Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Publisher: Puffin (2005)

160 pages, Paperback (Purchased Myself for $3.94)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

This is the adventures of Pippi Longstocking, a young orphan girl of unusual strength and talents, who lives on her own and marches to the beat of her own drummer.

My Thoughts:

Pippi is entertaining and unusual to be sure, but I’m not sure all (or even most) of her antics are something to be encouraged in youngsters. Despite the questionable message it presents to children on a variety of topics, her headstrong self-assurance did often shine a light on hypocrisy among adults and other unnecessary social mores.  The chapters were a bit long for a bedtime read, so we ended up cutting them in half for our boys. We finished it in a month (11 chapters in total), and the boys particularly enjoyed the part where she entertains two burglars.

Edition Notes:

This Puffin Modern Classics edition included illustrations by Louis S. Glanzman.

Quotes:

“Don’t you worry about me. I’ll always come out on top.” -Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

“‘But who tells you when to go to bed at night and things like that?’ asked Annika. ‘I tell myself,’ said Pippi. ‘First I tell myself in a nice friendly way; and then, if I don’t mind, I tell myself again more sharply; and if I still don’t mind, then I’m in for a spanking—see?’” -Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

“‘There,’ said Pippi, ‘that man is lying on the ground and we have found him. We’ll take him!’ Tommy and Annika were utterly horrified. ‘No, no Pippi, we can’t take an old gentleman! We couldn’t possibly,’ said Tommy. ‘Anyway, whatever would we do with him?’ ‘What would we do with him? Oh, there are plenty of things we could do with him—’” -Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking