Kirsten on the Trail

American Girl: Short Stories #3

by Janet Beeler Shaw, Renée Graef (Illustrator)

In Kirsten on the Trail, Kirsten's secret Indian friend returns. When Mama finds out about Singing Bird, she forbids Kirsten to play with her. But when Kirsten's little brother, Peter, gets lost in the woods, Kirsten knows just whom to call on for help.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical, Fiction, Short Stories, Middle Grade, Juvenile

39 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

"She dropped her water bucket, knelt, and unwrapped the birch-bark packet. Inside she found a soft leather bag decorated with red and gold porcupine quills."

When Kirsten Larson first came to America, she felt so out of place. She couldn't speak English, everyone had different customs and she missed her familiar home so much.

Her very first friend was a Sioux girl named Singing Bird. Neither of them spoke English very well but they became friends, often exchanging homemade presents.

Singing Bird and her family had to leave for their wintering grounds and Kirsten missed her friend so very much, but this beautiful present means she's back!

Only one problem:

"[Peter] added in an excited whisper, 'Who is that Indian girl? What did she give you?' "

Her little brother oversaw the two girls playing. Kirsten swears him to secrecy because she knows her Mama is afraid of Indians.

But soon, Peter keeping a secret is the least of her worries. It will be up to Kirsten and Singing Bird to work together to save the day!

I appreciate this book but I also feel like it was one of the weaker companion books. I do like how we bring Singing Bird back into the story - I always wondered why after that initial arc, why she wasn't included or mention more in the main series.

Not much happens in terms of the plot and the resolution was a bit iffy to me (especially the whole Mama accepting Singing Bird only after she saves Peter. I felt a bit weird that that was what needed to happen for Mama to treat Singing Bird kindly.).

Singing Bird didn't seem very fleshed out in this one. She doesn't have a lot in the main series but I was hoping the companion novel could add to her character.

I know Janet Shaw could do that in a short amount of time. After all, Ezra's character was just given 40 pages in Kirsten's Promise and I still think about him.

But alas, not much happening in Kirsten on the Trail.

A Peek into the Past

Like all of the main and mini Kirsten Larson books, this one has a mini historical section at the back called a Peek into the Past.

In this Peek into the Past, we learn about the Sioux Indians - how they traveled, common meals, and how the settler's interacted with them (both good and bad). We also get some information about the various materials they would gather and craft from. At the end of the book, we get instructions on how to make a charm bag, somewhat similar to the one Singing Bird gifts Kirsten.

More reviews in the Kirsten-verse

Main Series:
Meet Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Learns a Lesson - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Surprise - ★★★★★
Happy Birthday, Kirsten - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Saves the Day - ★★★★☆
Changes for Kirsten - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Short Stories:
Kirsten on the Trail - ★★★☆☆
Kirsten and the New Girl - ★★★★☆
Kirsten Snowbound - ★★★★★
Kirsten and the Chippewa - ★★★★☆
Kirsten's Promise - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Additional History Books
Kirsten's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Kirsten's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Welcome to Kirsten's World · 1854 - ★★★★★

Mystery Book:
The Runaway Friend - ★★★★★

Additional Picture Reader Books
Happy Birthday! - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! - ★★★★★
Time for School! - ★★★★☆

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading as an adult. Kirsten renews her secret friendship with Singing Bird only for it to be discovered by Peter and forbidden by Mama. But when Peter gets lost, Singing Bird is the one who is able to find him - and Mama forgives everything. That's a nice, cozy ending, but the way Singing Bird basically has to prove her worth to Mama doesn't feel great. What we know of Singing Bird from Learns a Lesson hinges heavily on stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans - the nice stereotypes, at least, but she doesn't make the leap to being a fully three-dimensional character. This short story doesn't make that happen either.

There's no mention of Britta, and a winter has passed since Singing Bird left, so presumably this is set between Surprise and Birthday. Originally published in American Girl Magazine's premiere issue as "Looking for Indians," a title that didn't make sense to begin with, so doubly glad they changed it.


