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American Girl: Kit #5

Kit Saves the Day: A Summer Story

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Kit meets a young hobo who shares his exciting life on the road. When Kit decides to pursue some adventures of her own, her curiosity gets her into trouble!

88 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2001

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About the author

Valerie Tripp

260 books396 followers
Valerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.

She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters and one brother. A member of the first co-educated class at Yale University, Tripp also has a M.Ed. from Harvard. Since 1985 she has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her husband teaches history at Montgomery College.

Right out of college, Tripp started writing songs, stories, and nonfiction for The Superkids Reading Program, working with Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. For that series, Tripp wrote all the books about Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen and many of the books about Samantha. She also wrote the "Best Friends" character stories to date, plays, mysteries, and short stories about all her characters.. Film dramatizations of the lives of Samantha, Felicity, Molly, and Kit have been based on her stories. Currently, Tripp is writing a STEM series for National Geographic and adapting Greek Myths for Starry Forest Publishing. A frequent speaker at schools and libraries, Tripp has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, and Williamsburg.

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5 stars
803 (38%)
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654 (31%)
3 stars
520 (24%)
2 stars
95 (4%)
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19 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
Profile Image for Abigail McKenna.
697 reviews125 followers
May 9, 2020
Will Shepherd and Ben from the Felicity books were my first book crushes, and I've just come to realize that, lol
Profile Image for Ciara.
Author 3 books385 followers
March 15, 2011
it's summertime, which means that the kittredges & their boarders have a lot of work to do harvesting their garden & making preserves. plus all the usual housecleaning chores, which are many, with eleven people living in the house. kit & stirling are out in the garden picking tomatoes one morning when a young hobo comes strolling up. he asks if he can pitch in with the harvest in exchange for a meal & aunt millie agrees. he's a hard worker & the kittredges are all too happy to give him generous portions. he makes to leave, but they offer to let him stay the night & work for food the next day too if he'll tell them about his hobo adventures.

his name is texas will & he's 15 years old. he ran away from home & started riding the rails looking for work after his family became destitute. they had had a farm, but it was destroyed in the dust storms or something. he could have stayed put, but he thought it was better to leave & fend for himself than be another mouth to feed & back to clothe. mr. kittredge gets out an atlas & will shows him all the different areas of the country he's visited, following the seasonal agricultural work. kit feels a little envious. will's hobo life sounds like one of non-stop freedom & adventure, while she's cooped up in her crowded house with neverending chores. will tells kit that all kinds of people are hoboes--even young girls like her. he also tells the family that sometimes hoboes take food back to their camps & everyone contributes what they have to make a big stew to feed all the hoboes in the jungle.

the next evening after will leaves, kit realizes that the family didn't give him anything to take back for hobo stew. she & stirling convince mrs. kittredge & aunt millie to give them some extra tomatoes & canned milk & they get permission to go to the hobo jungle to give the food to will. the jungle isn't far from the kittredges house. the adults are nervous, but they let kit & stirling go.

will is grateful for the food, but kit is blown away by the scene in the jungle. she sees a woman with three little children, including a baby. rather than a bunch of free spirits choosing a life of adventure, she realizes that some hoboes are riding trains because they have no other options, & that it's a difficult life. still, when another hobo named lex starts bragging & offers to teach kit & stirling how to hop a boxcar, kit wants to try it. will insists on tagging along to make sure stirling & kit stay safe. lex tells them he's going to have them hop a train going north back toward kit's house, so they'll be able to hop off at the next stop & walk home. but instead the train they catch is going south, across the river & into kentucky. they start to panic, but once the train clears the bridge, it stops. lex jumps off & runs away into the woods. will makes kit hide her hair under his hat & tries to shield kit & stirling from view, but the railroad bulls make them all get off the train & marches them off to jail. will makes kit wear the hat so they won't realize she's a girl & separate her from him & stirling in jail.

kit gets all mouthy & tells the cops she's not a bum. she asks for permission to call her uncle hendrick in cincinnati, who can pass word of her arrest along to her parents, who will come get her. the cop scoffs at her & refuses to loan her the coin to make the call. then the cop realizes she's a girl & starts to march her off to the women's cell. stirling holds up a piece of paper with the hobo symbol meaning "pretend to be sick". kit fakes a stomachache & asks to go to the bathroom. once she's in the bathroom, she shimmies out the window & runs away.

