Happy Birthday, Kirsten!: A Springtime Story

Kirsten goes through a lot the spring she turns ten. There are tornadoes, a barn raising, and a new baby on the way. Because of the baby, Kirsten begins taking on some of her mother's responsibilities, which leaves her little time with friends. However, some birthday surprises are in store for her. The story lacks voice, making it less engaging than it could be. Still, the popularity of the American Girls series makes it necessary for public and elementary school library collections.

Kittens and hand sewn friendship quilts? Sign me up! This one was fun- again, a really interesting look at what it would have been like to grow up in the Midwest in the 1850's. There is just something so nostalgic about her stories, about the simpler times. As a crafty gal myself I loved reading about how all Kirsten wanted to do for her birthday was sit with her friends and sew

With Mama’s baby on the way, Kirsten doesn’t have any time for herself. She wants to help make a quilt for her teacher, but she doesn’t have any time to sew a square with all the extra work she has to do for her mother. For her birthday she gets a whole day off to spend with her friends, and a lovely surprize- the friendship quilt that everyone makes is for her since she missed the fun of sewing it.

This is a double of a classroom library book. With Mama’s baby on the way, Kirsten doesn’t have any time for herself. She wants to help make a quilt for her teacher, but she doesn’t have any time to sew a square with all the extra work she has to do for her mother. For her birthday she gets a whole day off to spend with her friends, and a lovely surprize- the friendship quilt that everyone makes is for her since she missed the fun of sewing it.

Kirsten’s Surprise is one of the most adventurous sequels in this series. The author has done her research on the time period, location, and culture. She includes research pieces in the back of this book for the reader to better understand the culture of the time period and the immigrants from Sweden. One of the reasons that I like the American Girl books is because they offer different perspectives from different culture with an easy to read format.

The plot in this story is centered on preparations for Christmas and the Swedish holiday called St. Lucia. Unfortunately, many of the families are experiencing hardship and the all family members are looking for ways to make Christmas/St. Lucia special. As Kirsten and the children of the show more town gather thoughts and ideas on how they can make the celebration of St. Lucia a special day! It is shared that the children who lived in Sweden had experienced the St. Lucia holiday because in America, families celebrated Christmas.
Unexpectedly, Kirsten’s father sets out for town the day before Christmas to get boxes of their things that had been left when they had arrived in America. Kirsten pleads with her father to go and he agrees. During their trip (they travel by horse drawn carriage), they
Run into a snow storm on their journey home. Kirsten must find the physical and spiritual strength within herself to lead the way home.

The only thing that I do not like about the Kirsten book(and American Girl books)
Is there is not a lot of “voice” to the books. Then again, I think that these books
Are meant for “right after chapter book readers”. show less

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AR: 4.0