Author: Astrid Lindgren
Genre: Children / Manners / Adventure / Humor
Year Published: 1950
Year Read: 1998
Series: Pippi Longstocking #1
Publisher: Puffin
Source: Purchased
Content Rating: Ages 6+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
To be honest, I have heard of “Pippi Longstocking” when I was little, but I only saw the movies of the little red haired heroine, but then again I might have read this book when I was younger. It is just that I do not remember many children’s books that I have read when I was small. “Pippi Longstocking” is a popular children’s book by Astrid Lindgren and it details the wild adventures of an unusual girl named Pippi Longstocking. “Pippi Longstocking” is clearly one of the best children’s books ever written that children will enjoy over and over again!
Pippi Longstocking is a little girl who lives in an old house called Villa Villekulla and she lives with her pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson and her horse that she rides everywhere to town with. Her next door neighbors are two kids named Tommy and Annika and when they first met Pippi, they realized that Pippi is no ordinary girl as she climbs inside trees and is so strong that she can easily lift her horse! Join in the wild adventures of everyone’s favorite pigtailed girl, Pippi Longstocking!
Wow! I was just simply blown away by this book! I was reading this book for The Children's Book Club International Book Club and I must tell you that I really loved this book! Astrid Lindgren has certainly done a brilliant job at portraying Pippi Longstocking as she is shown as a strong and confident heroine! What made Pippi Longstocking such an endearing character was the fact that she truly was an extraordinary girl and I loved the fact that Pippi is extremely strong and I also enjoyed the odd activities that Pippi does such as dancing with the robbers and climbing inside trees. I also loved Pippi’s mischievous yet charming personality as she may seem as a bother to the adults, but I just loved seeing her misunderstand everything that goes on in life on land since she has lived at the seas for most of her life and I loved the fact that she continues doing what she loves best despite what everyone else thinks of her. I also loved Pippi’s relationship with Tommy and Annika as it is clear that the two kids loved Pippi’s unusual nature and accept her bizarre approaches to life and because of that, Tommy and Annika are possibly the best friends that Pippi ever had!
Probably the only thing that most parents might be worried about in this book is Pippi’s mischievous behavior. Pippi does lie to her friends about her adventures around the world and she does do mischievous activities that get on adults’ nerves and therefore, smaller children might be enticed to copy her behavior. However, while I agree that some of Pippi’s antics are suggestive, I always thought that because Pippi’s parents were absent, Pippi never had anyone tell her what was right or what was wrong and I think that she does these activities because she does not know that what she is doing is wrong or right and it was this nature of Pippi about the fact that she is so young and does not know the world very well that I found extremely pleasing to read about.
Overall, “Pippi Longstocking” is certainly an instant for children all over the world that love reading about wild and crazy kids! I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to the length of this book and due to Pippi’s suggestive behavior.
What fun. I first read this book when I was ten or so- my great-aunt introduced me to it. My older daughter (8) has just discovered Pippi and not only read two or three books about her but also started watching the films. She thinks Pippi is hilarious!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I got my first exposure to Pippi when I watched the animated movie!
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