Kirsten Larson
"Kirsten" redirects here. For the doll, see Kirsten Larson (doll).
Kirsten Larson is one of the first three Historical Characters, representing the middle 1800s Western European immigration/pioneer era. Kirsten was released in 1986 at the launch of Pleasant Company along with Samantha Parkington and Molly McIntire.
American Girl started sending out letters in fall 2009 stating that they would archive Kirsten Larson's entire collection; the doll and her collection would no longer be available for purchase online, at stores, or through catalogs with the exception of books and the mini doll. Official archiving was on January 1, 2010. With the 2014 launch of BeForever Kirsten's mini doll was archived.[1] Her books remained available for purchase on a limited basis, and she was part of the 35th Anniversary Special Edition Rerelease. In 2024, the Kirsten doll was rereleased. She was also reinterpreted as a modern era doll in 2026, the Modern Era Kirsten doll.
Personality and Character
Kirsten and her family are immigrants to the United States from Sweden; she was born in Ryd, Sweden, a village so small she knew everyone there. Her family, having heard from her father's brother Olav about the rich land in Minnesota and his request to have more help on the farm, immigrate to make a new life in America. Welcome to Kirsten's World clarifies that the King of Sweden (Charles XV at the time) had reduced farmland by dividing lands in half, leading to difficulties in growing enough food for each family and raising the risks of a bad harvest leading to starvation. Initially, Kirsten does not feel like she will ever belong in America. As she becomes more skilled in English and established as a citizen along with her family, she feels more like she is truly American rather than a foreign immigrant and Swedish girl far from home.
She often acts without thinking about the consequences of her actions and can be foolish and make mistakes that are not easily repaired. Kirsten is extremely curious and likes to explore, often exploring places and wanting to see everything around her, including those where she should not be (such as hiding in the coiled rope aboard the Eagle and attempting to explore the upper decks aboard the Redwing); Mama asks how she is able to hide on such a small ship. It is this desire to explore and investigate that not only leads to her getting lost in New York, but also meeting Singing Bird.
Kirsten is a hardworking character, given her new life in Minnesota and the work needed on the frontier. She feels burdened having to help Mama so much as a daughter; she has various chores (as living on a farming homestead means many hands have to do various daily chores to help out) and often is expected to take on much of the domestic responsibility with her Mama as the oldest daughter. After her little sister Britta is born, Kirsten takes on even more work such as cooking and cleaning while Mama recovers from the labor and delivery. She is quite sensitive towards animals and children and makes friends easily. She is prone to daydreaming, and if a task is not easy for her she struggles with it. She is easily frightened by unfamiliar things and can be nervous around new people. She hates being trapped inside small spaces or indoors and is a very active child.
When Kirsten wants to do or have something she's set her mind to she becomes a bad listener, bothersome, and pesters others until she has achieved what she wants. Her stubborn streak often gets her in trouble, and her father says she has a strong will. Kirsten is helpful, caring and thoughtful about her family. Kirsten loves to tell and keep secrets. Kirsten's favorite color is pink.[2] Her ninth birthday went without celebration as the family was immigrating to America at the time; they left in March and arrived in June after her birthday.
Kirsten doesn't initially enjoy attending school due to her language barrier and being indoors. However, she is very intelligent even before she attends school, able to think enough to communicate without English in New York with a drawing of the Eagle to show where she wants to go. She likes to try new things and later takes interest in quilting, an American custom which Swedish women weren't used to (as their blankets were instead woven). She admires her mother, and wants to be as strong and brave as her when she is older. She finds saying goodbye to people whom she loves the hardest thing in the world to do.
American Girl characterizes her as "brave" and "steadfast." American Girl featured videos characterizes her as having a "pioneering spirit".
Family and Friends
Family
- Anders Larson: Father.
- Greta Larson: Mother.
- Lars Larson: Older brother.
- Peter Larson: Younger brother.
- Britta Larson: Baby sister.
- Olav Larson: Uncle.
- Inger Larson: Aunt.
- Lisbeth Larson: Elder cousin
- Anna Larson: Younger cousin.
Friends and Other Minor Characters
- Marta: Kirsten's Swedish friend who dies on the journey.
- Miss Winston: Kirsten's American schoolteacher.
- Singing Bird: Kirsten's Dakota friend.
Books
- Main article: Kirsten Larson (doll)
- Face Mold: Classic Mold
- Skin: Light
- Hair: Blonde
- Eyes: Light Blue
Collection
- See: Kirsten's Collection
Creation Background
As one of the original Pleasant Company characters, Kirsten did not have a formal advisory board. However, when American Girl began to rerelease Kirsten's books, they listed advisors they worked with to make updates to the books. In the 2025 rerelease of Kirsten Learns a Lesson, the book's copyright page notes thanks to "Dakota advisors" Dr. Amber Annis, Cheyanne St. John, and Šišókadúta (written as 2 words on the page, Šišóka Dúta). It is worth noting that Dr. Annis is Cheyenne River Lakota, not Dakota; the writer's phrasing makes it sound like she is herself Dakota.
Trivia
- Kirsten's Central Series originally illustrated her family and friends in daguerreotype group portraits, in contrast to individual portraits for major characters seen in Samantha and Molly's books and later Historical Characters. The daguerreotype style was retained during the first revision of the Central Series; they were later illustrated into individual portraits when the Central Series underwent their second revision prior to the launch of BeForever. The rereleased meet book with the 35th Anniversary doll has the original style daguerreotypes.
- Kirsten is portrayed with bangs/fringe and has been since release; however, at the time, bangs were not fashionable for most girls or women with the prevailing style being center parted hair pulled back and no blunt bangs or fringe on the forehead. Other girls and women shown in her series do not have bangs. The theory is that rather than change the wig design dramatically for new designed dolls, she was given the same type of hair style as Samantha Parkington and Molly McIntire.
- In the depreciated website game Kit's Money Matters, Kit Kittredge has a neighbor named Mrs. Larson. This is most likely a coincidental reference that has nothing to do with Kirsten.
- Kirsten is the only historical character released prior to the BeForever release who never received a BeForever or post-BeForever change of outfit (other than Kaya and Caroline, who received no makeovers), as she was retired during the era and not released during it, and had no changes with her 2024 re-release.
- Kirsten also has never had her books complied into a two-volume set--this is also true with Marie-Grace and Cécile, who were retired prior to BeForever.
See Also
References
- ↑ An updated doll was released in 2016.
- ↑ Happy Birthday, Kirsten!
| American Girl Historical Characters | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1760s | 1770s | 1810s
Caroline Abbott ♦ ★ |
1820s | |||||||
| 1850s
Cécile Rey ★ |
1850s | 1860s | 1900s | |||||||
| 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | |||||||
| 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | |||||||
| 1980s | 2000s | |||||||||
| ★ Archived / ♦ Part of the BeForever Collection | ||||||||||