Kirsten's Short Story Collection

American Girl: Short Stories

by Janet Beeler Shaw

Five short stories starring pioneer girl Kirsten are followed by brief actual accounts of what frontier life was like.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Short Stories, Historical, Fiction, Juvenile, Middle Grade

214 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2006

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous collection of the short stories from the Kirsten series. It has full-color illustrations throughout and sections that provide additional historical context and corresponding activities. Highly recommended!

Kirsten on the Trail - ★★★☆☆

"[Peter] added in an excited whisper, 'Who is that Indian girl? What did she give you?' "

Kirsten is so excited that her friend, Singing Bird, has returned from her family's wintering grounds. But then her little brother accidently reveals their friendship to Mama and Kirsten gets into a lot of trouble. How can Kirsten convince her Mama that their Sioux neighbors aren't to be feared? This one was a bit of a miss for me. I see what the author was doing - trying to show the fears of pioneers and how they overcame prejudices...but it was a bit ham-handed and Singing Bird's character felt rather flat to me.

Kirsten and the New Girl - ★★★★☆

"But I'm not really new anymore," Kirsten said, "We've lived in Minnesota for a whole year."
"Oh, we weren't talking about you," Lizbeth corrected her.

Kirsten burns with embarrassment when she realized that the pretty and smart and sweet new girl that her cousins were gushing over...wasn't her. Kirsten's no longer "new" and can't help but feel jealous over all the attention that the newest "new girl" gets. How can she overcome her jealousy? This one was really good at portraying that childhood fear of embarrassment and irrational jealousy. I was so impressed by the amount of character development that occurred over this short story.

Kirsten Snowbound - ★★★★★

"But this is spring snow, she thought. Surely it will melt as quickly as it falls."

Mama, Aunt Inger and her brother, Lars, have headed to town to get food for the family after a long and hard winter. But then the snow starts falling and just doesn't stop. How can four children and a baby survive in a snowed-in cabin? This was one of the very best of the short stories - honestly, I feel like it deserved to be a full length novel considering how amazing the writing and action was!

Kirsten and the Chippewa - ★★★★☆

"With that, the Indians laughed even harder. The young warrior laughed with the others, but his eyes narrowed."

Kirsten's family has gotten used to having Indian neighbors (though her mother is still a bit nervous) and they begin to trade (prairie chickens for pies) with a traveling group of Chippewa. Kirsten offends the youngest warrior but learns an important lesson about the complexity of humanity. This one was pretty good - I liked all of the information provided about the tribe in the back (including the explanation for why Kirsten called them Chippewa rather than their proper name (Ojibwa)) but there were a few iffy moments that could have been smoothed out.

Kirsten's Promise - ★★★★★

"I'm always as good as my word. How about you, Kirsten?"

Kirsten meets a very young boy and his dog alone by a broken wagon. He makes her promise not to tell anyone about him but there's something off about the situation and she feels conflicted. She wants to keep her word...but also some secrets aren't meant to stay hidden. Whew. This one really got to me. A lot of emotion packed into such a short story. The author did an amazing job.

A Final Note:

I was rather torn on whether to buy the individual short stories or purchase the collection version, but ultimately went with the collection of short stories because it was easier for me to obtain all of the books and it would look neater on my shelves.

And for the most part, these do match really well with the individual books for the short stories - they both have full color illustrations and the Peek Into the Past sections.

However, the one disappointing factor is that the collection books are missing the fun 'extras'. Below are the crafts that are present in the individual books but not in this collection:

Kirsten on the Trail - instructions for how to make a charm bag
Kirsten and the New Girl - a recipe for Birds' Nest Pudding (an apple-y dish)
Kirsten Snowbound - a set of activities you can do if snowed in (i.e. shadow puppets or Hop, Step, Jump game)
Kirsten and the Chippewa - instructions for making a friendship pillow
Kirsten's Promise - instructions for making a flower crown

More reviews in the Kirsten-verse

Main Series:
Meet Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Learns a Lesson - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Surprise - ★★★★★
Happy Birthday, Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Saves the Day - ★★★★☆
Changes for Kirsten - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Short Stories:
Kirsten on the Trail - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten and the New Girl - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Snowbound - ★★★★★
Kirsten and the Chippewa - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Promise - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Mystery Book:
The Runaway Friend - ★★★★★

Kirsten's Historical and Activity Books:
Kirsten's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Welcome to Kirsten's World · 1854 - ★★★★★

Additional Historical and Activity Books Featuring Kirsten:
American Girl Cross-stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Cookbook - ★★★★★
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook - ★☆☆☆☆
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From American Girl - ★★★☆☆
Minute Mysteries - ★★★★☆
Minute Mysteries 2 - ★★★★☆
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆

Additional Picture Reader Books
Happy Birthday! - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! - ★★★★★
My First American Girl Boxed Set - ★★★★☆
Time for School! - ★★★★☆

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really such a shame these short story collections were available for such a relatively short time, because this is just a lovely edition. The size and shape are just so satisfying to hold in your hand, the illustrations are lovely, there's even a little ribbon bookmark. Just, A+ production. Notes on the stories are linked below:

Kirsten on the Trail
Kirsten and the New Girl
Kirsten's Promise
Kirsten and the Chippewa
Kirsten Snowbound


More Kirsten babble

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

The Runaway Friend

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book credits Valerie Tripp on the title page, but the about-the-author section features Janet Shaw, who wrote the majority of the stories. The person who previously owned my used copy covered up Valerie Tripp's name with a sticker from their label maker, where they had printed out 'Janet Shaw' in exactly the right font to match the rest of the title page. I feel that perfectionism in the depths of my soul.

