Meet Kirsten: An American Girl

American Girl: Kirsten #1

by Janet Beeler Shaw, Renée Graef (Illustrator)

Nine-year-old Kirsten and her family experience many hardships as they travel from Sweden to the Minnesota frontier in 1854.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Chapter Books, Juvenile

59 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

'What's the very first thing you want to do in America?' Kirsten asked.
'I want to pick an apple,' Marta said dreamily.

Kirsten and her family spent the last two months aboard a ship heading to America - she's intimidated, excited and so very nervous.

"But now the wind howled like a pack of wolves. The waves beat against the ship's hull, next to Kirsten's head, and the ship tossed as though it might tip over."

Kirsten knows they have to keep going, no matter how scary things may be.

Her papa's brother (Uncle Olav) came to America six years ago and has a thriving farm. Kirsten's parents decided to join him after they began to struggle for food in their homeland of Sweden.

Luckily, she has her family, her ragdoll (Sari) and her best friend (Marta) to make the journey better. But even with all the family and friends, Kirsten still worries.

"Home -- that's a place where you're happy, a place where you belong. How can America ever be my home, she thought."

Kirsten tries to be brave, but everything seems to be going wrong, she gets lost in New York, her family has to make tough financial decisions and then...the worst thing happens. How will she ever feel at home here?

Okay. Excuse me as I dry my friggin tears.

A librarian friend warned me that the Kirsten books go hard and holy freaking sht.

This is the same company that sells dolls, right? The ones with all the fancy clothes and accessories?? Why did they have to rip my heart out and steamroll the pieces????

I still can't believe that they killed off Marta! I know cholera was a typical disease of that era but WOW, they did not shy away from the fact that even young children were dying left and right.

On the one hand, I'm impressed that they kept things so realistic but on the other hand, that was a very difficult scene for me. Especially when I think of how Marta's parents survived the two month journey by sea only to lose their daughter within days of arriving at America.

Oh gosh. I'm tearing up again.

Moving on: Other than the spoiler moment above, this book felt rather good for the start of a new series.

Most of the book focused on the rough journey that her family went through - ship, city, train, smaller ship, then by foot - and even those brief glimpses into the different setting and travel modes felt very realistic. It takes a lot of talent to convey so much information in such a short story!

Kirsten is likeable and relatable main character - I enjoyed watching her interact with the other characters and really felt for her.

Moving is rough on anybody, and moving from one country to another - not knowing the language, the customs or even how to ask for help, even moreso.

Overall, I'm really happy with the start of this series. I cannot wait to see where it goes next!

A Peek into the Past

Like all of the main and mini Kirsten Larson books, this one has a mini historical section at the back called a Peek into the Past.

In this Peek into the Past, we learn about life in America in 1854. Specifically, there's information about how immigrants traveled to America and why the chose to come. We see how they would pack for the trip and which things they prioritized for their journey (mementos, clothes, blankets, food, and tools).

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! - ★★★★☆

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been years since I've picked up any of the American girl books and I thought that it might be a fun idea to start from the beginning. CW: discrimination of immigrants, death of character

Meet Kirsten: An American Girl is the first in the long line of American Girl books that looks at the historical experiences of young girls. Kirsten's books focus on her experience immigrating from Sweden to the United States.

What Worked: I truly enjoyed learning more about the immigrant experience through Kirsten's perspective, from their experience on the boat to what they encountered once they made it to the United States. There were definitely aspects of this story that were more sad than I anticipated. While true to history, a part of me wasn't expecting the series to get so dark so quickly. The backmatter serves as additional support in sharing information related to the immigrant experience, particularly those who came from Sweden.

What Didn't Work: This wasn't the best writing and parts of it were quite boring. It's clear that the standard of children's literature has changed over time. There were parts of the story that I needed to reread because I frequently lost interest in the narrative. This doesn't deter me from reading anymore books from the series, but at least I know not to expect much as I continue my read through the next books.

Overall, this was a solid start to the series and I'm interested in seeing how it evolved over time.

