town to flag down a passing train that wouldn't normally stop there (I guess it's the express). The engineer knows Aunt Millie, and lets Ruthie and Charlie board. When they get back to Cincinnati, Charlie takes a moment to thank Ruthie sincerely and humbly for her help and caring. He then invites her in so she can tell everyone the good news. But Charlie's gratitude gives Ruthie pause. The people who helped them on their journey, Aunt Millie's eagerness...they all helped because it was the right thing to do and out of love. Isn't that why Ruthie decided to visit Aunt Millie, because she care so much about Kit and her family? Before she'd been excited to prove that she can be realistic and useful despite her love of fairy tales, but now she doesn't want to play the part of a hero, not in the face of the Kittredge family's desperation. She asks Charlie to keep her part in the adventure a secret, and heads home.

A few days later, Ruthie is playing with Kit and Sterling. Charlie and his parents are talking about how happy they are to have not lost their home. Mr. and Mrs. Kittredge start praising Charlie for his bravery and ingenuity in visiting Aunt Millie. He looks at Ruthie and asks permission to tell the whole story, and she acquiesces--Aunt Millie will tell soon enough anyway. Charlie grins and starts to tell the real story, the one about Kit's creative and caring friend.

Looking Back

Whenever a friend falls on hard times, it's natural to want to help them out. But it can be hard to do without the friend feeling like a charity case or a leech; it has to be done the right way. During the Depression, people like Ruthie's family found ways to help the less fortunate without damaging their pride. Sometimes people would organize "parties" that left the guest of honor with donations of food or money but also provided everyone involved with a fun afternoon. Others found or created jobs, like a teacher in Virginia who hired a destitute student to do chores. With the money the student earned, she was able to help support her family and still attend school. Still other people would leave donations anonymously. The government had aid programs as it does today, but those were short-term solutions. To make a bigger impact, the government put people to work fixing up national parks and other needed services.

Misc

This book is dedicated to "Robert Schuyler Heuer, with love."

Kit's Surprise

Published in 2000; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Raine and Susan McAliley

Plot

As Christmas approaches, Kit finds herself feeling awkward around Ruthie. Her family hasn't really been affected by the Depression, and Ruthie's love of fairy tales causes her to talk about fanciful wish fulfillment. Meanwhile, Kit has to wear clothes that are too small or have been let out because her family can't afford to buy new ones. Ruthie tries to cheer Kit up and sympathize with her, but Kit increasingly finds her friend's optimism annoying and too unrealistic to be useful. Ruthie also tries to help Kit out now and then by doing things like paying for Kit's movie ticket so she can go to the theater, but Kit doesn't like feeling like Ruthie's charity case. One day, the girls are surprised to find Ruthie's father visiting with Kit's parents. He works at the bank that holds the Kittredges' mortgage, and is warning them that he can only hold off foreclosure for so long before his boss will reclaim the house. Kit's mother asks her awful Uncle Hendrick for help, but he just lectures her about how the family should have been more careful with their money. He also insists that she visit him every day, but Kit's mother is too busy. Kit jumps at the chance to do something to help her mother.

Her great-uncle spends the time ordering Kit around and criticizing her, and taking shots her family. Even his Scottie dog is spiteful. But there is one good thing: he had given Kit's mother a nickel for the streetcar, which Kit missed, and doesn't want it back. He also gives Kit two more nickels for the next day's trip. Kit rationalizes that if he didn't want the first nickel back and only cares that she arrives on time, it's fine to skip the streetcar and save the nickels.

When she returns home from her first day of being berated by her elderly relative, Ruthie is there with a present. It's the Christmas dress Ruthie had last year, altered to fit Kit, and tickets to the ballet and a special tea (Kit and Ruthie have a tradition of seeing the ballet and going to tea with their mother the day after Christmas, but Kit's family can't afford it). Ruthie is trying to help, but Kit bristles when her friend thinks a new dress will make everything better. She doesn't want to be a charity case, and is hurt that her friend doesn't seem to understand that Kit can't enjoy frivolities anymore. Ruthie is also hurt, that her friend seems to be shutting her out and shutting her down. They fight, and part ways furious at each other. It doesn't take long for Kit to regret what she said, but Ruthie is too angry to hear an apology. So Kit starts Christmas break without a best friend.

Seems like it may be just as well. Kit's great-uncle is keeping her busy. One errand he sends her on is to get his shoes shined, but when the shoe shine store is closed, Kit does it herself. Uncle Hendrick is surprised to learn that Kit did it, and tells her to keep the money he'd given her to pay the store because she earned it. Inspired, Kit asks if she can do other things like that for him: picking up his groceries so she can keep the money he would have tipped the person delivering them, hand-delivering his letters and keeping the postage, and so on. He cuts her off, saying all he cares about is that the jobs are done well, not who does them, and agrees that she can keep the money. So she makes up her mind to earn enough to pay the electric bill.

