Lars Larson is the older brother of Kirsten Larson.
Personality and Facts[]
Lars is at least fifteen by Kirsten Saves the Day. As the oldest son in the family, he is treated like an adult in many ways, given many responsibilities--including being the head of the household when Papa is away working at the logging camp--and helps Anders and Olav out with a lot of work. He learns how to trap animals for furs, and enjoys making wood carvings and is talented enough to sell some of his work. Lars appears to be rarely intimidated or afraid in the scenarios he finds himself in, a quality that Kirsten greatly admires.
In the Books[]
Meet Kirsten: An American Girl[]
Kirsten Learns a Lesson: A School Story[]
Lars attends the Powderkeg school along with Kirsten and Peter. Kirsten notes that Lars seemed much more confident, unintimidated by having a stern teacher like Miss Winston.
Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story[]
Lars stays up with the rest of the family, waiting for Kirsten and Papa to return. He helps Uncle Olav to bring the trunks inside. He is delighted by Kirsten's Saint Lucia's Day surprise.
Happy Birthday, Kirsten!: A Springtime Story[]
Lars is noted to be helping Papa and Uncle Olav with planting the seeds and raising the barn beams.
Kirsten Saves The Day: A Summer Story[]
When Kirsten finds the bee tree and thinks up of items they could buy using the money they'd earn from the honey, getting Lars a new pair of boots so he wouldn't have to work barefoot is one of the items. Peter also dreams of getting a knife like Lars so he could whittle and make carvings like him.
Lars helps Papa saw down the bee tree and bring the bee colony back to the farm. When Kirsten volunteers to carry their bee veils, Lars is confused as he thought Kirsten was afraid of bears. He grins when Kirsten explains she would feel less afraid if she returned to the clearing with him and Papa.
When the family goes to Maryville for the 4th of July, Mr. Berkhoff asks Lars if he brought any more of his little wood carvings to sell as one of the town ladies had asked about them. Lars blushes, not used to the praise, and says he brought a few with him.
Changes for Kirsten: A Winter Story[]
Lars, John Stewart, and Kirsten go out hunting and setting traps in the forest; the adult men have gone to work at a logging camp for the winter, leaving Lars the most adult male in the house. Lars convinces John to let Kirsten come with them due to her knowledge about the animals and forest, and warns her about bringing home a wounded baby raccoon.
Following the destruction of the Larson cabin, Lars must sleep on the floor at the other house as there is nowhere else for him to sleep. He makes preparations to go trapping with John; upon hearing John's news that the Stewarts will be heading to Oregon, he says that someday he wants to go to Oregon as well. He is optimistic that any furs and pelts caught before Papa returns home with his earnings will be enough for the Larsons to purchase the Stewarts' house, despite Mama's misgivings that there will not be enough and they will have to start all over.
On a trapping excursion, Lars and Kirsten are unable to return to the farm due to how late they are out. When Kirsten finds a set of footprints made from old-fashioned snowshoes, Lars identifies them as being Old Jack's and that they can get a lantern from him to find their way home. They follow the tracks to Old Jack's cave and make their way in. Finding Old Jack has died in his sleep, Lars calms Kirsten's fears best he can and reminds her that staying inside the cave is the much safer option for the two of them rather than trying to find their way home in the dark. He is amazed at the quantity and the quality of the furs and pelts Old Jack has inside his cabin cave, saying there's no one like him anymore. Since Old Jack has no known relations or family, Lars says the furs and pelts would belong to the Larsons as the finders--which are of enough quality and quantity to help the Larsons buy the Stewart's home. Lars tells Kirsten that what they will do when they leave at daybreak is pile stones at the door to prevent any wild animals from entering the cave to bother Old Jack's body (and when Papa returns in the spring, they will come back and give Old Jack a proper burial). He wakes Kirsten up to help bring the furs back with them.
Lars steers the wagon to the new house and helps pull the trunk into the new house with Mama and Kirsten, saying that it came all the way from Sweden and has only a little more to get inside their new home.
Kirsten Snowbound![]
Lars goes into town with Mama and Aunt Inger to get supplies they have run out of over the winter. He returns the next day with the others, riding a sleigh.
Kirsten's Promise[]
When Kirsten is troubled by the promise she made with Ezra, she turns to Lars for advice as he had given her good advice before and she needs some now. She finds him behind the barn chopping firewood. Kirsten recalls how he carved a little deer as a gift for Mama, and Lars remembers that Kirsten kept her promise and Mama was very surprised at the gift.
When Kirsten asks if Lars would ever break a promise Lars is quick to say he never would. When Kristen persists, Lars leaned on the axe the way Papa did when he stopped to work things through. He says if maybe Peter made him promise not to tell he was doing something really dangerous, if he might be hurt or killed because he had kept his promise to him, he would have to tell. He says a person's life is more important than a promise.
When Kirsten asks if he's ever been asked to keep that kind of promise, Lars says no, that no one's asked him to make a promise he couldn't keep. He says he was as good as his word and asks if Kristen was the same. When Kirsten says she was, he smiles that he thought so, reminding her how their Papa said no one will trust them if they weren't, and he returns to his work.