[Shannara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was just a kid, many years ago. So I was worried that it wouldn’t be very good when I reread it, because sometimes things just don’t translate into adulthood. But I’m pleased to say I enjoyed revisiting this read immensely.

Kirsten is just too sweet and I felt transported back to my childhood! I love how her journey was made to be like that of real immigrants of the time. It wasn’t sugar coated and not everyone survived. Times were tough and Kirsten had to do a good bit of growing up in book one. It still ended on a good note and I’m eager to reread the rest of the series!!

I recommend this to elementary aged kids who like a good mix of history and adventure. I also recommend this to those who read it as a child. Go ahead, take a trip down memory lane, it’s fun!!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

For being targeted at girls b/w the ages of like 6-11, this book was surpsingly profound. I mean, (not to spoil anything for you, but...), her best friend dies of scarlet fever as they are on their way immigrating over from Sweden to America to make a better life for themselves. (A dingy long cabin in Minnesota if I recall...) And besides the sob factors, it also delves into a fair amount of cultural exposure. That's pretty heavy reading material for a kid... This is probably one of the most emotionally impactful books I can remember reading; especially as a child, but even now.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I wish I’d had more of the American Girl books when I was a kid; I’d have loved them. I’m a little too old now, I think. Except for Kirsten. I read my copy of that into shreds and still love it. With Swedish heritage and family myself, her story is close to my heart.

I like Kirsten! She has a good character, and I love her strong relationship with her family. They’re all lovely characters, even Peter, the youngest. I quite liked Marta, as well. Her storyline was one of the first like that which I read as a child and it still makes me cry.

This is just the beginning of Kirsten’s story, so for the most part the setting consists of ships and random stopping places. But it’s all well written. Uncle Olav’s farm is delightful, and I love the gorgeous illustrations. I also really appreciate the history bits! This is a great way to understand what the immigrants went through in the 1850s and why.

[Gabriella Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me scared i was going to get cholera and die as a child

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

American Girl has clearly never shied away from dark themes and topics, has it? If you were reading this as a kid, how did it not traumatize you?

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my daughters.

This is the first book in the American Girls Kirsten Series. This is also our first book in any American Girl series and our first book by this author.

We love reading books that take place during the 1800s time period. In this book, Kirsten's family immigrates from Sweden to America in 1854. They are travelling to Minnesota to join family members already settled there. Along the way, they experience some difficulties. The series continues with five more books.

We really enjoyed the book! When I told my daughters that there is an American Girl website and that there is an historical Kirsten doll, they were so excited! They went from not knowing who American Girl was to now having American Girl dolls, catalogs, and playing games on their website! Smart marketing! We are hooked on the American Girl historical books and dolls.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite American Girls, so far. The story was honest, hopeful, sad... It wasn't easy, awful things happened, but there was kindness, too. There's beauty, and promise of more ahead.

Good historical note!

[Olde American Spirit (Shannon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Oh, Mama, I wish we could wear such pretty dresses," Kirsten said.

"Our clothes are dry and clean, no need to be ashamed, Mama answered. "Besides, how could I milk a cow if I wore so many ruffles?"

Whew, chapter one has already got my nerves on edge. They finally make it to Minnesota after the dangerous voyage through the storm to America, Kirsten getting lost in New York, and the tragic boat ride.

Looking forward to Kirsten having brighter days ahead. Hopefully. Maybe?

✨📚☕💙☕📚✨More in-depth reviews on my Youtube Wrap Up videos.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave LL my Kirsten doll for Christmas so naturally, had to read the book together! Fun, nostalgic read for me 😍

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun reading this story again as it is one I few up reading and having read to me. Love the illustrations. Yes, it is rather below me, but it was still fun.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The American Girl books are so nostalgic to my childhood. I would fly through American Girl books as a little girl. I have such fond memories of bringing stacks of them home from our library to binge read. Rereading this was so sweet + cozy, and again, just so nostalgic🥹

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Kirsten: An American Girl should be a required story for any young lady to read.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. I'd recommend a little older than 6/7. My girls didn't want to continue after the death.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't stop won't stop

[Mattie Lippe]

yes, I'm rereading the american girl doll because, because i am feeling depressed and nostalgic.

