Meet Kristin - Historical Fiction

The book I chose for my Historical Fiction story is from the American Girl Collection, Meet Kristen: An American Girl. This book was written by Janet Shaw and illustrated by Renee Graef. This is the first book in a series of books about a Swedish family who comes to America in 1854. The story begins on the long, dangerous boat ride to America. The journey continues from New York to the Minnesota frontier where they will meet up with Kristen's relatives from Sweden. But first, Kristen gets lost in New York City and it becomes so crowded and she begins to feel dizzy and sick from the boat. The family finally gets tickets on a train for Chicago. Kristen meets up with her best friend from the boat Marta and their families continue the journey together on the Missippi riverboat. While on the boat, Marta dies from Cholera. Kristen feels that American will never feel like home until they finally reach Minnesota. Here, her relatives make Kristen's family feel very welcomed and loved. This story shows the hardships that immigrants endured to make a better life for their families in America.

This is a great example of Historical Fiction because it takes place in an historical setting that actually occured even though the characters and events from the book are fictional. By having this type of book, children are able to get a sense of what life back in those days were like and they are allowed to experience those same emotions through the characters in these historical fiction books. This book was for children in the third or fourth grade because it is in the form of a chapter book and ther are only a few illustrations every few pages. However, it is easy enough for a child of this age to read to themselves without too much assistance. At the very end of the book there are historical facts about the time period that this story takes place in and how real immigrants had to deal with similar hardships that Kristen and her family experienced on their journey to America.

Shaw, Janet. Meet Kristen: An American Girl. Middleton, Wisconsin: Pleasant Company Publications, 1986