More Kirsten babble

Meet Kirsten | Kirsten Learns a Lesson | Kirsten’s Surprise | Happy Birthday, Kirsten | Kirsten Saves the Day | Changes for Kirsten

Kirsten on the Trail | Kirsten and the New Girl | Kirsten Snowbound! | Kirsten and the Chippewa | Kirsten’s Promise | Kirsten’s Short Story Collection

The Runaway Friend

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was cute. I like Kirsten and Singing Bird's friendship.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirsten has a indian friend that she wants to keep a secret. Then her little brother finds out and he promises to keep a secret. After that they get in a big fight and Mama finds out and doesn't let Kirsten play with her. Then Peter runs away.I liked it but wished it was longer. Hope you read this book!

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story takes me back to 4th grade history class and also reminds me of grown ups and their prejudice and fears. It took Kirsten's secret friendship with Singing Rain to show her parents that she can be trusted to make the right choices and put their prejudice and fears to rest.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prejudice, fears, willingness to help and care despite what others believed. This is a book of friendship, learning of others differences and support. Family is not always right in their views but sometimes it takes something extreme for them to be forced to change them.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirsten's parents don't trust the Indians but Kirsten is friends with Singing Bird and just wants to show them they're wrong.
Wonderful story of friendship, trust, and learning about others before judging.

[Sandy Carmichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun read for me

[Rosario · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very educational read, especially the part where the Native Americans didn't purposefully hurt the porcupine just to get the quills.

[HadenXCharm · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell this was Pleasant Company's attempt at a revisionism when it came to the way Native Americans were written about in the main Kirsten series. This book tries to directly confront the racism of the white settlers, but still tiptoes about the Native American genocide and never names it directly even once. For a company that had a character escape chattel slavery, it's really repugnant how limp-wristed they were when it came to native issues in the Kirsten series. Even in Kaya's series, which was really beautiful and well-researched, Kaya never came into contact with white settlers, so racism and genocide didn't need to be confronted. No subject material that could make the white children reading it uncomfortable or angry at 'America'.

I do think that this book is valuable despite it's many flaws. A young girl reading this will see through to the heart of the message, and that is friendship and love across racial and ethnic lines. Children instinctively communicate through friendship and understand that racial emnity is foolish. Kirsten and Singing Bird's friendship is genuinely sweet, but Singing Bird and the way the Dakota people were handled in the Kirsten book series is ///definitely/// the reason why Kirsten was the only doll not to get a revival and redesign in the BeForever line, as well as the company constantly trying to discontinue and side-line her. They also never made a movie for her, the only one of the main girls they never made a movie for. It's really obvious the company is trying to distance themselves from a potential racial controversy. This book was an obvious neo-liberal attempt to 'update' the racial sensitivity of the Kirsten series in regards to native people, but it still falls flat in some ways. It really is trying so hard to say "Look, Kirsten's parents aren't racist! They're good people, kind of! Mama gave Singing Bird food!"... It was such an obvious attempt to make Kirsten's parents not look like monsters.

We still have a lot of racially insensitive myths, the biggest one being that Natives stole white children en masse. When you consider how many Native children were stolen by the U.S. and Canada and put into boarding schools where they were assimilated by force, and had their native cultures and languages stripped from them, even their names taken so that they'd could be converted to Christianity, this myth that the Natives stole white kids is deeply insulting and is never refuted in the Looking Back chapter. We have a figure of trust and authority in Kirsten's world: Mama, say that 'Indians steal white boys' and the narrative never contradicts this. Really disappointing.

