Kirsten's Surprise - Book Discussion

Hi everyone! I hope you all were able to read Kirsten's Surprise so we can discuss it. If you don't have copies of these books going forward at home, you can check to see if a local library has them, and if no libraries have them, you can make an account at the Library of Congress's Internet Archive and check them out there.

Kirsten's Surprise, the third book in Kirsten's series, is about how St Lucia Day, Kirsten's favorite holiday and the start of Christmas, is coming - but she doesn't have the things she needs to bring the holiday to America. The night before the holiday, she goes on an adventure with her dad to get the items, but a snowstorm means she will have to trust her instincts to get home.

When I was rereading this book, several things came to mind about the themes within, and both their historical context and what it means to be a girl in 2025. I don't want these posts to be too long, so I'll list my thoughts, and let you discuss these topics as well in the comments!

1. Kirsten begins the story thinking about how she wants her things that are across the country, especially her doll Sari. What do you think these things represent for Kirsten?

   I think they represent her home - everything she loves - everything that makes her smile. They remind her of Sweden, and it must be so hard for Kirsten to adjust to a new country without her comfort items.

2. Kirsten's cousins don't remember much about St. Lucia Day, despite the fact that they are Swedish and are from Sweden. Why do you think that is?

   First, Kirsten's cousins don't remember much of Sweden, so they wouldn't remember celebrating St. Lucia Day over there. But from what I know about them from the last book, I feel like because they mostly have known America, they haven't gotten many chances to experience their Swedish culture.

   
   

3. At this point in Kirsten's series, her English is improving. How do you think Kirsten is holding up learning a new language, while keeping her culture close to her?

   I think the memories of her old home and what she used to love are keeping her culture close to her, while learning the language, exploring Minnesota, meeting new people, and becoming closer with her cousins is helping Kirsten both adapt to America while not entirely forgetting about Sweden.

   
   

4. Kirsten is able to be brave and use the knowledge of her new home she got from exploring with Singing Bird to navigate the horse and her trunk back home. This is a contrast from how she acted just two books ago - what do you think has changed?

   She's had to learn how to be brave. Kirsten has experienced loss - first, the loss of Marta, and then, having to be separated from Singing Bird. She's experienced a whole new country, learned a whole new language, and has grown a lot from that. That, plus her determination to show her family something she loves, is probably what got her to do it!

   
   

Next week, we will be reading Happy Birthday, Kirsten!