Kirsten. 1854.
Meet Kirsten Larson!
Kirsten Larson is an immigrant girl of strength and spirit who travels with her family from Sweden to Minnesota in the 1850s. Kirsten learns to balance her Swedish heritage and traditions with learning how to be an American while working hard at school and her family’s farm.
Anders Larson
Kirsten’s gruff, hearty, and hard-working Papa, whose steadiness keeps the entire family calm as they travel from Sweden to America. The family is traveling to live near Papa’s brother Olav, and Papa knows this strange new world is intimidating. He works hard to take care of the farm to provide for the family.
Greta Larson
Kirsten’s thoughtful and kind mother, who reminds Kirsten of her responsibilities but also tries to make her feel appreciated. Mama is sick on the boat that crosses the ocean from Sweden to America, but once they arrive, she works just as hard as Papa to build their new life in Minnesota.
Lars Larson
Kirsten’s older brother Lars is a teenager and is treated as a man when they arrive at their new farm in Minnesota. He is an important helper for the family.
Peter Larson
Kirsten’s younger brother Peter is five when they arrive in America, and likes to imitate Lars and Papa. Even at his young age, he’s expected to help on the farm, but he can be mischievous.
Britta Larson
Britta is Kirsten’s baby sister who is born in Minnesota after the family settles on their farm. Although her arrival is stressful for Kirsten, Kirsten is happy to have a little sister.
Olav Larson
Kirsten’s Uncle Olav is Papa’s brother who left Sweden when Kirsten was three to start a new life in America. Once he arrived in Minnesota, he met Inger and they were married. He is very happy Papa’s family has come to live near his family.
Inger Larson
Aunt Inger was a widow with two daughters when she met Kirsten’s Uncle Olav and they were married. Inger is also Swedish, so she understands the Larsons’ language and traditions, and helps them feel at home in Minnesota.
Lisbeth Larson
Lisbeth is Kirsten’s older cousin who welcomes Kirsten and her family enthusiastically and becomes a close friend for Kirsten.
Anna Larson
Kirsten’s younger cousin Anna is Lisbeth’s younger sister, who is also very excited to meet Kirsten and her family. Anna’s enthusiasm sometimes makes it hard for her to keep a secret.
Marta
Marta is Kirsten’s friend from the ship to America, and her family is also Swedish. The girls are separated as they travel from New York to the Midwest, but are reunited in Chicago. Marta gets cholera on the riverboat from Chicago to Minnesota.
Miss Winston
Kirsten’s teacher Miss Winston teaches her many things, including how to speak English and how to quilt. She lives with the Larsons, which at first worries Kirsten.
Singing Bird
Singing Bird is Kirsten’s Dakota friend who she encounters near her house. The Dakota people were being driven out of Minnesota, and the two girls don’t speak the same language, but they still grow a friendship.
Kirsten Larson™ Doll, Book & Accessories
In her story, Kirsten’s aunt gives her a blue dress patterned with a “grow stripe” at the bottom hem that could be let out as she grew taller.
Shop Kirsten Larson™ Doll, Book & Accessories
Kirsten™ Birthday Outfit & Book
Kirsten’s hard work caring for her new baby sister is rewarded when her birthday—her first in Minnesota—becomes a celebration of family and friendship.
Shop Kirsten™ Birthday Outfit and Book
Author Janet Shaw
Each night when Janet Shaw was a girl, she took out a flashlight and book hidden under her pillow and read until she fell asleep. She and her brother liked to act out stories, especially ones about sword fights and wild horses. Today, she has three grown children. When they were small, she often pulled them in a big red wagon to the library, where they filled the wagon with so many books they had to walk back home.
Illustrator Renée Graef
Renée Graef enjoys wearing hats and has a collection of over 150 hats hanging on her walls. She wears out three electric pencil sharpeners a year on the colored pencils she uses in her artwork.
Kirsten is from a small town called Ryd in Sweden before she comes to Minnesota.
The Larson family took a ship from Sweden to New York, then a train and a steamboat. They walked the last leg to their new home in Minnesota.
Kirsten’s favorite color is pink.
Papa often reminds their family to “never lose heart,” which means to not get discouraged.
Kirsten’s doll’s name is Sari, and she’s a ragdoll that Kirsten brings with her from Sweden.
The friendship quilt that Miss Winston shows Kirsten and her cousins is based on a real type of quilt that women made at that time.
Swedish families emigrating to the United States were often only able to bring one large trunk with all of their belongings, much like Kirsten’s family did.
Kirsten is very busy when Mama is going to have a baby, as she needs to help at the farm. Many pioneer children only attended school when they weren’t needed at their farms, such as in the winter.
Minnesota was the territory of the Dakota Sioux and Ojibwe Native Americans until they signed treaties with the US Government in 1851, right before Kirsten and her family arrived.
When the Larsons arrived in America, the famous immigration station Ellis Island didn’t exist yet, so they just walked off the ship at the harbor.
Illnesses like cholera were a major concern at the time of Kirsten’s story, as it wasn’t well understood and could infect many in a short amount of time.
The barn-raising party in Happy Birthday, Kirsten! was a real type of party that settlers would have to help each other and socialize.
