View source for Kit Kittredge

<small>''"Kit" redirects here. For the doll, see [[Kit Kittredge (doll)]].''</small>
{{Infobox character
|name = Kit Kittredge
|image = <tabber> 
BeForever = [[File:KitBFlogo.png|250px]]|-| 
Classic = [[File:Kitlogo.png|250px]]
</tabber>
|fullname  = Margaret Mildred Kittredge
|born = May 19, 1923
|nickname = Kit, Squirt
|firstappearance = ''[[Meet Kit]]''; ''[[Read All About It!]]''; ''[[Kit: Read All About It!]]''
|serieslocation = Cincinnati, OH
|timeline  = Late summer 1932<ref>''[[Meet Kit]]'', Looking Back section, pg 69: ''The year 1932, '''when Kit's story begins''', was the lowest point of The Great Depression[...].''</ref> to September 1935<ref>''[[The Jazzman's Trumpet]]'' starts in September 1935.</ref>
|father = [[Jack Kittredge]]
|mother = [[Margaret Kittredge]]
|siblings = [[Charles Kittredge]]
|uncle = [[Hendrick Frosbythe]]
|bestfriend = [[Ruthie Smithens]]
|friends = [[Stirling Howard]]<br>[[Will Shepherd]]
}}
'''Kit Kittredge''' is the seventh [[Historical Character]], representing the Great Depression era. Kit was released in '''2000''' and was part of the [[BeForever]] collection.

Kit and parts of her original collection were re-released in 2023 in honor of her 100th birthday. 

==Personality and Facts==
Kit was named after her mother and [[Aunt Millie]]; however, she prefers to go by her nickname. Kit is both derived from her last name and the Great War<ref>At the time, [[Wikipedia:World War I|WWI]] was known as the Great War; there was, of course, no way to logically predict in 1932 that there would be a second World War.</ref>-era song "[[Wikipedia:Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag|Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag]]". She'd beg her father to "sing the kit song!" and soon after everyone began to call her Kit and the name stuck. Charlie calls her "Squirt."

Kit thinks herself as not being "flouncy." She is very much a tomboy who does not like pink or ruffles, and she cares little for baking, dusting, dresses, or dance class, even though she has an affinity for square dancing. She enjoys baseball, and her favorite player is [[Minor Characters in Kit's Series (H-R)#Ernie Lombardi|Ernie Lombardi]], the catcher for the Cincinnati Reds. Kit likes when boys are around because she believes they are always up to something. She is interested in everything and fancies herself a reporter and factual writer. Her favorite place is the newsroom of the Cincinnati Register, where she often is sent to deliver Uncle Hendrick's letters to the editor. She wins an award for her writing in ''[[Kit's Railway Adventure]]'', and has also has a letter to the editor published in the newspaper. She loves to read, and is often reading ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'', a book Charlie gave her. She believes in telling the truth straight-out, but sometimes finds it hard to. 

Kit doesn't always like change, even though sometimes she wishes for them to happen. She has a fascination with the spunky, independent pilot Amelia Earhart. She has strong pride and  dislikes feeling dependent on charity from others (or being a moocher), but learns to swallow it and tackle her problems with thrift and cleverness. She loves country life and the great outdoors. Kit is embarrassed easily, especially when the hardships of her life are revealed to others. She is easily irritated and peevish. She's not a good artist. 

Kit loves adventures. She often feels stuck with endless chores since her home became a boarding house, and she doesn't enjoy doing them (leading her to do a shoddy or slapdash job at first). While initially she dislikes having boarders and wishes her father would get a job quickly so they could be evicted, she comes around to liking them and the Howards as well, seeing them as extended family. Kit is funny and charming, often winning the love and support of others. She doesn't like to see people suffer, and usually wants to bring attention to causes she believes in. Kit is practical and describes herself as spunky and straightforward. She often doesn't hold her tongue and ends up saying mean things without intending to. Kit very seldom cried before the Depression began to affect her life. Kit loves her father and feels he's the best man in the world, with or without a job; she gets upset when her Great-Uncle Hendrick disparages him. She wants to go to college and study journalism.<ref>''[[Full Speed Ahead: My Journey with Kit]]''</ref>

