This is a series from the American Girls Books, focusing on an immigrant girl from Sweden, who settles on the American Frontier during the mid-1800s.

Kirsten is a curious and impulsive girl, and sometimes, risks she takes lead to disaster. Much of her series is about trying to fit into a new home and make new friends. In the beginning, she has just two brothers, Lars and Peter. Later, her mother has another baby, a girl called Britta.

In the first book in the series, Kirsten and her family travel by ship from Sweden to the United States before traveling westward, to Minnesota, where her uncle and his family are already living. Their journey mirrors many that actually took place during the same era in real life. The journey is hard, and one of Kirsten’s friends, who is about her age, dies on the way.

Kirsten’s best friends in Minnesota are her cousins, seven-year-old Anna and eleven-year-old Lisbeth, but she also makes friends with other girls at school and a Native American girl called Singing Bird.

Of the various historical American Girls books available when I was a kid, I liked the Kirsten stories the least because some genuinely sad things happen during the stories, like the death of a child and the destruction of the family’s home by fire.

My book list is incomplete because I’m focusing on those no more than ten years old, and I don’t have access to some of the activity books and kits.  For a more complete list, see this American Girl Wiki.

Books in the Series:

Meet Kirsten (1986)

Kirsten and her family journey from Sweden to the Minnesota frontier.

Kirsten Learns a Lesson (1986)

Settling into her new home is difficult for Kirsten. She is still learning English, and school is hard for her. When she makes friends with a Native American girl and has the chance to join her tribe, Kirsten has to decide where she really belongs and where she wants to be.

Kirsten’s Surprise (1986)

Kirsten realizes that she can still celebrate her family’s old traditions in their new home when she celebrates St. Lucia Day.

Happy Birthday, Kirsten (1987)

As Kirsten turns 10 years old, her mother gives birth to a new baby. Kirsten and her friends at school learn to make quilts.

Kirsten Saves the Day (1988)

Kirsten gets into trouble while trying to harvest honey by herself.

Changes for Kirsten (1988)

Kirsten brings a raccoon inside the family’s cabin, which causes a fire that destroys the cabin and most of the family’s belongings. Things look bleak for the family, now homeless in a Minnesota winter, but an unexpected discovery helps them get through the crisis.

Mystery Stories:

The Runaway Friend (2008)

Supplemental Books:

Kirsten’s Cookbook (1994)

This book has recipes like the ones Kirsten might have used in on the American frontier.