Whenever my teenage daughter tells people that she celebrated her seventh birthday with a Depression-themed party she gets a reaction. Not “depression,” she quickly clarifies. “The Depression.” That usually doesn’t help — and more explanation is needed.
Admittedly, it sounds weird. But Liza had a long and deep relationship with the Great Depression because she dearly loved Kit Kittredge, her American Girl doll. I had resisted the American Girl doll fad for a long time, mostly because they seemed extravagant, somewhat cultish, and until then, Liza had not expressed a huge interest in dolls. But she was persistent, and I began to waver.
One June evening as she drifted off to sleep upstairs, I whispered into the phone with a woman who answered my call to the American Girl 800 number. Unschooled, I wanted to know what my options were and she helpfully filled me in. After asking for some details about Liza, who was about to turn six, she recommended Kit Kittredge, a resourceful girl who “grew up” during the Depression. Kit's signature quality was her ability to “weather hard times with grit and gratitude,” which seemed like a reasonable lesson. So I rationalized the cost of Kit Kittredge as an educational one for Liza’s birthday gift that year — a doll and a history lesson wrapped up in one — and have never regretted it.