she retraces the route taken by the train, but when she gets to the bridge, she realizes it's just railroad ties set over the river. there's a small catwalk on either side of the railroad & she can walk on that, but there's no railing & the catwalk is covered in train oil, so it's slick. but she has no other choice. she has to get back to cincinnati & alert her parents to spring will & stirling from the pokey. she makes it halfway across the trestle bridge before a train comes. she lays down flat on the catwalk & hangs on for dear life. once the train has gone, she stands up & finishes the trek across the bridge, back into the city, to her house.

mr. kittredge borrows a car belonging to some of the borders & books it back to kentucky jail. the cops release will & stirling into his custody. kit did indeed save the day...& realized in the process that being a hobo is no joke. mr. kittredge offers to bring will back to cincinnati for a good night's sleep, but will refuses. he has to get weat for the apple harvests. kit realizes she has it pretty good, with a bed to sleep in & food to eat, even if she does have a lot of chores.

basically, this book was awesome. a ten-year-old girl hops a train, gets thrown in jail, breaks out of jail, & frees her fellow hoboes. holy crap. i never did anything remotely that badass when i was ten years old.
Profile Image for Panda Incognito.
4,206 reviews77 followers
July 24, 2020
I have now reread this book for the first time in fourteen years. Because it was my least favorite, I skipped it when I last reread the series, and it was surreal to return to it after so long. I definitely stand by my initial assessment of the book, because it is wildly unrealistic for Kit to behave the way that she did without any consequences, and for Mrs. Howard to accept the fact that when she isn't even able to handle him overexerting himself at home because of Kit's influence.

However, even though I am still critical of this over-the-top adventure, I am upping my original two-star rating to three stars. This book is extremely educational, and even though the entire plot hinges on Kit's impulsive foolishness and refusal to listen to Will, this frustrating set-up leads to a vivid, suspenseful story that teaches children about the hobo experience, police brutality, and aspects of the Great Depression that couldn't have come into this series if Kit had behaved.

Also, Will is an excellent character. He is kind, hardworking, likable, and resourceful, and even though he only appears in this one book, the characterization is very memorable. He's also very cute. Another reviewer noted that he and Ben from the Felicity books were her first fictional crushes, and I definitely had the same experience. What was different this time was that I was no longer reading about Will as a much-older boy. Instead, when he assured Aunt Millie that he was fifteen and definitely old enough to be out on his own, I gasped and clutched at my heart. The sad irony of that line was completely lost on me when I was small, because fifteen seemed old to me back then, but fifteen is a CHILD.

I'm glad that I read this again. Even though I respect my childhood self's horror over Kit's disobedience and bad choices, they did serve a purpose for this story and my education, and I'm glad that I learned so much about the hobo experience and had this early introduction to the reality that people had completely different experiences with police officers based on their social and economic status. I also enjoyed reading about Will again from a totally different age perspective, and loved the gorgeous, historically detailed illustrations. The Kit series has some of the best illustrations that I have ever seen in chapter books, and now that I have artistic training, instead of liking them less, I'm even more blown away by the gorgeous art and amazing use of light. I will never forgive American Girl for axing all of the illustrations in their 2015 rebranding, but I'm very glad to have these books from my childhood in the right editions.
Profile Image for Carolynne.
813 reviews25 followers
February 12, 2013
During the Depression the number of homeless people increased and some of them became hoboes, who traveled around looking for work to get by. One such, a young boy named Will, comes by Kit's house and does some chores in exchange for a meal and a chance to wash. Kit finds the hobo life exciting and when she and her friend Stirling take some canned goods to the "jungle" where hoboes camp, they are persuaded to hop a train with an older hobo. I found this the least compelling of the Kit series. I didn't like that it was Kit's own impulsive act which provides the opportunity for her to "save the day." The best part of the book is the historical note at the end, which gives details about hobo life and the CCC which was created by FDR during the Depression. But generally the Kit books are among the more interesting American Girl stories. In most of the series the problems she faces are real, and may seem close to home because many children may have older relatives who remember the Depression, and can remember such things as bread lines and wearing clothes made from flour sacks. When I learned about the Depression in elementary history classes, the lessons were filled with economics and political information: I would have welcomed this series which show how the Depression affected families and children. The lexile measure is 640.
754 reviews
January 9, 2011
While the writing style continues to be engaging, as a parent, I have to say that the ludicrousness of the plot, combined with the fact that Kit doesn't get punished for endangering herself, her friends, lying to her parents and coming home late without any parental lecture or punishment is highly annoying and not true to period, either.
Profile Image for Katie.
427 reviews37 followers
August 15, 2021
The great AG marathon continues. Reading this for the first time as an adult in advance (much in advance, in this case) of the American Girls podcast.