Another HUGE disagreement I have with this book is that it really is pushing this "don't keep secrets from your parents" narrative, which makes no sense given the context. Kirsten and the readers both instinctively know that Kirsten was absolutely RIGHT to never tell her family about Singing Bird. Kirsten knows her parents are prejudiced against the 'Indians.' It's extremely naive and tone-deaf to try to retro-actively have Kirsten now say "I should have told mom and dad, they'll see that Singing Bird is nice!' Lol?? No they won't? 'Indians steal white children' Mama and "We can't trust the Indians' Papa are NOT going to change their minds. I don't their attempt to rewrite history with this book, but I still think their little adventure together was sweet.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short story, Kirsten's Indian friend Singing Bird returns and Kirsten is so excited to be reunited with her friend after months apart. But when her little brother Peter finds out Singing Bird, he ends up telling their mother about her secret friend. Out of fear, her mother forbids her from spending time with Singing Bird and a hurt Peter runs off alone. When Peter fails to return home and seems to be lost, Singing Bird helps Kirsten find him.

I loved getting to see the character of Singing Bird again in this book. Her family left in search of better hunting grounds in the main series and never returned so it was nice to get a follow up on her. I also thought it was fitting for this short story to focus on fears both Indians and settlers like Kirsten's family would have had about interacting with each other. Despite the innocence of the children's friendship, there are greater powers at work here. Despite being a brief short story, this has a great plot arc and lots of tension between the threatened friendship between Kirsten and Singing Bird and the anxiety of Peter's disappearance.

This book had an especially thorough history section after the conclusion of the story that focused on the lives of Indians on the plains. I read this with my daughters, and they had a lot of questions about Native American ways of life after hearing this history section. This book is such a great introduction to this time period in America's history and to the plight of early Native Americans.

[Bulk Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The return of Singing Bird! I love that she makes a reappearance.

This story almost feels hindered by its shortness, like it needs to be longer to follow through on the emotional impact. Everyone - Kirsten, Peter, Mrs. Larson - overreacts and jumps to conclusions very quickly, but they kind of have to in order for the story to work.

Regardless, it’s worthwhile to see the family’s reaction to Singing Bird, and her teaching Kirsten how to read Peter’s tracks is engaging. I will forever be confused as to how she knows English so well, but that’s more of a problem with Kirsten Learns a Lesson.

[Erin Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean - i get what they were going for? And the ending is nice and cozy and all, but this really rubbed me the wrong way. I like that Shaw realistically portrayed Kirsten's mother's fear of "Indians" and at least mentioned that Singing Bird's people were being starved off their land. I wasn't a big fan of magical Indian tracking powers (Kirsten actually says "maybe Indians never get lost"). And the historical notes intentionally and self-consciously use the wrong terminology for Singing Bird's people, even after explaining why it was the wrong term. 🙄 So a solid meh from me on this one. Read Louis Erdrich's Birchbark House series instead.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another story based on the relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans. In this one Kirsten's mother doesn't want her to be friends with Singing Bird because of her fear of the Indians. Later, though, Kirsten's younger brother disappears and it's up to Kirsten and Singing Bird to find him before he becomes a snack for a wolf or a bear.

The historical section tells about some of the things the female Native Americans made along the lines of crafts and has instructions for making a very attractive charm bag.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book involved an American Girl interacting with a First Peoples girl. The native girl helped find Kirsten's little brother, thus winning acceptance from Kirsten's mother. I liked the "Looking Back--1854" section, which gave lots of accurate information about the Ojibwa and Sioux in Minnesota. It even told how to make a Charm Bag!

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirsten was sad when her secret Indian friend Singing Bird left with her tribe in search of food, but now her friend is back. When mama finds out about Kirsten's friend she tells her to stay away from the Indians, but when Peter goes missing in the woods Kirsten knows exactly who to go to for help.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of five short stories that are on the American Girl Kirsten. I enjoyed this short story but not as much as some of the others.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short story that has related racial tension undertones. Good to read right now.

[Little Seal]

I wish we got a series about Singing Bird over Kirsten, especially with Singing Bird being displaced due to Kirsten and families like hers.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

First short story I have read. Overall enjoyed, was easy to read. I like the look back history section.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's comforting to reread these books as an adult

[Valentine Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome back Singing Bird! I missed you!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirsten has befriended an Native American girl named Singing Bird. However her mother has told her she can no longer play with Singing Bird because she does not trust that Native Americans are safe for Kirsten to befriend. Mama is proved wrong when Singing Bird helps find Kirsten’s lost younger brother.

