
MEET CAROLINE
CAROLINE ABBOTT - BOOK 1
American Girl Publishing

A Top 25 Children's Fiction Bestseller
for 4 Weeks Running
— Publisher's Weekly
Winner of a 2012 Mom's Choice
Gold Award for Ages 8+ for the
Caroline Doll & Meet Caroline Book
Children's Literature Award Winner
— Council for Wisconsin Writers
Kathleen created the American Girl Caroline Abbott historical character and wrote the seven books about her. Meet Caroline is the first story in this award-winning, bestselling series, and the eighteenth of Kathleen's twenty-five published books. It takes place during the War of 1812 and is written for readers age 8 and up who enjoy historical fiction without any sex, gore, or explicit violence.
Story Description
Caroline Abbott is doing what she loves most—sailing on Lake Ontario with Papa—when her world turns upside down. A British officer boards their sloop, announces that Britain and America are at war, and takes her father prisoner!
As Papa is led away, Caroline promises him that she will stay strong and steady until he returns. She tries hard to keep her promise by helping Mama run the family's shipyard. Then the British attack her village, and it looks as if the American side is in trouble. Can Caroline stay steady enough to help win the day?
Includes an illustrated "Looking Back" essay about America in 1812.
This story is available as a 104-page printed book in softcover and hardcover, and for Adobe eBook-capable devices, including the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Kobo eReaders, and for the Amazon Kindle.
What Others Are Saying
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Gold Award from Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA), an international awards program that recognizes authors, companies, and others for creating quality, family-friendly media, products and services. more>> |
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Platinum Award from the children's consumer organization Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, which provides independent reviews by child development experts Joanne and Stephanie Oppenheim. more>> |
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Tofte/Wright Children's Literature Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers, a community of writers, poets and educators dedicated to recognizing oustanding work by Wisconsin authors. more>> |
About the Author
Bestselling author Kathleen Ernst writes award-winnng mysteries and historical fiction for adults and young readers. Her work has earned numerous honors, including multiple Edgar and Agatha mystery award nominations, and an Emmy for children's educational programming.
To date, readers have purchased well over 750,000 audio, electronic, and printed copies of Kathleen's twenty-five books. more>>
Related Blog Posts
Enjoy the author's insights about the story, characters, and settings.
A Sloop For Caroline |
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Readers will quickly discover that Caroline Abbott, the 1812 character I created for American Girl, loves sailing. Caroline’s family lives on the shore of mighty Lake Ontario, and Papa is a... more>> |
Meet Caroline – And Her Home Town |
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Are you ready to meet Caroline Abbott? At long last, the 1812 character I created for American Girl is launching into the world! All six books are now available. Caroline Abbott lives in Sackets Harbor, New York. The village is on the... more>> |
Team Caroline |
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Have you ever thought about how many people are involved with producing the American Girl books, dolls, and accessories? It takes a whole team to see such a big project through from idea to publication... more>> |
Caroline Abbott’s Setting Revealed! |
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You know her name. You know her year. Now discover more about American Girl’s newest historical character! The company has revealed the Caroline doll and where her story takes place — Sackets Harbor, New York... more>> |
Caroline Abbott and Me |
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A young reader named Breanna once asked me a wonderful question: “When you write one of the American Girl stories, do you try to remember what it was like when you were a kid?” I explained that... more>> |
Creating Caroline Abbott, An American Girl |
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Lots of you have already heard the latest news: Caroline Abbott’s stories are set in 1812! That’s all I’m able to say about her for now. What I can do is tell you a little about the process for creating Caroline and her world... more>> |
American Girl and Me |
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I had a marvelous time writing six books about Caroline. While I can’t tell you anything more about her yet, I can answer one of the most common questions I hear from readers: ”How did you get started writing for American Girl?”... more>> |
Available From
| PAPERBACK DOLL & PAPERBACK SIX BOOK BOX SET DOLL & SIX BOOK SET |
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| PAPERBACK SIX BOOK BOX SET |
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| NOOK eBOOK PAPERBACK SIX BOOK BOX SET |
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| KINDLE eBOOK PAPERBACK SIX BOOK BOX SET |
Author's Note
In many ways Meet Caroline was the most challenging of the Caroline books to write.
After many weeks of research, and thinking, I was coming to know Caroline in my imagination. But how could I present her to readers? How could I introduce her personality, her challenges, her big dreams? How could I best describe her setting? And how could I manage those things—and still tell an exciting story?
After many drafts, I’m happy with the result. I hope you are as well!
25 In 25 Giveaway
To celebrate the release of my 25th book, Traitor In The Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery, I'm thanking readers with a big 25 BOOKS IN 25 WEEKS GIVEAWAY.
In Week 3 of the giveaway three readers won signed, personalized, first-edition, hardcover copies of Meet Caroline.
I'm announcing new giveaways almost every Sunday—and you could win! For details, visit my Facebook Author page or my Sites and Stories blog.
Book Goodies
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PREVIEW Get a sneak peak inside this book CLICK TO DOWNLOAD |
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LEARNING GUIDE For teachers and homeschoolers CLICK TO DOWNLOAD |
Keywords
Abbott's Shipyard, account books, ages 8 and up, American flag, American Girl, American Navy ship Oneida, American soldiers, Atlantic Ocean, Aunt Martha Livingston, baking bread, becalmed, bills, blue eyes, boom, bonnet, British citizen, British colony, British flag, British officer, business papers, cannonballs, Captain, Caroline Abbott, carpenters, China, children's historical fiction, contracts, design drawings, embroidered map, embroidery silk, fighting, finest craftsmen, Fire!, fishing, flag of truce, Flemish knot, frightened, flighty, freight, gardening apron, gingerbread, ginger tea, Grandfather Livingston, Grandmother Livingston, Great Britain, Great Lakes, grim-faced, gunboat, gun crew, heavy cannons, His Majesty King George the Third, Hosea Barton, hot as coals, hunker down, Hurrah, hurry, independence, Inkpot the cat, it suits, Jed, jibe, John Abbott, Kathleen Ernst, Kingston, kitchen fireplace, Lake Ontario, leather-bound ledger, Lieutenant Morris, Lieutenant Woolsey, Load!, log blockhouse, long boats, long skirt, Lydia Livingston, mahogany worktable, mainsail, Mama, Meet Caroline, midday meal, militia, Mr Tate, Mrs Shaw, muskets, navy shipyard, needlework, northern New York, oars, Oliver Livingston, passengers, picnic supper, pine tar, pipe tobacco, pistol, Porter's warehouse, post walker, Prime!, President Madison, prisoners, Ram home charge!, Ready! Revoluntionary War, rhubarb, root cellar, ropemaker, Sackets Harbor New York, sailcloth, sailmaker, sailor, sails, Samuel, schooner, scrubbing floors, Seneca Indian, Seth Whittleslee, shipbuilder, ships galley, side-whiskers, sloop White Gull, smugglers, steady, tankard, threaten, trade laws, trout, truce, wooden tiller, Uncle Aaron Livingston, uneasy silence, Upper Canada, War of 1812, warships, weeding gardens, wheelbarrow, whitefish, white handkerchief, winter wool cloak, wood and rope ladder, wooden tiller, wooden top, woodworker, wool carpet




































