Since we're currently studying the depression in the 1930s, I immediately thought of the first time I learned about the great depression: when I read the American Girl series in elementary school. Kit Kittredge is the main protagonist in Valerie Tripp's series. Throughout the series, we see Kit and her family struggle as they are affected by the shrinking economy. In the first book, Meet Kit, she wears a cardigan, a floral skirt, and sandals, but is soon only seen wearing used or hand-me-down clothing. At one point she even wore an itchy dress made out of a chickenfeed sack that she was incredibly grateful for. Her father has been laid off from his job, and Kit's parents neglected to tell her. She is heart broken when she finds out that when he comes home from "work" he is actually coming home from the soup kitchen, where he eats and picks up the families groceries. The family starts raising chickens and selling eggs to make money, as well as taking several boarders into their home who they collect rent from. Kit's mother has neat little tricks like cutting the toast into little triangles to making it look like she was feeding everybody more than she really was. Although the story is a work of fiction, it shows the kinds of things families went through in order to stay alive during the great depression. It's also interesting because it's told from a child's point of view, an angle we don't often get in a textbook.
I've read this book! I enjoyed it as well, and that's actually how I learned first about the Great Depression. I did like how we could see everything Kit was feeling as her family went through things, and the perspective is actually fascinating. It's a great read, even though I would say it's for < 7th grade, and I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteProps for being up at 3:50 AM Jessica. I feel you.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jessica! I find it really interesting that American Girl doll would make a doll like Kit Kitterage growing up in an era of extreme poverty, The Great Depression. Nevertheless Kit exemplified how the youth adapted to the Great Depression. I did some research into the film on Kit Kitterage which was released in 2008. I found out that it took place in 1934 in Cincinatti Ohio during the Great Depression. For the set of the movie, the filmakers had to make a scene that looked like the hobo settlements commonly found during the Great Depression. Really interesting that you can find history even in American Girl dolls!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kitkittredge.com/
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