[Sarah Opgenorth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mom had my old copies of several American Girl doll books at home. When I back to Virginia in October with the girls, they loved playing with our old dolls. I told Sibbie that Kirsten was my doll, and so we started with Meet Kirsten.

I forgot how tragic these books were?! Her best friend DIES in the first book, yikes. This is only the second time I’ve probably read it, and I really enjoyed getting reacquainted with the story. Love that they’re from Sweden. I’m all about that old timey Swedish aesthetic. And my dream came true of doing Sibbie’s hair in loop braids!

Looking forward to reading the rest of these books!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished rereading a bunch of my old childhood books. I blitzed through the first four Kirsten books (Meet Kirsten, Kirsten Learns a Lesson, Kirsten's Surprise, and Happy Birthday Kirsten). I have this thing about rereading books that I haven't read since I was 10 or younger... in one way, it's fantastic because you can relive those moments when you were first falling in love with characters or, in my case, historical fiction. However, rereading these books can also be really really disappointing because, as an adult, I realize how totally horrible the writing in the series is. Ugh. Seriously, Janet Beeler Shaw, your stories are ultra boring. No wonder Kirsten was discontinued by American Girl. Your books make her seem like a snoozeville character when in reality, being a Swedish immigrant with rad circular braids is super cool and exciting. My adult self gives this series two stars, but my inner child totally bumped it up to three starts.

[Erin Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the text itself, definitely a five. The illustrations likewise are phenomenal. (I want a print of page 39 to frame and hang on my wall forever.) I'm only taking a star off because the historical note at the end irked me greatly. The "nation of immigrants" narrative ignores the stories of many Native and Black Americans. As an adult I really really love this book, but if i was giving to a kid to read I'd make sure to also provide other narratives or conversation. Pleasant Company eventually did expanded the stories they were telling, to various levels of success....

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

{March 2025 Reread}

super depressing (and just not very good) actually??

[ten thousand bees]

KIRSTEN CLEARS EVERY SINGLE TIME BITCH!!! SHE IS THE GIRL!!! YES BITCH!!!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

*reading this series with Florence before Oscar wakes from his naps. So fun to revisit these with my daughter, her little mind is absolutely enthralled.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow, this book covers both more and less than I remembered. (Again, re-reading these for the first time in roughly 20 years.)

Kirsten was always special to me because she shared a first name with my childhood best friend (who, yes, both looked like and owned the Kirsten doll; mine was Samantha). She also fit right into my interest in pioneer stories - Little House on the Prairie, anything with a wagon train, I was there.

Compared with other AG originals, Kirsten has a lot of real challenges: the journey her family makes in this book is huge, and once they do settle in, the family is living in a small cabin in the wilderness, trying to learn English and fit in with their new American neighbors. Felicity, Samantha, and Molly have it much easier.

What's interesting to me about this book as an adult (and as a writer) is how much Shaw packs into this slim little book. Each of these books is just a brief glimpse into the character's life and Shaw makes the most of this one. We see life in steerage on board the ship and establish Kirsten's friendship with Marta. We land in New York and get a peek at the overwhelmingness of it. The family travels by rail and steamship, we find Marta again but then lose her. They finally reach Minnesota, but then have to leave possessions behind and WALK the last part of the way.

And at each stage, Shaw vividly evokes the sensory experience - for me, it's a toss-up between whether the ship or the train sounds more awful. (Yes, it should be the ship based solely on duration, but still.)

Yet, though each one is a strong evocative picture, we quickly flip along to the next episode. For example, I found myself wondering where the family stayed that first night in New York City, but we move right to the following day.

Throughout, we get a strong sense of family bonds and loving parents. "Have heart," they keep telling each other. And through it all, they do.

And that's lovely, ya know? It's the kind of fictional family you'd want to be a part of, even though you don't necessarily want to be in their story.


More Kirsten babble

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

Kirsten on the Trail | Kirsten and the New Girl | Kirsten Snowbound! | Kirsten and the Chippewa | Kirsten’s Promise | Kirsten’s Short Story Collection

The Runaway Friend

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly saw this book while cleaning out my shelves. As a child, I read pretty much every American Girl book I could get my hands on. I attribute American Girl to really getting me into history.

