Kirsten Saves the Day: A Summer Story

American Girl: Kirsten #5

by Janet Beeler Shaw

At last it's summer! Even Kirsten's chores, like going to the stream to catch fish for dinner, seems like play in the fine Minnesota weather. One day while she's fishing, Kirsten leaves the stream to explore the woods beyond the farm. There she finds a treasure--a bee tree packed with honeycombs. Kirsten knows Papa could use honey to trade for things the family needs. So she decides to surprise him by bringing the honey home. Kirsten needs help, so she asks her brother Peter to go with her. But they don't know that bears are after Kirsten's treasure, too.

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

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"And in the distance, Kirsten heard a faint hum, like a cat purring or Papa's snore or maybe -- bees."

Adjusting to America has been a bit of a bumpy road for Kirsten. It was scary to come over to America across a vast ocean. It was a heartbreakingly sad to leave everyone she's ever known behind and to risk losing her family traditions as well. It was intimidating to go to school and trying to make friends.

But Kirsten finally feels settled. Mostly. Only one problem: money.

"I heard him [Papa] say he doesn't have enough money for a saw and the cloth Mama needs and boots for Lars, too."

But Kirsten has an idea when she and her brother find a bee tree in the middle of the woods.

Finding a bee tree is like finding a treasure...Papa will be able to sell some of it at Mr. Berkhoff's store.

Kirsten decides that she will be the one to get the honey for the family - and so begins the scheming.

I thought this was a pretty good addition to the Kirsten lore.

She's had a really nice arc of character development in the previous four books, and this one felt a little out of character for her - she's not typically the 'I-need-to-play-hero' kind of person...

But I do think it could make sense.

She was intimidated and shy when she first came over, so perhaps now that she's settled into her new country, she feels comfortable coming out of her shell and being much more bold.

Without giving too much away, I did think it was realistic for her to act a bit reckless in this situation and I appreciated the way her parents stepped in when needed.

Also: I the only one who is bugged by Caro's appearance? Not only does he appear out of nowhere, but on page 7, he's shown as an all white dog with a SUPER fluffy tail. There might be a black spot on his right shoulder (could be shadowing) but on pages 29/30/43, he's shown to have one black ear, and multiple black spots over his body and his tail mysteriously defloofed.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I’m not sure I would have said that Kirsten “saved the day” in this story, but she did learn a valuable lesson. It was a fun reread for me.

[Olde American Spirit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Kirsten!!! We were doing so well. What happened, girl?!

Kirsten didn't save anything - she frustrated me to no end with her irresponsibility and putting others in danger. For real!

It was an exciting read though.






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

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

idk what even to say about this one but there's a puppy and a bear cub and that makes it pretty great lol

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading as an adult, here's what stands out:

This picks up only about three weeks after Happy Birthday, Kirsten, but the scenario feels very different already. Kirsten seems to have a lot of freedom, a huge swing from the previous book. The new baby is barely mentioned.

We do see a lot of a new puppy, though. Like Samantha's dog, Molly's dog, AND Kaya's dog, it's a male puppy, though this one shows up a book later than usual. He's not anyone's birthday present - he's here to make trouble with bees and bears.

That's the memorable thing about this one: there are bees and honey and bears. Oh my.

At this point in the series, it's well established that Kirsten does have a secretive streak: her friendship with Singing Bird, the St. Lucia surprise, her idea to surprise Miss Winston with the quilt. But this is the first time it goes along with so much ego. "Everyone will be so proud of me!" feels a bit out of the blue - have we ever seen her SO motivated by getting others' approval?

Peter finally gets to have a bigger role, but I think Shaw picked him for this solely because Kirsten can push her little brother around. Lisbeth is too sensible for this, and Anna follows her sister.

Unlike most other "Saves the Day" stories, Kirsten saves the day indirectly: as she originally hoped, the honey fetches a good price and, combined with everything else the family is bringing to sell, they're able to get everything they need plus extras like the gorgeous straw hat you can buy for your doll. I had Samantha, not Kirsten, but she did look great in that hat every summer.