By Christmas Eve, Kit's earned a little more than she needs and can hardly wait to get home to decorate the tree. But it's sleeting heavily, and with the ice and wind, Kit can hardly make it two steps before slipping and sliding, even on level ground. She has to stay the night in the dark house, feeling unwelcome and unworthy. Uncle Hendrick tells her call to let her parents know she won't be coming home until tomorrow, but they can't afford phone service and have had it cut off. Kit has to call Ruthie to ask her to relay the message, who she still hasn't made up with. The phone conversation is brief because of the storm, but Kit is able to get out that she's staying the night and that she's sorry for their fight. The calls drops before she can hear what Ruthie says.

But she doesn't have to wait long to find out. The next morning, Ruthie and her father arrive in a horse-drawn sleigh to pick up Kit and her great-uncle (who was planning to visit anyway). The girls' fight is soon forgotten, and they make plans to window shop and have an indoor picnic the next day (Ruthie gave the ballet tickets to the three boarders and one of their boyfriends), with Kit borrowing--not keeping--Ruthie's dress. Kit also gets to surprise her mother with the money, and her mother is very touched and proud. She has a gift for Kit: a Scottie dog pin she'd gotten as a child. Kit's father and brother have also fixed Kit's typewriter, and it now types in a straight line and all the letters work. Kit and Ruthie exchange presents as well. Kit ended up having some down time at her great-uncles, when she'd finish the chores before she was supposed to leave and he'd fallen asleep. She wrote a fantasy story starring Ruthie. Ruthie and her mother made a doll for Kit, one of Amelia Earhart, Kit's hero. And when it gets dark, Kit's family turns on the Christmas tree lights, able to safely indulge for a little bit thanks to Kit's contribution.

Looking Back

With money tighter for most Americans than it had ever been, families had to be creative to find ways to celebrate the holidays. If they could get a Christmas tree or had an artificial one, they skipped expensive electric lights and cut up magazines into paper strips. Or they could decorate food with Christmas or winter themes. Parents might hide a toy a little while before Christmas and give it to a child with broken parts fixed, and many people gave handmade gifts. Some families weren't hit too hard, and could afford gifts and decorations. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, many of these families got some extra toys and food to donate to less fortunate families. Churches and other charities received these gifts to pass out to their congregations, as many do today. Of course, what all the adults wanted for Christmas was employment, and department store Santas heard lots of children asking for their parents to find work, too.

Misc

This book is dedicated to "Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford, with thanks."

Kit's family, like Samantha's, puts up their tree on Christmas Eve. Makes sense for the Depression--you could get a good deal buying a tree at the last minute when the seller is trying to unload his stock. Molly's family waited until December 22. All three books were written by Valerie Tripp; I wonder if her family likes to get their trees late.

I find it odd that a skinflint like Kit's great-uncle wouldn't shine his own shoes instead of paying someone else to do it. It's not that hard. But maybe he has arthritis or something.

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree tradition started in the Great Depression. Workers were grateful to have a job, and put up a small tree to celebrate in 1931 (no tree in 1932, but one every year since 1933). They decorated it with bits of paper, strings of cranberries, and a few tins cans. Now, gigantic trees, almost always Norway spruces, several dozen feet tall are flown or trucked in to New York City. Surveyors find them growing in people's yards in the US and Canada. People can also submit their trees for consideration online. The tree is decorated with thousands of lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star. After it's taken down on January 6, the tree is recycled. At least one year the lumber from it was donated to Habitat for Humanity.

Kit Learns a Lesson

Published in 2000; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Raine and Susan McAliley

Plot

Thanksgiving is in two weeks, and Kit wonders what she'll be thankful for. Her father still hasn't found a job to replace the one he lost in August, and three boarders have joined Stirling and his mother, plus her mother says they need to take on two more! She has so many chores to do with the boarders already, and she's sure they're boring people--if she'd bother to get to know them. The attic leaks, and her brother's been sleeping on the enclosed porch, which won't keep him warm in the winter.