While reading this as an adult gave me the same sense of enjoyment, I also appreciate the story in other ways as well. First, I really appreciate the historical accuracy and extensive research that went into developing the story. Second, the story does not shy away from the difficulties immigrants' experiences while immigrating (particularly catching diseases and dying from them). These matters are handled in an age-appropriate way.

While the story itself is simple enough for children to follow, this simplicity does not make the story dumbed down at all. What I really appreciate is the idea here is that America is a place of opportunity, a place of new beginnings and that the American Dream is very much achievable. The story also reinforces that we are all immigrants.

I would recommend this to everyone!

[Sara Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I read this about 5 times as a little girl.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I started reading, I remembered why Kirsten was my favorite. Her story is exciting and melancholy and the writing is evocative. Her books will always likely be my favorites.

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so I kind of feel like reading these American Girl Books are cheating because I can read them like super fast but my sister just got the Kirsten doll so I decided to start reading her books to know if I want to slowly buy her from her. So I started to read this book and I actually really enjoyed it. So far I have only read all of Felicity's books and the first two of Josefina, I am enjoying Josefina's books but I just really like the colonial times which is when Felicity is set so I think that is part of the reason I enjoy her so much. I always enjoyed the pioneer time, I just like how things were back then, except the diseases.

*****Spoilers******
The beginning of this book starts very interesting, Kirsten and her family are on a ship to Minnesota. At first, since Kirsten's mom was sick I thought she was going to not pass the guy checking them if they were sick or not. Thankfully she did but when Kirsten got lost, I kind of got scared. But then there was this nice lady that spoke English whom didn't understand Kirsten. But they still communicated through pictures. This lady was very nice and I just think it was really cute on how they communicated through pictures than the lady brought Kirsten back to her family. Once she was back together with her family, they left. To go on a train, when Kirsten had to say goodbye to her friend I thought it was really sad. I would be very sadend if I had to leave my friend on the train but then Kirsten tells her friend that even if they never see each other again they will always be looking at the same sun. How cute is that? Anyway, when they do meet each other again it is really cute because they are so excited and you an tell their friendship was real. Their families even decided to stay together and when they got on the ship, Kirstens mom had a right to worry about the cholera. When Marta got sick with it, I was thinking they can't kill her but when they did, it made me realize how true it really was. A lot of people traveling died even the ones closest to you. Tears might have even come to my eyes. Then when they got off the boat, Kirsten couldn't even look at it, like she missed her friend! They were amazing friends. And then when they had to leave all of their stuff in the trunks behind because they couldn't get a wagon. Kirsten had to leave her doll and that was like the only thing that reminded her of Marta, they had always played with their dolls together so it was very sad to know she had to leave it behind until they went back for it. Once Kirsten was finally at uncle Olav's his "daughters" were so sweet and they really loved Kirsten. I thought this was really cute because they weren't mad they were getting a sort of sister. There is normally always this one child that doesn't like the main character and I am happy that it isn't one of Olav's "daughters", especially after Kirstens best friend just died. Overall it was surprisingly a very deep story. I really enjoyed it.

[christine ✩]

im cheesing my way to 200 books.

also tbf.. the old American Girl books are SUPERIOR. my WORD. i grew up on these. i think they were very much fundamental to . well. everything about me.. at least they're a ton nicer than the dime novels i used to read. i do know this was the first american girl book i ever read i think it's bringing back memories.. i had these like really short small hardcover companion books to this particular series? and i gave one away to a classmate when i was 8 . thats all i remember. i have a headache right now
also the art is really really nice.
this is putting me in mind of this one series i LOVED reading as a kid with a female Swedish protagonist in the Midwest too i cannot remember the name and it's KILLING me. anyway. unrelated.

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting one, because I didn't go into it blind. I'd already watched Babbity Kate's wonderful and extensive video essay on Kirsten last year, so I'd gotten the chance to engage with the text prior to actually reading it.

Book 1 is very strong! Girls and their dolls...