Meet Kirsten: An American Girl (American Girl: Kirsten #1) by Janet Beeler Shaw

 

Summary (from the publisher): Kirsten is a pioneer girl of strength and spirit who settles on the frontier. The book is about their friends and families, their struggles and successes, their sad times and celebrations, their secrets and adventures.

Review: In 1854, young Kirsten Larsen travels across the ocean with her parents and brothers to come to America, leaving everything in their life in Sweden behind. The ocean journey is a long and difficult one and not without its terrible losses. Once they finally reach America, they still must journey far across the country to Minnesota where her uncle and his family are waiting. Kirsten has arrived at a vast country where she cannot speak the language and has few possessions and without the support network of her home family and community. 

I loved this book when I originally read in the 1990s as a child and still just as much on my reread now as an adult reading it with my two daughters. This is such a great introduction to the history behind the practice of immigrants coming to America and the challenges they faced. The illustrations by Renee Graef are beautiful and add to the storyline tremendously, particularly for young readers just being introduced to chapter books. 

I will say, reading this now as an adult, this does feature the loss of a child, which is a very heavy topic for a young adult text. However, when I read it as a child it did help illustrate the risk and great sacrifices many families endured to journey to America. 

It is hard for me to have an unbiased review of a book that played such a huge role in my childhood. I spent countless hours playing with my Kirsten doll and read every book in this series. I love Kirsten as a character and this whole series dearly. 

Stars: 5