The distrust for singing bird just because she’s Native, but just until she proves herself useful to the Larson’s is sad, especially knowing that settlers like the Larson’s would eventually sign misleading treaties with Native groups, among other things. Also Singing Bird’s only real personality trait is “expert tracker” which feels a bit trope-y to me.

[Katie Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will never understand how Janet Shaw scored the Kaya gig after writing these short stories.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved seeing Singing Bird again!

[Faith Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the ending was too good to be true, this was still a fun read. I especially enjoyed the look into the past of the Sioux tribe, and the illustrations, although simple, were beautiful.

[Bujan Stavileci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting rid of my TBR list and the American Short Stories have been on it since 2000, as we got them while our family were refugees in US.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story! Made me realize one of the things I liked most about Kirsten’s series was her dynamic with both her brothers. Fun craft in the back!

[Dana Salman]

The American Girls were greatly treasured series of books for me as a grade-school girl, and I was particularly fond of the Kirsten books, probably due to their feeling more adventurous and dangerous than Molly's or Kit's for example (my two other favorite girls). I had the entire six-novel set and read her books many times, with the second book, Kirsten Learns a Lesson, being one of my favorites for its relatable school struggles and, most especially, Kirsten's friendship with Singing Bird - I think Western media at the time (Peter Pan, The Indian in the Cupboard, Pocahontas, The Magic Treehouse, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, even American Girls's own Kaya) contributed quite a bit to me having a rosy and childishly fanciful view of Native Americans and their lives (living in the wilderness, taming wild animals, wearing cool costumes, using bows and arrows, living a life of adventure with no school... a fantasy life any kid would dream of living), and befriending an "Indian" girl like Singing Bird elicited the same kind of excitement one would feel to secretly befriending a shy woodland creature.

I knew OF the existence of a short story where Singing Bird comes back, and I remember wanting so desperately to read that story but having no way to find it (especially after leaving the States). Of course, that hungry need died quite a long time ago, but the day before I just randomly remembered its existence and wondered idly whether I could find it somewhere online. I think, more than for any real desire to read the book (though it wasn't like I was forcing myself), I felt like I owed it to my long-ago younger self to finally lay to rest that burning curiosity I'd had about what it was like for Kirsten and Singing Bird to meet again.

It's funny how, even though my anticipation levels weren't that high going in, I could still feel a tiny bit disappointed? The story wasn't really about Singing Bird or Kirsten's friendship with her, as almost immediately Kirsten's brother Peter butts in and the whole story becomes about trying to find him when he gets lost, and Kirsten simultaneously using the opportunity to show her mother that her Indian friend is trustworthy (which she manages to do pretty easily). I imagine maybe ten-year-old me would have been happy with this story, as the only thing more exciting than keeping a secret is when a secret is suddenly found out, and I bet I would've been pleased that Kirsten's mother accepted Singing Bird by the end. But as I am now, I can't help but feel chagrined that this wasn't a nice little one-off adventure with just Kirsten and Singing Bird hanging out. Not to mention, seeing the word "Indian" in reference to Native Americans feels odd to me now. But hey, at least now I can say I've read it. See, little me? It took 20 years, but you finally got your wish. Maybe I'll even read the rest of the Kaya books you never got to read the next time I'm bored.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is from the perspective of a mother - Kirsten on the Trail focuses on Kirsten's secret friendship with Singing Rain and the ramifications for her family. First, she tries to keep her friendship secret, and entangles her younger brother in deception. Soon the secret is out and Kirsten is forbidden by her parents to see her friend due to their prejudice and fear. But her adventurous brother wants to meet the Indians for himself and wanders off, so Kirsten enlists Singing Rain's help in following Peter's disappearing trail.

And engaging short story for a young reader, but the deeper issues - lying, prejudice, fear and danger, get swept under the rug, and only barely addressed in the Looking Back section. A good book for a parent to read along and discuss the bigger issues together.