Plus, any saving is tempered with the understanding that she put herself, her brother, their dog, and even the bee tree in jeopardy. It's so realistic for her age to overestimate her knowledge and abilities. It's a heavy blow when she realizes the dipper would have ruined the treasure. Obviously, she wasn't picturing Pooh in the bee tree when she decided to try the dipper, but she comes up with a similar mental image all the same - and unfortunately, it's not accurate.

Like Lesson, we see that corporal punishment is very real in this time and place, but we dodge it with an "I see you've been punished enough."

All the same, Mama and Papa are very firm on the message that doing something dangerous but foolish isn't bravery, which I love. You have to have good judgement, too - one of the most crucial things any one has to learn.


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

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is from the perspective of a mother - while I think there are very valuable lessons imparted in this book, I think they might be a bit too subtle and require some parent-child conversation about risk-taking and responsibility.

Kirsten's heart is in the right place, wanting to make a difference for her family by harvesting the honey, but she definitely gets in over her head, ignores warning signs, and puts herself and her brother in danger in the process. The lack of punishment is problematic (although I can understand AG not wanting to get into 19th child-rearing and punishment), but instead we end up in the opposite direction with Kirsten getting a pretty hat as a reward for finding the honey.

I'm not sure the target age (8+) will be able to separate the conflicting message of heeding danger signs with the confusing reward at the end without a little parental involvement in reading.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Kirsten stories the best right now because they're so different from all the others. No other American girl lives a life so isolated as Kirsten's family does and it's very interesting what they do. A lot happened in this book as well but it wasn't jumbled and all contributed to the development of the story.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This girl is pure chaos

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

{March 2025 Reread}

in which Kirsten is an utter menace but also literally just ten years old so maybe cut her some slack, pApA

[Renn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would’ve liked this as a kid, but I was so anxious that I couldn’t read any 0f these Save the Day books.

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 2 out of 5]

kirsten you did not save the day. you were saved from incredible danger. come on girl.

i was never going to like this. it's a saves the day story AND it has a big focus on animals. but well. i still didnt like it.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was all over the place.

[Cassi Hougland · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one's wild. Kirsten doesn't save anything. Least favorite American Girl book I've read so far.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be better titled, Kirsten Nearly Wrecks Everything, But Papa Saves the Day. It's an interesting story that provides lots of historical information, but because Kirsten's reckless behavior puts her, her brother, and her dog in danger to the combined threats of a bee swarm and wild bears, it's hard to justify this being a "saves the day" story.

Overall, Kirsten learns some life lessons in this book, but she doesn't save the day. She is just supported and loved by parents and siblings who care about her, protect her, bring goodness out of her mistakes, forgive her for her faults, and let her take credit for the honey she found, despite the incredibly unwise ways she tried to collect it.

I actually enjoyed this book more as an adult than I did as a kid. When I was Kirsten's age, I was horrified with her choice to keep secrets from her parents and ignore warning signs in pursuit of honey, because I would never act like that, and I didn't want to deal with the conflict, drama, and disappointment of her quest going badly. As an adult, however, I am struck by what kind, loving parents she has, and this book provides a beautiful picture of her father's care for her.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Kirsten finds a bee tree and thinks she can extract the honey all by herself to surprise her parents (so they can barter it at the town store for the extra things they need.) Kirsten makes some bad choices and gets into some trouble with a bear cub and its mother. But she learns a lesson and shows how brave she is. And in this book, she is a really good big sister to her young brother Peter. Abby was happy that the family went into town for the Fourth of July and that Kirsten got a new straw hat for finding the honey. I'm realizing that Abby really likes hearing about her favorite characters either getting presents or going shopping . . .

[Angela Juline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give these a try since I have a lot of students who struggle meeting their AR goals...these are so easy to read! I think I finished it in 30 minutes! I can now confidently recommend these to struggling readers at my school.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fifth book in the series, it is summertime and Kirsten is excited to discover a bee tree filled with honey one day when she is out fishing with her younger brother, Peter. Despite the obvious bear tracks and the inherent risks of dealing with bees, Kirsten is determined to salvage the honey herself in order to surprise her parents with the honey, which she knows can be sold in town so they can buy items they desperately need.

