Molly. 1844.
Meet Molly McIntire!
Molly McIntire is an imaginative girl with star-spangled spirit. Growing up during World War Two, she is ready to do her part to help on the home front.
James McIntire
Molly’s father is serving as a doctor during the war, helping treat wounded soldiers in England. Molly misses him very much and is overjoyed when he returns at the end of the war.
Helen McIntire
Molly’s mother keeps the family together and cheerful during the war while also working with the Red Cross. She tries to keep the peace between Molly and her siblings.
Jill McIntire
Molly’s older sister, Jill, is fourteen and very patriotic. She likes to act grown up and often loses patience with Molly, but she helps Molly with a big Christmas surprise.
Ricky McIntire
Molly’s older brother is twelve. Ricky and Molly often tease or fight with one another. Ricky has a crush on Jill’s best friend, Dolores.
Brad McIntire
Molly’s younger brother, Brad, is five. He loves toy airplanes.
Gladys Gilford
The McIntires’ housekeeper rules the house when Mrs. McIntire isn’t home. She can be stern but works hard to keep the McIntire clan fed and comfortable.
Emily Bennett
Molly’s English friend who comes to live with the McIntires' as it isn’t safe for her to remain in England. At first, she’s quiet and nervous, but she and Molly become close friends.
Susan Shapiro
Molly’s best friend, a dreamer who sometimes argues with Molly but always has her back.
Linda Rinaldi
Molly’s best friend who is practical but loves to create a scheme—even when it means tossing Ricky’s dirty laundry out of a window!
Charlotte Campbell
Molly’s teacher, who Molly admires very much. Miss Campbell is kind and encouraging, and Molly is always trying to find ways to impress her.
Author Valerie Tripp
Valerie Tripp says that she became a writer because of the kind of person she is. She says she’s curious, and writing requires you to be interested in everything. Some of the details in Kit’s books are based on real things that happened to Ms. Tripp’s mother and grandparents during the Great Depression. Ms. Tripp says talking is her favorite sport, and writing is a way of talking on paper! She’s a daydreamer, which helps her come up with her ideas. And she loves words. She even loves the struggle to come up with just the right words as she writes and rewrites. Ms. Tripp lives in Maryland with her husband.
Illustrator Nick Backes
Nick Backes watched movies from the 1940s and looked at catalogues of clothes, furniture, and appliances to get to know Molly’s world. A commercial artist as well as an illustrator, Mr. Backes lived in Oklahoma City for many years. He passed away in 2013.
Molly goes to the movies every Saturday afternoon. In 1944, movies cost ten cents, and Molly could stay all day to watch newsreels and feature films.
Molly’s hometown of Jefferson, Illinois, is a fictional Midwestern town.
The variety show where Molly dances as Miss Victory is based on real variety shows that took place in small towns across the US to raise money during the war.
Molly wears a locket every day because it has a picture of her dad, who is off serving in World War Two, in it.
Mrs. Gilford makes Boston Brown Bread, which was baked in a coffee can with no sugar or butter. Today in New England, you can buy it premade in a can!
At first when Emily, a British girl, comes to stay with the McIntires’, Molly finds her too quiet and reserved. After Molly realizes Emily is homesick, the girls become good friends.
Children donated their metal and rubber toys to the war effort, as they could be melted down and used to make tires, vehicle and airplane parts, and life rafts.
The radio was important during the war years, bringing war news and fireside chats from President Roosevelt to homes everywhere.
Most male professional baseball players had to go to war, so women began playing professionally. Women stole more bases in a game than in most men’s games!
During the war, victory gardens were a popular way to grow food at home to add to rations, and Americans planted them wherever they had the space.
The 1940s were the first time it was socially acceptable for women to wear pants, when women began wearing them to work in factories and, later, as everyday clothing.
Stretching from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, Route 66 was one of the country’s major highways during Molly’s time.