American Girl characterizes her as resourceful and clever, having a can-do attitude and someone who loves to put her creativity to work to brighten someone else's day. She is also characterized as being inquisitive on her Meet video on YouTube,<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwAIdyMb8w0 Meet Kit Kittredge]</ref> and the catalogue page on the American Girl Publishing site. The American Girl website also describes her as a bright light in the dark days of the Great Depression.

==Family and Friends==
{{See also|Minor Characters in Kit's Series}}
===Family===
* [[Margaret Kittredge]]: Mother.
* [[Jack Kittredge]]: Father.
* [[Charles Kittredge]]: Older brother.
* [[Hendrick Frosbythe]]: Great uncle (maternal side). 
* [[Millie Morrison]]: Father's guardian and fictive kin. 

===Friends and Other Minor Characters===
* [[Ruthie Smithens]]: Kit's best friend.
* [[Stirling Howard]]: Kit's close friend.
* [[Louise Howard]]: Stirling's mother.
* [[Will Shepherd]]: A young hobo.

==Books==
{{main|List of Kit's Books}}

==Other Media==
* [[Kit Kittredge: An American Girl]]: movie
* ''Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
* ''[[Kit Mystery Challenge]]'': Nintendo DS game
* ''[[A Treehouse of My Own]]'': PC Computer Game

==[[Doll]]==
[[File:Kitdollface.jpg|thumb|225px|The Kit doll.]]
{{Main|Kit Kittredge (doll)}}
* [[Face Mold]]: [[Classic Mold]]
* Skin: Light
* Hair: Blonde
* Eyes: Dark Blue

{{clr}}
==Collection==
:''See [[Kit's Collection]]''

==Trivia==
* Kit was the first new [[Historical Character]] released after [[Mattel]] had fully taken over ownership of American Girl; while she began development before the purchase was completed, there are no [[Pre-Mattel]] Kit dolls or collection items. She is often mistaken as such because older head molds with ''Pleasant Company'' lasted for some time into the 2000s.
* Kit was the first character and Historical Character with short hair.
* Kit was the first character doll released with freckles. (While [[Felicity Merriman]] is described as having freckles, the [[Felicity Merriman (doll)|doll]] does not.)
* Kit's address is 229 Abbot Place.<ref>''[[Kit Learns a Lesson]]'', on the envelope Stirling receives. There is no ZIP code as those did not yet exist.</ref>
* While Kit's series and collection are tagged officially as the year 1934 by American Girl, her first central series book takes place in 1932 and carries until early 1934; she is thus the second Historical Character to break the pattern of books starting in a year that ends in a ''4'' (with the first being [[Molly McIntire]]).
* In the special edition version of ''Meet Kit'', [[Valerie Tripp]] explains that Kit's story was inspired by her own mother's life story.
* Kit's model for illustrations and promotional images was Caitlin Waite.<ref>[https://www.americangirldollnews.com/post/behind-the-scenes-photos-of-kit-illustrations Behind The Scenes Photos of Kit Illustrations], ''American Girl Doll News''. Accessed 12/26/24.</ref> She later went on to take up a career in literature based on her experiences with Kit's development.

==References==
{{Refs}}

==See also==
* [[Locations in Kit's Series]]

<tabber> 
Full Historical List = {{HistoricalList}}|-|
BeForever Historical List = {{BeForeverHistoricalList}}
</tabber>
[[Category:Kit Kittredge]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]
[[Category:BeForever]]

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''This page incorporates text from [https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Kit_Kittredge the source wiki] ([https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?oldid=129078 exported version], [https://americangirl.fandom.com/index.php?title=Kit+Kittredge&action=history contributor history]), under [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ the original text license].''