You would have thought 5-year-old Julia Den Bleyker was going to Disney World.
Kit, of the wildly popular American Girl series of dolls and books, makes her movie debut Wednesday in
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Five-year-old Julia Den Bleyker, right, plays a memory game with her mom, Kate Den Bleyker, and her do
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At their first meeting, Christina Schnee, left, and Macie Cummings, right, wasted no time bonding in p
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Abigail Breslin is shown in a
scene from "Kit Kittredge: An
American Girl," which will hit
theaters
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"I'm going to New York in August," she beamed, waiting with her Kit doll for the American Girl club meeting at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Saturday.
Julia and her mother, Kate Den Bleyker, will take the ultimate mother-daughter adventure to American Girl Place on Fifth Avenue.
But this week, they'll have an American Girl experience close to home.
"Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" hits theaters Wednesday.
From the time they first saw promotions for the movie, countless preteen girls and their moms marked the date.
These girls already know Kit well. The tweens have spent countless hours at play with Kit and similar fictional peers. They know all about their lives and times.
Kit is one of nine highly favored historical character dolls produced by American Girl. Five of these characters have "best friends" for a total of 14 dolls.
Each 18-inch doll represents a fictional girl living in a different period of American history, ranging from Kaya, a Nez Percé girl of 1764, to Julie, who represents the '70s. Kit's adventures are set in 1934, during the Great Depression.
Not just another baby doll, these imaginary friends are preteens with varied ethnicity, personalities and circumstances, who also come to life through a book series.
Three television movies have been released since 2004, telling the stories of American Girl's early-20th-century Samantha, American Revolution-era Felicity and Molly, whose adventures are set in the World War II years.
Wednesday, Kit becomes the first to greet her fans from the big screen.
Kit, played by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, 12, of "Little Miss Sunshine" fame, is a clever, resourceful girl who sets out to become a reporter for her hometown paper in Cincinnati.
She must use her investigative skills to solve a crime in an attempt to save the family's home from foreclosure. A natural leader, Kit recruits friends Ruthie (Madison Davenport) and Sterling (Zach Mills) to help. Her adopted stray basset hound, Grace, tags along, too.
Breslin's grandparents, Lynn and Catherine Blecker live in Lancaster Township.
"She got a real kick out of doing this movie," Catherine Blecker said.
It's no wonder. Her granddaughter was already an American Girl fan, she said.
"She just enjoys living. ... She's real comfortable in herself."
The spittin' image of any American Girl, as each character's adventures are designed to celebrate self-confident, vibrant girlhood.
Moms are soldChristina Schnee, 8, of East Hempfield Township, got her Kit doll for Christmas.
"She received Kit in 2003 from her grandmother, my mother, who was born in 1924 and related to the Kit years of growing up during the depression," said her mother, Merle Peduto. Also, Christina resembles the doll, she said.
Kit, and other American Girls top $100 with starter accessories, and are only available through the company's catalog, Web site or one of just five American Girl stores around the country.
It's a good investment, say many moms.
"They both really play with them all the time," said Lisa May, of Manor Township, of her daughters, Michaela, 10, and Carli, 5. "So I'd rather invest the money in that than a video game or something like that."
"Out of everything I've ever bought my daughter, the American Girl dolls are by far the most played with," said Amanda Cummings, of Millersville. "They are well worth the 100 and some dollars."
Her daughter, Macie, 9, has seven American Girl dolls, including Kit and Kit's friend, Ruthie.
"I like that you can play with them and stuff and do their hair and dress them up," Macie said. Of Kit, she added, "I like the way she dresses and I like her hair."
Christina agrees. Both girls also like learning about the time periods by reading the books, they said.
"I like when [Kit] types the newspapers and gives them to her dad, that's really cool," Macie said.
In one of Kit's six books, she gives up her room so her family can take in a boarder in order to keep their home.
"I think that's sort of cool that she moved into the attic so someone else could stay," Christina said. "I thought that was nice, and sweet."
More than a few moms think the whole American Girl experience is sweet — a rare thing these days, they say.
"You look at a lot of the dolls out there, and I hate to say it but they're a little trashy," said Cummings. "These bring it back to being a little girl."
Said May, "I like anything that teaches girls they can be strong and independent."
So does Den Bleyker, who is a psychologist. As she reads the books to Julia, she said, she points out that the characters must overcome challenges, just like real-life girls.
"I want to introduce [my children] to the right things, and in a real way," she said.
May, who is an English teacher at Penn Manor High School, said, "I like the fact that you cannot get a doll without a book. ... It's not just an object, they all have a story."
The books, however, can be obtained without a doll. They are available in bookstores, in addition to the American Girl Web site and catalogue.
They're also popular at libraries.
The nearly complete collection of American Girl historical character books at Adamstown library, "Are out all the time," said Sharon Heaney, lead circulation director.
The library has held American Girl events about twice each year for the past five years.
The 20 slots for its American Girl Patriotic Party to be held Tuesday filled up quickly. The party will feature American Girl Molly, of the 1940s.
Besides the historical character books, American Girl publishes a host of popular "how-to", activity, and self-care titles for 8- to 12-year-olds.
And booksellers recognize the American Girl phenomenon.
Barnes & Noble, at Red Rose Commons, hosts an American Girl Club at 10 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month with a particular historical doll as the theme.
Saturday's gathering celebrated Kit, of course.
Girls brought their favorite American Girl dolls and their moms to the store to solve a mystery using Kit-like reporting skills, make memory boxes, and play a game with movie scenes.
Borders in Lancaster will also hold an American Girl Celebration with activities at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The American Girl craze includes a line of "Just Like Me" dolls, a modern-day "Girl of the Year" doll series, and the "Bitty Baby" line for girls as young as 3.
And of course, clothing and accessories for the dolls and their owners.
Hands-on House hosts an American Girl fashion show each November.
"One of the things that attracted Hands-on House to American Girl is the fiction," said Lynne Morrison, executive director of the children's museum. "... It's very historically accurate and well done. Our fashion show helps to show girls what clothes were like in [each doll's] time period."
As for Macie and Kit, they are ready for their outing to the movie with matching Kit Kittredge T-shirts.
Peduto says Christina can't wait. "The commercial came on TV for the first time about a month ago and we both turned and looked at each other and a big smile came on her face."
The Kit movie opens Wednesday at Regal Manor Stadium 16, Lancaster, and Penn Cinema, Lititz.
Jeannette Scott is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact her at jscott@lnpnews.com or at 291-8689.
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