Kit's Surprise: A Christmas Story

American Girl: Kit #3

by Valerie Tripp, Walter Rane (Illustrator)

It's just before Christmas when Kit overhears the terrible news that her family may lose their house. Kit wants to earn money to help out, but she gets stuck taking care of cranky Uncle Hendrick and his nasty dog Inky instead. Kit and her best friend have had a fight, so she has no one to turn to. Can she still find a way to make the holidays bright?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Christmas, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Holiday

73 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruthie Smithens is an icon and I love her

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Dolls of Our Lives podcast.

This is the (simplified) anatomy of a Kit book: (1) Kit is grumpy about some new indignity brought on by the Depression (here it's a dress with a let-down hem and Ruthie paying for her movie ticket). (2) She perseveres, works hard, and finds a few new ideas (dealing with Uncle Hendrick, finding ways to earn a little money, writing Ruthie's story). By the end, (3) she's helped to come up with solutions that make things a little brighter.

Kit: Wishes and sacrifices and putting in the work.

But it turns out the biggest blow this time - much bigger than rickrack, and to Kit maybe even bigger than the specter of eviction - is her huge fight with Ruthie. Well-meaning Ruthie thinks she is already in stage three of the plot, as described above, when they're barely at the half-way mark. She's so pleased to have solved the problems as she understands them. Kit, tired and hungry on top of her anxieties about accepting help she can't return, throws it all back in her face. Every fault line between them is under pressure - needing vs. having, reality vs. fantasy, even a crowded house vs. a quiet one. It has all the potential to be a real friendship-ender.

I love Kit's scene with Mother after the fight - the perfect maternal pick-me-up. Their interactions before this are largely about chores and responsibilities, and the mismatch of the pink frilly room in Meet suggests that mother and daughter don't always communicate very well. But here, Mother sees exactly the problem and though she can't fix it for Kit, she says all the right things.

Uncle Hendrick is so perfectly Scrooge-y, Tripp hangs a lampshade on it and has Kit make the connection, too. I'm glad he was introduced back in Meet Kit so it doesn't feel like he was invented just to be the Scrooge in Kit's Christmas story. The silver lining is that he doesn't care who does his odd jobs, so when Kit does them, she gets paid. (She deserves to get paid as a junior home health aide too, but Uncle Hendrick would never go for that.)

(Also, what exactly is wrong with Uncle Hendrick? Mother says he's sick, and he seems to be in a wheelchair. Is he only in the chair while he's recovering?)

Actually, there's another silver lining to Uncle Hendrick, and that's the quiet time Kit uses for writing. The scene where she starts her fairy tale for Ruthie absolutely sings. You can feel Tripp remembering her own beginnings as a writer and Kit's joy just leaps off the page - in just the way that Molly's love of tap dancing, for example, doesn't.

You want another example of Valerie Tripp's mastery of her craft - another example of why this is her best AG series? By the end of the book, Kit and her parents are still worried about getting evicted, and yet the end is completely triumphant. Actual sleigh bells wake Kit on Christmas morning, signaling her rescue from Uncle Hendrick's house of drear and (trumpet fanfare) the rebirth of her friendship with Ruthie. She gives Mother the money she saved to pay the electric bill, impressing everyone and allowing for the Christmas tree lights she was so looking forward to. Kit and Ruthie exchange the perfect presents, and even the Boxing Day downtown plans (modified) are back on.

It's right up there with Addy's Surprise: everything may be pretty awful, but Christmas is magic.


More Kit babble

Meet Kit | Kit Learns a Lesson | Kit’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Kit | Kit Saves the Day | Changes for Kit

Really, Truly Ruthie

Kit’s Home Run | Kit’s Tree House | Kit’s Short Story Collection

Danger at the Zoo | Midnight in Lonesome Hollow | A Thief at the Theater | Missing Grace | Intruders at Rivermead Manor | The Jazzman’s Trumpet | Menace at Mammoth Cave

[Allison Tebo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars of pure nostalgia.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's nothing wrong with make-believe."
"Maybe not," said Kit. "But imaginary stuff doesn't solve any problems or help anything."