Kit, that was dumb. Yes, good job getting your friends out of the trouble you got them into, but honey. That was way dumb.

It is, at least, an in-character kind of dumb, but the traditional "Saves the Day" title is really getting pushed to its limits here. Kit is hankering for adventure, gets in over her head, wriggles out of it, and at least is able to get her friends out, too.

I'm not sure I have much more to say about this one. Will is sweet, a model hobo to teach us all the hobo things. Lex is clearly Bad News, right down to having a name that evokes a DC Comics villain. And clearly, being the right age to work for the CCC was part of Charlie's original character design; great job everyone.

Should we start a list of how many Saves the Day adventures depend on the main character making a terrible choice somewhere along the way? This one is up there, right next to Kirsten's literal bad idea bear. Samantha and the twins almost get stranded on the island because they don't beach their canoe properly. Felicity kept Ben's secret and probably shouldn't have. Molly miscalculates re: poison ivy. Julie does a little trespassing (her book 5 has a different title, but the Saves the Day energy is there). On the other end of the spectrum: Caroline's saving is legit, though her book doesn't use that title, either. And sweet Addy does everything asked of her and beyond: a true Saves the Day.
Profile Image for Anna.
2,219 reviews13 followers
April 16, 2024
I LOVE WILL. As a kid, I had a huge crush on him. I was sad to see him leave, like Kit, but oh boy the ending of this book sure keeps you on your toes! I loved this book. I love Aunt Millie, the chickens, the garden, Will, and the hobo codes are so clever and cool. Loved this book.
Profile Image for Nickie.
113 reviews
August 6, 2022
I hate that Kit’s thoughts at the end reminded me of America Singer and the caste system. And where the heck was Ruthie?
Profile Image for Danielle.
2,615 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2022
Kit gets a reality check after riding the rails and realizing that the life of a hobo isn't fun - it has more going on than her life, but she has a lot to be thankful for stability-wise.
Profile Image for Rose.
39 reviews1 follower
July 14, 2024
Lex is the most sympathetic American Girl villain because if I was homeless and some kids showed up to gawk at me and thought my life was a fun little adventure I’d want to mess with them too.
Profile Image for Rowan.
75 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2022
the scene with kit having to lay down on the tracks while the train passed? edge of my seat holy shit. good book this one, although will say the fact that mrs howard didn't faint upon hearing stirling was in jail due to kit's actions surprised me.
60 reviews1 follower
November 25, 2012
Now I need to read all of these books! =0)
33 reviews
June 27, 2022
While it's an engaging story and eight-year-old me sure did love the adventure, it's one of American Girl's most unrealistic stories. FYI most ten-year-olds in the 1930s didn't run away from home, jump on a train without thinking of the consequences, and escape jail without getting in trouble. It's very out of character for Kit. She certainly is shown to be curious as a budding journalist but WHERE did this impulsivity come from? She dreams of adventure but Kit isn't known to throw aside rules and recklessly jump on a train. In real life if she did this she would either end up dead or a homeless hobo away from her family. When she comes home Kit isn't even punished!

Lots of kids Kit's age get bored during the summer. There isn't a single person on the planet who hasn't dealt with boredom. That doesn't mean you run to a train station and board the first train you encounter!

Tripp over-romanticized hobo life in order to sell riding the rails to her young audience. A better introduction to hobos is MissionUS's Up From the Dust game. I did, however, enjoy learning about how hobos didn't like people to refer to them as "tramps" and the signals hobos gave each other.
Profile Image for Little Seal.
138 reviews7 followers
Read
August 3, 2022
Note about Grace: She's so cute, I love her, and I'm just like her.

Now onto the real review: HOLY MOLEY, this is probably the most intense 'Saves the Day' story. I was honestly feeling anxious even though I know everything would be "okay" in the end. However, it really wasn't? The ending was honestly pretty bleak compared to other AG books.

But I think this story is relatable to so many folks. Reading this as someone living in 2022 would think that Kit admiring "a hobo" for his adventures might be silly or foolish, but if you think about it, it makes complete sense to always think "the grass is greener on the other side." I could relate to Kit wanting something NEW.

This is probably my favorite 'Saves the Day' book for the simple fact that Kit was extra brave, learned her lesson super quick, and it didn't end in a typical "fairy tale" style compared to the other 'Save the Day' stories.
Profile Image for Joey.
919 reviews41 followers
February 3, 2018
Kit is bored of her life, doing chores everyday isn’t fun and she feels like she’s stuck in the rut of her life. Longing for adventure that she fears will never come... until a hobo shows up at her house willing to help with the work in exchange for a meal. She is thrilled to learn all about his life and how he lives yearning to grasp her adventure she knows is now just around the corner. Her adventure though not what she expected was a rush and caused trouble but she finally got what she’d dreamt of.

