Emma & Rebecca working hard on the red carpet.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Movie Review

By Rebecca, 9

Kit Kittredge is a girl who is worried about her friends, family and how to make her dream of becoming a writer come true. Abigail Breslin plays the part of this ten year old with great empathy, kindness, sensitivity and perseverance.

Set in the 1930′s during the Great Depression, the movie Kit Kittredge is about a young girl’s determination to become a reporter. When she encounters “hobos” (wandering people who have lost their homes, jobs and families because of the financial impact of the Great Depression), she decides to write about their lives. Kit thinks it would be a great angle to tell their story from a kid’s point of view.

Kit’s family is also affected by the hardships. To help keep their home, Kit’s father goes to Chicago to seek work. Kit’s mother begins to rent rooms in their house to various individuals such as a mobile librarian, a dance instructor, a magician and Kit’s classmate Sterling and his mother.

We also meet two hobo children who work for food doing repairs around the house. Unfortunately, many people in town believed that hobos were responsible for a rash of robberies. It was exciting to see how Kit recorded evidence from each robbery, which in the end actually helped to solve the mystery of the thefts.

Parts of this movie were very moving. I was touched by how much Kit loved her father. Breslin was great in portraying Kit’s shock when she saw her father eating at a soup kitchen. I loved the friendship between Ruthie, Sterling and Kit. Ruthie remained true to their friendship, never turning her back on Kit even during rough times.

There are many light and funny moments too. For example, the boarders had fun putting on a magic show. Joan Cusack (the Mobile Librarian) was very amusing and believable in the role of the scatter-brained librarian. And Grace, the dog that Kit adopts, occasionally stole the show with her sweet and loving doggie expressions.

The many twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing. This is a great movie, with a beautiful setting and terrific actors. You’ve got to see it!

This year, I am going as one half of the Wonder Twins. Do you remember them?

Or maybe as Morticia Addams.

Anyway, this year, we are hosting THE halloween party for our friends and i have been looking online for great halloween themed food. I saw this really interesting website!

Admittedly, i wouldnt eat all the food posted there (the Witches’ fingers, the  Eerie Eyeballs) because they look very real to me but i’ll definitely serve the Spooky Sugar Cookies, Ghoulish Graves and the Creepy Cheese & Crackers.

Visit the Britta website to see the highly creative recipes! I am sure your guests will be amazed by your food preparation, thanks to the folks responsible for these recipes.

Who are you going as for halloween?

Scenario 2: You have an exam coming up and no matter how you try to understand that algebraic expression, you just cant! You wish you were like one of your classmates who can sleep through the entire lecture and still get a high score in class.

Scenario 3: You gained a little weight, and you feel (gasp!) fat.

I am sure, most of us can identify with the scenarios above. Its not easy being a woman, dealing with what society perceives to be normal. I have never met someone who did not have anything that they didn’t like about their body/face/skills/talent. I have been lucky though, to be blessed with women who are confident and sure of themselves even with their imperfections. I was lucky to be raised in an environment where we were taught that people come in different shapes and sizes, and that we are all beautiful.

This past week, however, I wasn’t feeling very confident. I had so many things to do, too many events to go to and on top of that, I was feeling bloated and fat. No amount of counter-reactions from other people could change how I was feeling about myself.

Then, as I was working on something on the internet, I saw this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” It made me stop and think. I realized the reason why I was feeling insecure wasn’t because of other people, it wasn’t because of anyone, it was because of ME and my own perceptions. Too often, we blame other people because of our issues – body issues, issues with our looks, even issues with our intelligence. But in reality, its our own fault why we feel the way we do. I guess, just like what my mother always tells me, “Its all up to you, how you take it”.

So now, I am going to try and not think negative thoughts about myself. Its not going to be easy, because (as I am sure) we all see something in ourselves that we don’t like, but I will try.

-Nina