As temperatures plummet and Christmas approaches, there's only one thing on Kit's mind: money. No matter how she looks at it, there just isn't enough.

"I'm sorry, Kit. ... It's not fair for a child to have to worry about such things."

Uncle Hendrick, a horribly grouchy and mean-spirited relative, is demanding that Kit visit him each day while he's feeling ill.

As much as Kit hates the idea of spending time with such a sour man (and doubly so for his unfriendly dog), she knows how desperate her family is.

"I'll do it," said Kit. This was her chance to help.

Meanwhile, Kit's friendship with Ruthie is being strained for the first time. Ruthie keeps trying to help - offering to buy this or that - but she doesn't realize just how much all this "help" is affecting Kit. Until Kit explodes.

"I do hate it," said Kit. "But at least it's my own. I'd be embarrassed to wear your dress. And it's the same with the tickets and the tea. It would make my mother and me feel like sponges."

With her friendship on the fritz, her free time being taken up by Uncle Hendrick, and the very real possibility of their house being repossessed by the bank...how will Kit's family survive?

Whew. I know I keep saying this but GOSH DANG I'm impressed by Kit's story. The author was working overtime and it shows.

In this one we have the classic 'help the rich elderly relative' trope - only it didn't go at all the way I expected.

And we have the 'friendship breakup' arc - and that didn't go the way I expected as well.

AND there's the 'the situation is more dire than anyone could have expected' plot point - and it ended up turning left field for me as well.

In short, I went into this book figuring I'd know how the story would go based on the various set-ups by the author - only to be turned around again and again.

Fantastic writing, excellent story direction, and perfect character development. Couldn't have asked for more.

[Charlotte🫶 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was beginning to think the AG books couldn’t be enjoyed by older me until I reread this one! I enjoyed it just as much as I used to and felt like it was more put together. I love Ruthie and Kit’s characters and totally relate to both of them!

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of these kit books are getting five stars so far, i love them so much and i see no reason not to

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one! I love Kit's determination to help her family and how resourceful she is.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my 5 and 10 year olds. I love Kit’s willingness to make personal sacrifices to help her family during hard times. Such a good example to the young girls reading this story. V is sufficiently hooked and will continue reading this series on her own! Mission accomplished!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great entry in the Kit series. It has a totally satisfying story arc while also continuing the overall plot of the series, and in addition to exploring Kit's determination to help her family, it also revolves around a significant conflict with her best friend, Ruthie, who is still financially privileged and does not understand Kit's situation.

This book convincingly portrays the conflict between their clashing personalities and situations without painting either girl as completely at fault, and provides a great example of how people who care about each other can work through their differences. I found this more touching as an adult, since I've had to deal with far more friendship conflict now than since when I first read the series, and I also enjoyed Kit's foray into writing fiction as a way to escape for a brief period of time and ultimately repair her relationship with Ruthie.

I really appreciate the authentic, believable conflict and character arc, and am incredibly impressed with how well each element of this book ties together. It's fantastic, and the historical note also provides great background, showing how families in different levels of economic privilege or deprivation experienced their Christmas holidays and tried to keep traditions alive.

[Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is genuinely a very good and heartwarming book, kit being saved from the scrooge of the story (aka uncle hendrick) by ruthie and her dad on christmas morning was very cute, and ruthie and kit's fight felt like it made sense and wasn't over something small and trivial. ruthie not understanding why kit couldn't just take the nice present against kit's pride and embarrassment over her family not being able to pay for themselves in the first place was well written. will definitely be revisiting this one come christmas!

[Olde American Spirit (Shannon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It is never too late to repair a friendship.” 📚☕

In book three, Kit is surprised by many things. It’s sad that she has to grow up so quickly in the midst of their hardship but boy is she tenacious. LOVED that and her work ethic.