As for the book itself, it's not my favorite of the American Girl short story collections. Some of the stories are very grim, and even though that reflects the realities of pioneer life in the 1850s, I think that I blocked out my memories of one of them, because I remembered NOTHING about it, and it was pretty disturbing. The last story, which is about a blizzard, is also frightening, and even though it ends happily for the characters, the historical note includes traumatic details from real life.

The other three stories are much gentler in nature, and all five of them are very educational, teaching children about the realities of pioneer life in Minnesota. I also admire how well the author(s) weave in different details about American Indians, showing the prejudices, tensions, and cultural barriers that existed at that time. Some of the historical notes also include additional information about specific tribes.

[Bulk Reviews]

Two of Kirsten's short stories never made it out of AG magazines, but I think they're just as worthy of being reviewed, so I shall do so here.

Kirsten's New Teacher: 3/5
This is a simple story that serves to develop Lisbeth more. During the winter when the kids can't make it to school, Miss Winston assigns Lisbeth the task of educating the younger ones at home. Lisbeth takes her job extremely seriously, to the point where she becomes bossy and no fun - she doesn't even want to take part in their "Fourth of January" parade. Kirsten and Lisbeth bicker. Lisbeth lightens up when Kirsten throws the parade and it ends up being funny. Very slice of life. Cool to get more insight on Lisbeth, I guess.

Kirsten and the Thief: 4/5
This story is all about giving when it's something you really don't want to give. Kirsten has to rush back home for the delicious gourmet ham her mother forgot, but encounters a thief when she arrives. The thief is described as a "very young" woman with a baby, and, you guessed it, Kirsten ends up giving her the ham. Unlike similar stories (Little Women's Christmas breakfast, Addy's Christmas gift money) Kirsten isn't necessarily rewarded externally for her kindness. She simply feels satisfied because she did a good deed.

"No, I don't think I'd call her nice. Anyway, I didn't give her food because she was nice. I gave her food because she was hungry."

I read this story for the first time four years ago and still remembered that quote. Powerful.

[Betty Strohecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Girl does a wonderful job of introducing girls age 8-12 to historical fiction. This collection tells the story of Kirsten Larson who immigrates with her family to America from Sweden in 1854. The struggles, hardships, and rewards are related as the story follows the family's arrival in New York to their settlement in Minnesota. It is filled with historical detail about the setting and challenges faced during this time period, as well as relating amusing and heartfelt lessons Kirsten learns along the way.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this collection of Kirsten short stories.

[Kristen Luppino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet little collection of short stories about my favorite American Girl!

[nanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about her life, i enjoined reading about it & seeing how they lived. The history was very interesting.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love having the entire collection in 1 book 😃
My reviews for the 5 stories are on each story's own listing 😊

[Cassy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually my first time ever reading these stories. I think when they were originally coming out, I had already reached the age where I felt a little too old for them. It is funny how life comes full circle, because here I am in my 30s finally reading these short stories for the first time, and somehow they still managed to bring back that nostalgic feeling.
The only thing I wish had been different was a clearer timeline for when these stories are supposed to take place. I found myself wondering if they happen after the original six books, because the new house introduced in the sixth book was barely mentioned throughout these stories. I kept looking for little details to help place them in the timeline.
Overall, though, they were cute and comforting reads. Even reading them for the first time as an adult, they still captured some of the warmth and charm that made these stories so beloved in the first place.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of these stories take place after Changes for Kirsten. It was nice to see Singing Bird again in a story and I really liked the fact that they kept the "Looking Back" section at the end of each story.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of stories that gives insight into the era Kirsten lived in.

[Sarah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

let's add to the kirsten canon! what a sweet book of short stories about my favorite prairie girl. :) i especially loved the one where she was recovering from being sick and had to deal with the new girl. right there with you, kirsten! <3

[Amanda Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best parts of this little set is the inclusion of all the looking back sections! I dearly miss them in my Story Collections.

I was disappointed in the crediting of authors - Shaw wrote a few, Tripp wrote a few - but Tripp is credited on the title page and Shaw is given an author profile. It makes little sense.

Overall, each story is a nice addition to Kirsten's collection. One of the merits to this set is the strength of the character. Because Shaw wrote Kirsten's original stories - she flows seamlessly into these short stories. Tripp is a superb author overall and grasps Kirsten's character in her work.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

On re-read, I still didn't love this collection. The blizzard story is at least good, though it's one of two stories that I immediately realized had likely been heavily inspired by the Little House series.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the stories together in a very nicely bound book. Even has a ribbon bookmark! I am sad that the crafts aren't included, but at least Looking Back for every story is.