When her father's business closes because of the Great Depression forcing Kit to make changes in her life, the nine-year-old responds with resourcefulness.

Tired of doing chores and longing for adventure during the Great Depression, Kit meets a hobo and decides to hop a freight train.

In 1934, during the Depression, Kit's cantankerous uncle comes to live in the Cincinnati boardinghouse run by her parents, enlisting her aid in transcribing his complaining letters to the editor of the local newspaper and inspiring her to write a different kind of letter of her own.

It is 1934, and the Great Depression has found the Kittredges. First, Kit's father loses his job, then the family is forced to take in boarders to make ends meet.

"Turning Things Around, the second volume of Kit's classic stories, tells how Kit uses her talents to tackle the challenges brought by the Great Depression"--

When Kit's family has to take in boarders, it seems as if they may be able to keep their house although her father lost his business, but the changes put a strain on Kit's friendship with Ruthie, especially as Kit spends her days helping cranky Uncle Hendrick.