Squeaky clean and wholesome.






Stay tuned for more in-depth monthly book reviews on my cozy YT channel. 💙☕📚

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously it's the great depression right. so like. any gift is a great luxury. im not going to claim the mom is problematic or anything. but also why would kit want a pin of a scotty dog to remind her of a dipshit dog she's been taking care of all this time. like it just seems like a weird writing choice.

[Olivia]

{September 2026 Reread}

Kit irritated me in this one but also! She's a child! Living through the Great Depression! So, like. Perspective.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's christmas time, but kit's family still doesn't have any money. kit doesn't even have enough money for a new dress. she's outgrown her old winter dress, so her mom took out the hem & sewed rick rack across it to hide the stitch marks. ruthie offers to give kit last year's red holiday dress, which only make kit angry. she's upset enough that ruthie's dad is the banker who threatened her family with foreclosure. she doesn't want any favors or hand-outs from ruthie. when ruthie says she hopes they can all still have lunch together & see the ballet the day after christmas, kit thinks ruthie is being really insensitive to her family's money issues & storms off.

back home, kit learns that the family is behind on the electric bill, & if they don't pay it soon, their power will be cut off. mrs. kittredge is concerned that the boarders won't stay if there's no power, & without the rent the boarders pay, the kittrdges will fall behind on all their other bills, including their mortgage. she decides to approach her rich uncle again & ask for financial help. but he again refuses. he doesn't believe in giving anyone something for nothing. he thinks people need to earn their keep, & if they fall on hard times, it must be because they made mistakes somewhere along the way. but he isn't feeling well & asks if mrs. kittredge can send kit to help him with his cranky scotty dog, & to help run errands.

kit very grudgingly goes to help him. she doesn't like him, she doesn't like his dog, & his worst fear is that the kittredges will lose their home & have to move in to his drafty old gothic mansion. her uncle gives her a nickel for transportation on the streetcar, but kit decides to pocket it & walk home. her uncle asks her to come again the next day, & gives her another nickel. this gives kit an idea. her uncle is willing to give her streetcar fare every day that she comes to help him. but if she saves the nickels & walks, maybe she can surprise her parents with the money to pay the electric bill.

as she helps her uncle with his errands, she starts to notice other amenities that her uncle pays for, which kit could do instead. she starts shining her shoes & keeping the payment for herself. she bags his groceries. she picks up deliveries for him. the money is adding up, & kit is also learning that maybe her uncle's dog isn't the worst after all.

but there's a big ice storm on christmas eve & kit can't even walk to the streetcar stop, let alone all the way home. she keeps falling down on the ice. her uncle makes her stay, & kit has to call ruthie's family to pick her up the next day, because they still have a phone & her own family does not. this gives kit & ruthie a chance to patch up their friendship. back home, kit gives her mother the money she made doing chores for her uncle, & it's enough to pay the electric bill. ruthie surprises kit with the red holiday dress, & her mother offers to pay for lunch & the ballet the next day. kit also gets a doll in the likeness of amelia earhart (part of kit's fight with ruthie was that ruthie loves princesses & fairy tales, which kit is more practical & level-headed; to apologize, kit wrote a story about a princess named ruthie & had her talented boarder striling illustrate it). christmas is saved!

my only beef with these books is that i really don't get what the fuck the uncle's problem is. i can't tell if he's supposed to be a remotely sympathetic character or not. there's an element of kit learning a lesson, that you have to work for what you want, that no one gets a free ride, & that's not a bad lesson for kids. but i don't know if it's a very good lesson to draw from the great depression. many people lost EVERYTHING in the great depression through absolutely no fault of their own. they weren't living beyond their means, they weren't lazy, they just had the misfortune to keep their money in a bank that went under & this was before bank deposits were insured. my great-grandparents starved to death during the depression. not because they were too lazy to find food for themselves, but because they had no money to procure food & whatever food they managed to scare up, they shared among their thirteen children first. they starved to death, in the united states of america, in the 20th century.

in light of things like that, this uncle dude seems like a total asshole. like, if he was alive today, he'd probably be demanding to see barack obama's birth certificate & wanting to do away with the department of education. i bet he really hated FDR. i think it's kind of sick that he made a ten-year-old slave away for him all day everyday to pay her family's electric bill. i really don't think that kind of thing is the responsibility of children.