Kirsten acts the most reckless in this book compared to all the others and puts herself, her brother, and their dog at risk. While I think it helps illustrate a valuable lesson to young readers about using good judgement and also how everyone makes mistakes, it seems somewhat unbelievable that a ten-year-old girl during that time period would have behaved in such a way. Children in that time would absolutely have known the risks of both bees and mother bears. She would have known that the proper gear would be needed to collect the honey. And as an older sister, I have a hard time believing she would have persuaded her younger brother to ignore all the obvious risks. However, I know this is fiction and meant more to illustrate a quandary Kirsten finds herself in more than a realistic response.

I did like the emphasis this story makes on each family member pulling their weight during this time period. The only reason Kirsten finds the bee tree at all is because she and her brother are sent out to fish for food to feed the whole family for dinner. Kirsten would have been well aware of the value of honey both to their own meals but also as a resource to sell in town in exchange for other goods. Kirsten is eager to help her family and her intentions were good. A great book that I enjoyed the opportunity to re-read with my daughters.

[HadenXCharm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't consider this a 'Saves the day' story. To be honest, Kirsten's Surprise had more of a 'saves the day' apsect for Kirsten than this one did. Poor Kirsten, it's so painfully obvious that she wants the appreciation and love of her parents, she wants to be recognized and have her parents be proud of her, and it led her to doing something really reckless and impulsive. This was a very relateable 9-10yo screw-up.

Babbity Kate pointed out in her Kirsten analysis video that this is the book where we really see Kirsten start to show signs of that settler mindset, when she kind of... puts her name on something she 'finds' because 'finding it' means that it's 'hers' now. This manifest destiny idea that everything in the 'New World' was just open for people to take and claim as theirs, nevermind that there were already native people living in that area. Kirsten definitely is learning the 'values' of her society, and even though she sees that someone else (Bears) have found the bee tree before her, she believes it is 'hers' and has the right to stake a claim on it simply because she 'discovered' it.

This really gave me a Little House on the Prairie vibe, the going into town and selling wares, the encounter with wildlife, etc. It was enjoyable and action-packed even though I don't think it was really a 'save the day' moment. This book is mostly about Kirsten getting in trouble and being scolded.

[Hannah Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl named Kirsten who moves to America's frontier in 1854. Her and her family live an isolated life out on the frontier. Kirsten only has one friend, a young Indian girl named singing bird. Kirsten has many chores and she tries to help out her family as much as she can throughout the day. One day Kirsten gets herself into a little trouble. She tries to harvest honey by herself and almost gets attacked by a bear. She learns her lesson and never tries to take on tasks that are too dangerous.

I love this book because it is a chapter book but it is still manageable for emerging readers to read independently. I also love this book because it is apart of the American Girl series. All of the American girl books are historical fiction, they are based off important times in our nation's history. These books make reading about history fun.

I would use this book in a history lesson about the American frontier in the 1850s. This book shows how hard life was back then and how everyone had to work to contribute to the survival on the frontier.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

God this is one of those American Girl books that is so depressing to read as an adult……literally a ten-year-old little girl is so desperate to make her emotionally unavailable parents proud of her that she risks getting mauled by a bear.

Literally this was so damn sad:

“‘I'm going to look at pocket knives,’ Peter said to Kirsten. ‘It won't hurt just to look, will it?’
She gave him a little shove toward the display of knives. ‘Pretend you can have any knife you choose,’ she said. ‘Pretending won't hurt.’
…
Papa's voice boomed from behind her. ‘Do you need two hats, Kirsten? Isn't your sunbonnet warm enough for you?’
Kirsten could tell he was teasing her, but she blushed just the same. She knew better than to ask for what they couldn't afford. ‘I was just pretending, Papa,’ she said.”

Like I know they’re pioneers and money is tight but how afraid these kids are of asking their father for something they want is so depressing. Like, did the author who wrote this 40 years ago know that “pretending won’t hurt” was going to be one of the saddest things my adult ass has ever read?