On the way to school one morning, Kit and Ruthie discuss how wishes must be very specific. Ruthie considers herself an authority on the subject, due to her love of fairy tales. Kit has been wishing for her father to find a job so the boarders can move out, but when he ponders looking for work in Chicago, she amends her wish. She wishes for him to find a job in Cincinnati, soon. The reason he's thinking of Chicago is that Stirling got a letter from his father with $20--about $600 today-inside (his mother graciously gives half to Mrs. Kittredge).  At school, there are more frustrations. Roger, a show-off classmate, takes every opportunity to spout off about how the unemployed are just lazy, and it's shameful to accept charity. Kit is ready to defend her father's honor when the teacher distracts the class with news of the upcoming Thanksgiving pageant. Kit and her classmates are amazed when they learn that Stirling made an elaborate set piece. Maybe he's not just a rotten boarder after all.

While working on the set (fourth graders make the set while fifth- and six-graders are the Pilgrims and Native Americans), Kit and Roger exchange more words, culminating with Kit shoving Roger, who hits a ladder and knocks a bucket of paint over himself. Although Kit feels justified in defending her parents and Stirling's, she accepts the punishment of cleaning up with Stirling and Ruthie (who were also involved--Roger gets off scot-free) and delivering the class's donated food to a soup kitchen during the pageant. Kit's impressed with how much there is. Most families could only spare a bit here and there, but it adds up, especially with the twenty-pound turkey Ruthie's family was able to afford.

The soup kitchen is slammed, and one of the volunteers quickly puts the trio to work handing out bread and canned goods (the turkey, along with some potatoes, will be made into soup). Kit surveys the crowd, thinking about the stories the people have to tell and feeling pity for them. Then, she looks up at a man she's handing a loaf of bread to--it's her father! Overwhelmed by a confused whirl of emotion, she bolts. Ruthie and Stirling quickly find her, and tell her that her father left but he'll talk to her at home. Confronted with the reality that her father has had to rely on a food bank to feed the family, Kit says maybe she should hope for him to find a job in Chicago. Stirling disagrees. The $20 was his own money, that his father gave him to use for emergencies before he left. His mother had refused to take it for rent money--which they don't have--so he typed up a fake letter on Kit's typewriter and mailed it to himself. He has no idea where his father is. Even though Kit's father is in dire straits, it's still better to know where he is.

At home, Kit's father apologizes for misleading her and the family. He'd said he was out looking for work, but most of his time was spent waiting in line for food. Besides, there aren't any jobs anyway. He might have to travel to another city for work, but he promises that he'll stay in touch. When he had a job, Kit would write up newsletters about what he missed at home, and he assures Kit that he'd love to get some more of those newsletters in the mail. Now finally seeing how desperate things are, Kit understands why they need the boarders. And suddenly she gets an idea.

The next morning, as Kit sets the table for breakfast, she puts a newsletter at her father's place. It's laid out like a series of want ads, illustrated by Stirling. Her idea is that her father can use some spare lumber from Ruthie's family to fix up the enclosed porch (it was intended for a treehouse, but Kit prioritizes). Then one of the boarders, Mr. Peck, can stay there with Charlie. That will open up space for two more boarders to move in. More boarders means more work, so Kit suggests that Mrs. Howard help with the cleaning, since she can't make rent. She also asks for stories from the other two boarders, who are nurses, so that she can practice her journalism skills. It also opens the door for her to connect with the two women, and they with the others in the house. Kit wants everyone to feel welcomed, so that they'll stay for a long time.

Looking Back

During the Depression, schools were massively underfunded. There was no money for structural repairs or new textbooks, and eventually for teacher pay. Schools tried to make due by stretching out breaks to shorten the school year, sometimes as short as three months of classes. Some especially hard-hit states had to close schools entirely. Children worked when they could, to help their families. Further deepening the Depression was a period of drought in the South and the Dustbowl in the middle of the country (drought + overfarming = lots of dust), causing farms to fail. Many families moved to California, which was still able to grow crops, to get what little work they could harvesting the fields. People everywhere were desperate. Teachers tried to help their students with food drives and other charity, and tried to help them learn in the over-crowded classrooms and provide distraction from their troubles (To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the Great Depression; Scout's school puts on a play that provides some escapism). But teachers needed help themselves. Teacher salaries were cut drastically, sometimes 75% of what they had been--if they could keep their jobs at all. Some teachers were given room and board with students' families in place of pay. Things got so bad that a teacher in Cincinnati killed himself upon finding that his position was eliminated.

Misc

This book is dedicated to "Jill Davidson Martinez, with love."

Charlie has a job delivering newspapers.

