Customer Reviews

Kirsten's Boxed Set (The American Girls Collection/Boxed Set)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kristen is a Swedish immigrant girl who settles in the Northern plains with her family. She faces language barriers, Indians, poverty and even bears with courage.

These books (and all the ones in the American Girls series) are written at a 2-3 grade level or are great to read aloud to younger children. The "American Girls" provide children with a sense of American history, a sense of what it was like to live during that historcial period and strong female role models. My daughters and I love them

Joining Kirsten in her travel from Sweden to the United States and then on to the forests of Minnesota has been an enjoyable and interseting experience for both my daughter and I. The pioneer time of our country's history has always been of an interest to me as I have read of my own family's journeys from Hingham England to Massachusetts and then on to Montana during the time of the late 1600's through the early 1800's. What a rich heritage they passed on. And now, my daughter can enjoy learning about the pioneer era with a girl her own age. We have had a great deal of enjoyment reading these books together and discussing what happened to Kirsten in each one. Especially interesting and enlightening are the "Peek Into the Past" sections found at the end of each book. We have had some interesting and lively discussions about what it would be like to live during Kirsten's time. It has been very refreshing to see my daughter and her friends develop a deep interset in these books, role playing the characters, playing with the dolls, and learning about another time rather than pursuing the mindless, empty fluff of many things vying for a young girl's attention. Although some of Kirsten's experiences are a bit far-fetched (I.e. - not fearing a bear, having a pet racoon) the books' intrinsic value is not in the experiences, but rather in the history given in a light, fun way - what better way to learn than by having fun doing it.

Pioneers have always been interesting to me. Maybe that's why I loved the Kirsten books so much. When you read the Kirsten books, it is so easy to put yourself in her position. To know what she went through. You just seem to find yourself imagining what you would of done in her place. I reccomend these books to all girls!

If you are considering purchasing this set, please note that there are 2 boxed sets being sold here that are very different in quality. Many of the Amazon marketplace sellers are selling the older Pleasant Company versions of these stories without mentioning that they are doing so in their listings. The newer American Girl boxed sets are glossier, twice as thick, and much more colorful and appealing. Also, even the new or like new Pleasant Company boxed sets have a weaker binding because the glue used to make them is so old and frail. If you want the highest quality books for your money, buy these from Amazon directly. Or, at least make certain of what you're getting beforehand. The newer American Girl boxed set is vastly superior to the Old Pleasant Company version.

When I was a little girl, I would take my Kirsten Collection home from the library and read them over and over again. I adored them. Kirsten was such a spunky, loveable character, and I eventually grew up to love historical fiction. The short but sweet series is all about a young, Sweedish immigrant girl, Kirsten Larson, and her family.
They have a magical series of adventures, as well asheartaches, during their experience. Kirsten has an encounter with a bear, goes to school, gets lost in the city - and many more adventures.
I would definetely suggest reading this series to your young girl. It will spark an interest in historical fiction as well as reading in general.

This is a set of six of the American Girls Short Stories from the series about Kirsten Larson, a nine-year-old girl from Sweden, whose family has moved to frontier Minnesota of 1854. Each of the six little books has a wonderful story, and is richly illustrated. As an added bonus, each book's final chapter is a special section on life and the world as Kirsten would have known them, which is very informative. These really are excellent books. My little daughter loves these books, as she does her Kirsten doll. We both highly recommend them!

The six stories are:
In Meet Kirsten we are introduced to Kirsten, and travel with her to frontier Minnesota in 1854.

In Kirsten Learns a Lesson, Kirsten begins school in America, struggles to learn a new language, and makes a new friend, Singing Bird, a Native-American girl of about Kirsten's age.

Kirsten's Surprise tells the story of the Larson's first Christmas in America, the adventure Kirsten has, and the wonderful surprise she has for her family.

Happy Birthday, Kirsten! tells us about the hard work that Kirsten must do around the farm, and rewards it brings.

We see Kirsten make a wonderful find, and learn a valuable lesson, when Kirsten Saves the Day.

And finally, in Changes for Kirsten, little Kirsten tries to help the family's tight money supply, but when she lets her heart overrule her head, she causes more trouble then she ever thought possible.

One of two American Girls books I've read and probably the more enjoyable of the pair. I liked the descriptions of the raw, open country of Minnesota, and how the family faces it after a long journey from Sweden. This series can teach a lot about history and life in other times, and it also serves up some lessons in an admirably non-preachy manner. Kirsten was spunky and I hope readers noticed how hard children in the past worked compared to today. There wasn't always a lot of free time and people then were more appreciative of what they had. I like the American Girls book series (the endless merchandising of its themed products notwithstanding) and hope it stays popular for a long time.

We bought this set for my 8 year old daughter for Christmas. She came to me in the night saying that she couldn't sleep, because of what she had read in her Changes for Kirsten book. She told me that in the story, there is quite a lot of time spent describing trapping - one of the creatures caught in a trap, a baby raccoon Kirsten took home to care for, started a fire in their home and burned it to the ground. Kirsten ends up at a trapper's house who she is afraid will "hurt her", and they find his DEAD body. She and her brother are forced to figure out how to bury him in the morning and she is afraid but has to spend the night in a room with his dead body. "Kirsten! He can't hurt us. He couldn't hurt anyone, even if he wanted to. Old Jack's dead." Kirsten peeked around Lars at the man sitting stiffly on the floor. His face was white. There was no cloud of breath at his lips. His eyes were glazed over. Lars was right-the man was dead." Kirsten and her brother end up taking the trapper's valuable pelts to sell, Kirsten wonders if it is wrong to steal from a dead man, but her brother says it is what her father would do and it is ok.

I would definitely not recommend this to sensitive children. The Little House on the Prairie books are infinitely more well-written, and the children and families are much better role models. Also they more accurately depict how pioneer families lived, they are wonderful stories and my daughters loved them.

This item was new in the box; however the photo showed the newest edition. This set was an older print, which was fine, but the photo was misleading. This was ordered for my daughter's Christmas present and she loved it.

As my daughter wanted the full set of books, it was nice to have the box be a game as a little "bonus". However, you do lose a little bit of the sturdiness of a regular box. And I was disppointed that the instructions did not fit neatly into the pocket (for the markers/collectibles).