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kit's books. Her stories and the "waste not, want not" attitude remind me of my great grandmother's stories of growing up in the Great Depression. And, it's a bit humbling, isn't it? All Kit wants for Christmas is to pay the family's electric bill so that they can enjoy the lights on the Christmas tree... Sobering!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading Kit and Rebecca simultaneously… my daughter and I have been reading ALL the AG books this year. After Meet Rebecca, she did want to keep reading Rebecca because she didn’t like the first book. So we moved on to Kit together. I’ve continued reading Rebecca alone because I’d never read her books. Anyway, my point in sharing all of this is, after reading most of Rebecca’s books, I find Kit’s so refreshing. Kit thinks of others more than herself, she works hard to help her family. As far as AG girls go, she’s a good one. She’s a good role model for young girls reading these books. I like how Kit’s surprise was her gift to her parents, something she worked really hard to earn to help her family. What a sweet example she is.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent historical note at the end! It was so good I almost added a whole star for it! It definitely solidified it being no lower.

Kit annoys or frustrates me most of the time. There were a few good things and redeeming qualities to the story, but I wouldn't recommend or read it again.

Watch the movie! It's wonderful, and so far blows the books out of the water.
The historical notes are great, though!

[Nickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely had all the Christmas vibes (which sucks in summertime). Kit very much feels like a real kid who could’ve grown up during the Great Depression. But justice for Ruthie. Kit didn’t need to treat her like that when she was just trying her best. Uncle Hendrick being compared to Scrooge just made sense.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cried a lot. This is such a testimony to the joy of reading and writing, which brings Kit through some of her darkest days. However, I really hate the message that you should only tolerate your hard-to-tolerate family members as long as they are paying you.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruthie is honestly annoying in this one, but I like that it does show her point of view, even though she's more privileged than Kit.

[Kathleen Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for these two friends to butt heads, and it happened in the most endearing of ways.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

merry christmas, every one.

[•Kait• •Boers• · Rating 5 out of 5]

why am i getting misty eyed rn?

[Iwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha ha I really did just pick her and was like 🫵🙂 that's me now

[H.J. Swinford · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

We all need a friend like Ruthie. Also, I loved this part of Kit's arc where she realizes the value of fiction.

[Haylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

if kit has 100 fans im one of them if kit has 10 fans im one of them if kit has 0 fans im dead

[Taylor Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nostalgic to reread this one!

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit's Surprise, was an excellent story to share with my daughter. Like many families during the depression, Kit's family is struggling to get by. Christmas time as we all know is even more challenging on a families pocket book. Kit goes through the range of emotions that anyone would go through in her scuffed up old shoes and ill fitting dress: embarrassment, anger, pride, fear, and hope for better times. While my own family is not worried about losing our home or not having enough money to pay the electric bill many of the same situations that Kit experienced in the book have been true for our family during the past year since we have lost work due to the current economy. My daughter has had a hard time understanding why we can never go out to dinner at a restaurant or purchase a movie that she is wishing to buy. Thank goodness for the advent of Redbox and the public library! As a mother it has been hard to have to tell her "no, not this time" over just about anything and everything that is not essential to survive. Even though we have talked about finances and counting our blessings this story helped put our situation in a different light for her. Reading about Kit's family showed my daughter how truly blessed we really are.

[Luna]

I loved it

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Rereading the American Girl books in quarantine to feel something 3/7]
Uncle Hendrick after telling a 10 year old girl her parents are squandering peasants: broke people should never laugh!