Meet Kit

Published in 2000; author Valerie Tripp; illustrators Walter Raine and Susan McAliley

Plot

It's 1932 (although the cover of the book says 1934). Nine-year-old Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge is an aspiring reporter living in Cincinnati, OH, with her parents and older brother Charlie. Her father has been fortunate enough to keep his job at a car dealership despite the Great Depression's toll on the country putting so many people out of work and out on the streets. For example, a neighbor hasn't been able to find a job for two years, but his wife says he's finally had success in Chicago, and that she and their son will join him even though he doesn't have a place to stay yet. Kit's mother correctly and discreetly guesses the truth: the family can't afford their home anymore. She suggests the mother and son--Mrs. Howard and nine-year-old Stirling--stay with the Kittredge family until Mr. Howard is settled.

Kit's excited. Her brother's going to be in college soon, and her best friend Ruthie is more into fairy tales than baseball. With Stirling around, Kit will have Ruthie for girl stuff and someone to play catch with. But when he arrives, it's clear he won't be doing much in the way of sports. He's small for his age, and sickly. Still, Kit finds a way to bond with him over his love of professional baseball. He can't play it, but he can appreciate it.

Then Kit finds out that she'll still be able to play ball with Charlie after all: their father has to shut down the car dealership, and can't afford to send Charlie to college. Kit comes up with some things she can sacrifice to save money, like supplies for the tree house she wanted to build, but she knows it won't be enough. Her mother comes up with a plan, almost by accident. Her miserly Uncle Hendrick visits and disparages what he sees as the myriad financial mistakes the family's made, and she defends their choices, saying they'll make money by taking in boarders. It's just to shut him up at first, but she likes the idea. There's no way to know how long it will take Mr. Kittredge to find work, and they need some sort of income. Kit will have to give up her room and sleep in the attic. She's upset with the unfairness of everything at first, but Stirling inspires her to make the space her own (her mother had recently re-decorated Kit's room in very nice, but very un-Kit frills and pink). Soon she's thrilled with her new space, and hopeful about her family's future in the uncertain times.

Looking Back

The Great Depression officially began with the Black Tuesday stock market crash on October 29, 1929, following a decade of lavish spending and buying on credit. People bought all sorts of things they couldn't really afford, among them stocks in various companies. They figured they'd sell the stocks when the prices went up, and make a profit they could use to pay the credit card bills. But the prices didn't go up as expected, and people started to tighten their belts. Fewer people bought goods, so companies began losing money and had to lay off employees to stay afloat. The newly-unemployed bought even fewer things. Finally, stock prices dropped dramatically, and businesses across the country went bankrupt overnight, including some banks. With no FDIC protecting invested money, people found themselves suddenly without jobs or savings accounts. Charities overflowed and were soon spread thinner than usual. The crisis peaked in 1932, when unemployment hit an all-time high. President Hoover's attempts to solve the financial mess were clearly ineffective, and Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency by a landslide that November. He created different work programs and instituted policies designed to prevent another collapse. The world economy also moved away from the gold standard, and by the latter half of the 1930s, most countries had recovered (the US hit another snag in 1937). World War II saw the end of the Depression.

Misc

This book is dedicated to "my aunt, Maxine Hansen Martin, with all my love."

Kit was the first character released after the Pleasant Company was bought by Mattel.

I've read these books once before, but I completely forgot that Kit had an older brother. I thought she was an only child.

Kit's father fought in World War I (referred to in the books, of course, as the Great War, since World War II hadn't happened yet).

Kit plays catcher, and appears to be right-handed.

My great-grandfather died in June 1930...when my great-grandmother was pregnant with their eleventh child. She took in boarders like Kit's family, and the older children helped out too (their oldest was almost 20).

This must be a first: Kit's books and Molly's books have the same president. FDR was elected four times, in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944 (he died in office in 1945; the twenty-second Amendment was ratified in 1951, limiting presidents to only two terms). Kit and Molly could both still be alive today, aged 91 and 80, respectively. My grandfather's alive, and he's only two years younger than Kit. Still in his home (with Grandma) with his wits about him, too. His mom lived to just shy of 103.

Other American Girls: in 2014, Kaya would turn 259, Felicity would turn 249, Caroline would turn 212, Cécile Rey and Marie-Grace would turn 171, Josefina would turn 199, Kirsten would turn 169, Addy would turn 159, Samantha would turn 119, Rebecca would turn 109, and Julie would turn 48. The oldest person in recorded history was 122 (and a half: Jeanne Calment, February 21, 1875-August 4, 1997).

The US stock market started its sharp decline in September 1929. The Black Tuesday crash made the Depression world-wide.

US unemployment peaked in 1933: twenty-five percent were without jobs. When the US entered World War II (thought to have accelerated if not been a major factor in the economic recovery), unemployment dropped below ten percent, and below five before the war ended.

Chile was hardest hit by the Great Depression. Its GDP was cut in half.