BY BOB STRAUSS >Film Critic

The highly successful American Girl doll line has generated TV movies and a very elaborate store at The Grove and other locations across the country.

But it hasn't had a feature film until now. And wouldn't you know, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" (June 20) has got the biggest kid star of the moment, Little Miss Sunshine herself, in the lead.

Good thing she was a fan.

"I love the dolls," 12-year-old Abigail Breslin says. "I have all of them! They're all from, like, a different time period. I like all of them, really."

Kit's a plucky 1930s teen who has to solve a mystery and save the family home in the movie.

"Kit's from the Great Depression," Breslin notes. "Her dad loses his job and goes to Chicago to find work. My family doesn't have enough money to pay for the house and everything, so we take in boarders and a lot of stuff happens."

Sounds, um, kind of grim. Shouldn't this be a fun summer movie for girls?

"One of the boarders is a magician, so there's magic in the movie," Breslin explains. "It's sort of about how you can still have fun in bad times."

Since her Oscar-nominated "Little Miss" performance two years ago, Breslin has been in high demand for movie and TV work (she's already had two other films, "Definitely, Maybe" and "Nim's Island," open this year, and is currently working on the drama "My Sister's Keeper"). No bad times in this American girl's career, obviously.

"I can't have a career until after college!" Breslin quickly corrects.

Um, OK. Then what do you call all this work you're doing?

"It's just fun."

>Bob Strauss