This was really good, probably my favourite Kit book so far. It was interesting reading her adventure and learning the life that poor homeless people lived back in the 30’s.
Profile Image for Tracy.
76 reviews2 followers
February 1, 2019
In the continuing story about Kit Kittredge, a 9 yr old girl living in Cinncinnati during the Great Depression, we find her during the warm summer months. She is busily picking vegetables from the garden, complaining how boring it was, when a 16 year old boy arrived at their garden. Will teaches Kit and Sterling about the life of a hobo while helping them in the garden. Thinking that Will was lucky for being able to come and go as he pleased, Kit decides to go to the hobo camp with some vegetables for the hobo stew. Things dont go as Kit planned.
I enjoyed this book. I think anyone who had begun this series would enjoy it as well.
Profile Image for Katie Young.
429 reviews14 followers
December 29, 2020
As much as I love Kit, this is one of my least favorite AG books. Granted it's important to cover the itinerant workforce and extreme poverty that are so vital to the Depression, and yes, Kit has the curiosity and wrecklessness to want to hop a train. However, I don't think that she and Stirling would have been allowed to go to the jungle alone, and I'm sure any adult would have put a stop to that. Then we wouldn't have had the far fetched jailbreak and the farther fetched journey crawling across the railroad bridge. Again, I can appreciate the educational value and how these are risky things Kit would totally do, but I still think #ValerieBeTrippin'

TL:DR

Dear AG,

The answer to the question, "how do we get Kit to ride the rails?" is, please don't!

Love and Kisses,
Katie
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sesana.
5,703 reviews337 followers
October 19, 2022
This book didn't really work for me. The trauma tourism aspect of going to gawk at the hobo jungle is bad enough, but the rest of the story is wildly unrealistic. Kit behaves in an incredibly reckless, foolish, and dangerous way in this book, and experiences no real consequences for it. Sure, she gets arrested and spends a little time in jail, but she also escapes jail. As far as I can see, she's not in any trouble at all for hopping on a train and dragging Stirling along with her. Her escape across the railroad bridge is very exciting, but it's also very unrealistic. The Ohio is kind of scary to cross on the modern Roebling Bridge, much less walking across a train trestle in the dark!
Profile Image for Laura Edwards.
1,107 reviews9 followers
February 26, 2022
I was eagerly awaiting the installment with Will the hobo. He's one of my favorite secondary characters. After their adventure, when Kit and Stirling are discussing what happened with their parents and Aunt Millie, I like that the grownups say how disappointed they are in the choices the kids made. Too often the girls in these books make poor choices and then save the day (like Kit does here) and the grownups either brush it off or celebrate what they've done. Nice to see some consequences for once. Makes me feel as if they might have been grounded or something later on.
Profile Image for Rubi.
2,377 reviews7 followers
September 28, 2022
Will finally shows up! I was worried he was a character made up for the movie haha
Through him, Kit learns about the lives of the homeless (aka Hobos) and the signs they use to help each other. This leads to her wanting to experience some of that life, but Kit's thirst for adventure leads to trouble for her and her friends.
Thanks to Sterlings quick thinking, Kit is able to get help, but Will decided to move on after the incident. Although he left, what he taught her stays with her and her Compassion for the Hobos grows.
Profile Image for Mary T.
1,719 reviews14 followers
March 15, 2022
I liked this one even though it was unrealistic. The "...Saves the Day" books were always my favorite in the series. My 8yo son liked this one the best because it was kind of exciting, but we had a hard time visualizing the catwalk of the bridge (which was probably one of the illustrations in the physical copy).
Profile Image for Violette Bray.
29 reviews
March 11, 2023
I love that this book talked about homelessness, and how compassionate Kit was towards Will and the others that were struggling to make ends meet—just like her own family. It honestly made me really emotional to see how these issues are still so relevant, almost 100 years later. The ending was so sweet, and I really resonated with Kit’s desire to help others and one day make a difference!
Profile Image for Jamie (TheRebelliousReader).
4,891 reviews30 followers
April 20, 2024
4.5 stars. This one was a wild ride. Kit gets into some serious trouble here but I think she also learned a good lesson. She meets Will, a hobo, and is immediately fascinated with his lifestyle but then she soon finds out that it's not as wonderful as she thought. I really liked this one and it just might be my favorite in the series thus far.
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