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't quite remember why I only have one Kirsten book! I can't remember if I read this one before as a child or not.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I do think Kirsten learns some important life lessons but I'm not sure how much she really "saves the day" besides finding the honey tree, which honestly, probably anyone in her family could have done! But in a round-about way she does when Papa finds her and her little brother after the failed honey hunt. (And the fact she was about to save Peter...after she puts him in harm's way.)

Anyway, I love American Girl Doll but it is way too idyllic in how it portrays the past sometimes. Real talk, the bear totally would have killed the dog or hurt the kids. But I will overlook it for the wholesome themes and healthy relationships between family!

[Lily Nagel]

"Kirsten Saves the Day: A Summer Story" written by Janet Beeler Shaw is a historical fiction book. This book is the fifth book in a six book series featuring Kirsten in the American Girl series. It is set in 1854; Kirsten and her family are settling into their new home in Minnesota. Kirsten finds a tree full of honey one day and wants to take it home. Little does she know she is going to have to fight a bear for the honey! I did enjoy reading this book, it kept my attention the whole time. This book was a good read any kid would love! I think this book, along with these series would be best for second grade and up.

[Joey Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While fishing Kirsten finds a bee tree in the forest, she instantly has a plan and is desperate to get the honey and give it to her family to make them proud and be able to help them pay for products that the desperately needed. But when bears are found in that area of the forest it’s trouble for Kirsten and her little brother Peter. In the end her surprise was no long to be a surprise but with help from her father they can get the honey and much more from the tree she found.

It was a cute story, Kirsten desperately wanted to make her family happy and didn’t think of the consequences of doing something so dangerous alone, but she had the heart and the right intent.

[TheBookishHobbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the title is a little bit misleading since Kirsten acted very impulsively in a dangerous situation, but I digress. Kirsten and Peter stumble onto a bee tree filled with honey that would help the family with their finances. However, even after being warned about the bears, Kirsten still goes with just her five year old brother to collect the honey as a surprise. Of course they are then attacked by the mama black bear and get in serious trouble with their father. Although Kirsten did save them both, she also put them in that situation in the first place. Either way, this was a fun reread.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is kind of ironic that the book is titled Kirsten saves the say since....it was also her fault rhe trouble even started lol
In the story Kirsten and her little brother come across a bee hive and she is detrmined to take it home herself to surprise her family....even with bears in the area. She soon finds out that sometimes, its best to ask adults for help. Alas, she admitted her mistakes and made her family proud. It was a cute story and a good lesson for children. I thoroughly enjoyed this one😊

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. My least favorite in the series. ‘Saves the Day’ books are hit or miss for me in the AG series and this one missed unfortunately. Kirsten didn’t even save the day. Her dad did. Kirsten put herself, her little brother, and their dog in danger for some honey. I understood her intentions and the fact that she’s ten years old but she was incredibly reckless here. Wasn’t an awful story but definitely the weakest in the bunch for me.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Kirsten may not necessarily be a great role model for young kids, I'm understanding better now why I liked her so much when I was little (aside from the obvious fact of sharing a name). She's headstrong and independent and cares about her family, and I see a lot of my ten-year-old self in her, which is both good and bad.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the other books in the series, mainly because Kirsten acts very foolishly, putting her little brother in danger. I do like how the author paints such a clear picture of pioneer life and how children participated in the chores which helped sustain the family throughout the year.

[Heather Mayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun rereading this book again! It is kind of surprising a pioneer girl like Kirsten hasn't been warned more clearly about the dangers is bears because she is pretty reckless in this book. But life is hard and she is just trying to help her family. Also hearing how hot it was and the kind of clothes they wore and work they did makes me so thankful for good air conditioning!

[Tammy Landgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Kirsten book. My 7-year-old and I both agreed that Kirsten's little brother has more common sense than she does, but it's still understandable why she behaves the (foolish) way she does in trying to surprise her family and be a hero. It's also fun to read about the time period and what life was like for the settlers on the frontier.