MPAA Rating:G
Distributor:Picturehouse
Director:Patricia Rozema
Starring:Abigail Breslin as Kit Kittredge; Julia Ormond as Mrs. Kittredge; Chris O'Donnell as Mr. Kittredge; Stanley Tucci as Jefferson J. Berk and Joan Cusack as Miss Bond.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, a movie about a girl growing up in the 1930s, is based on a series of historical fiction books published by the American Girl Company.

Kit's world turns upside down when her father loses his car dealership during the Great Depression. So Dad decides to leave Cincinnati to look for work in Chicago. Meanwhile, Mom and Kit turn their quiet home into a boarding house to make ends meet, introducing many interesting and bright characters, including teenage hobo Will. Will and his little buddy, Countee, work around the yard and house for their food, and gradually become part of the family. Then a string of robberies brings trouble to the Kittredge house. All the grown-ups, including the police, blame Will—but Kit, who dreams of being a reporter someday, begins to seek the true thieves. If she fails to find out who took her mom's money, the Kittredge family will lose their home.

This movie is just loaded with great messages about family unity, helping the poor, judging others by their character and not by how much money they have and having a good attitude, even when everything seems to be falling apart. Although Kit is at first embarrassed by her family's poverty, she decides not to complain, but to count her blessings. Another character teaches us that it's never too late to do the right thing. At school, teasing is discouraged, and reading is encouraged. Kit and her friends are the kind of girls everyone wants to know— smart, kind, and doing what they can to help their community.

There are a few moments we could do without; mild language, a few references to drinking, and two characters discuss stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and agree that it is right (although they're not very good characters to begin with). Kit puts herself in danger a few times as wel, but her heart, of course, was in the right place.

Clubhouse readers may not want to imitate everything Kit does, but this American Girl come-to-life serves as a very good example for all girls.

	Q: Where do rich cooks live? A: Beverly Grills. Jesse S., 10, California Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe