Customer Reviews

Pippi Longstocking

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was very empowering for me as a child to read Pippi's adventures. Her independence, common sense, strength, resourcefulness, and compassion were a tremendous inspiration to me and continue to be very commendable qualities. I don't believe much was lost in the translation of these books because the storytelling flows superbly and is exciting, engaging, and enduring. As a youngster, my favorite elements of these stories included Pippi's hoard of gold, pet horse, physical strength, fantastic adventures, and red hair. As an adult, I am drawn to the heroine's wisdom and goodness of spirit. For adults who read Pippi as a child, I recommend a revisit to her world for a fresh view of her character as well as delightful reminiscing. This is terrific reading for all ages both girls and boys.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

i`m 30 now.whenever the pressure of life or job or anything which may happen in adults lives keeps pressing on me i return to my pippi books. i live in those shiny pages,run with pippi, shout with pippi, dance with her and her lovely daddy and all darkness around me disappears.she takes me back to my innocence days in which watching an apple or playing with an ant was giving me the greatest joy of life.
in this way astrid and pippi are my always and sweet friends.
regards,
bess garner

Pippi Longstocking is one of the best children's books ever written. It's written from the point-of-view of a non-gendered omniscient narrator, about a strong independent girl, Pippi. Her next-door neighbours, Tommy and Annika, are a brother/sister pair that do everything together.
I bought this Puffin Modern Classics version of the book for my little girls, as I actively seek out stories that have strong non-Princess female protagonists.

Then I noticed that the back blurb of the book says:
"Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbour, and her name is Pippi Longstocking."
What the heck, Puffin? The book is NOT about Tommy. Are you afraid to market a product that isn't from a male perspective?

I wish I would have bought a different printed version, because the book is incredible. But, I fixed it, by cutting out the words "his sister" with an exacto knife! ;)
[...]

What are countless memories but figments of our imaginations? Long-lost dreams that are no longer here? We can only renew one type of memory and have the same joy, same ecasticy as the first time. Books are these memories.

This book is filled with friends, to yellow houses, to monkeys named Mr. Nilson, all the way to a happy birthday ending.

Follow the hysterical, laugh-out-loud adventures of Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking, origaanilly Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump in this cherished children's book.

This is a fun and silly novel about a girl with mind-boggling strength, intense zest for life, spontaneity, and no desire for practicality. It is light-hearted and fun to read.

To my mind, Pippi Longstocking is perhaps the world's first child superhero. Able to lift strong policemen with her bare hands! Capable of climbing tall houses and trees with virtually no effort at all! Rescuing children from burning buildings and adults from snobby talk! If, like myself, you were a child of the 1980s then your first exposure to Miss Longstocking probably came in the form of that gawdawful movie circa 1988. Words alone cannot express the damage that film did to the youth of America. After watching it I avoided the book "Pippi Longstocking" like it was the plague itself. Only recently have I recanted and decided to read Astrid Lindgren's classic tale. As charming as it is outright bizarre I charge all of you to take the time to find and devour this little Swedish gem. Pippi's a pip, no question.

Working at wish fulfillment on about ten different levels, Pippi is the ultimate kid's kid. She lives all alone in a large fantastic house. Her mother died while she was but a babe and her father has been lost at sea. As optimistic regarding her father's return as Primrose Squarp in "Everything On a Waffle", Pippi fills her days with dancing, pancakes, and games. She owns a whole suitcase of gold coins, which allow her the freedom to live alone and untended. On top of that, she has her own monkey (the drolly named Mr. Nilsson) and horse. The neighbor children Annika and Tommy think (rightly so) that Pippi's a wonder. She never attends school or bothers with all the problems other children suffer. Instead, she has her own unique perspective on life and the people around her. Though precocious she's never mean, even when dealing with bullies or criminals.

The book, originally published in American in 1950, is a wonder. Though I'm certain other illustrators have done a fair job, I highly recommend that you seek out an edition illustrated by the talented Louis S. Glanzman. His Pippi is just as fabulous as you might hope her to be. I've always minded those Pippi's that seem a little too lanky or tough. This Pippi is just mischief incarnate. While you're out seeking an edition of this book illustrated by Glanzman, also make certain that the translation has been done by Florence Lamborn. There were some moments of trans-atlantic interpretation that just blew me away. For example, when confronted by evil bullies numerous in number, the biggest and meanest of them eyes Pippi and says, "boys, let Willie alone and take a look at this girl. What a babe!". Obviously that phrase must've meant something entirely different in 1950, but I was incredibly amused by it just the same. Other funny moments caught my eye. For one thing, Pippi and her friends are forever drinking coffee. Not given the "adult drink" status it has in the states, coffee is definitely the drink of choice of Swedish youth. And there was also the difficulty the translator had with verbal puns. Some of these had to be worked around by explaining what a word means in English. Without these explanations the book's jokes would fall flat.

Finally, my favorite chapter of the book. It was the chapter in which Pippi is invited to a fancy coffee party (see what I meant about kids and coffee?). Pippi attempts desperately to mix and mingle appropriately with the middle-aged lady guests there. When the women start putting down their hired help, Pippi is more than eager to tell multiple increasingly bizarre stories of her grandmother's servant Malin. The ways in which Pippi tells Milan tales becomes more and more extreme until at the end she screams towards the women from the other end of the block, "SHE NEVER SWEPT UNDER THE BEDS". I think you'll have to read the chapter yourself to see just how increasingly hilarious it becomes. It's fabulous stuff.

Every country has its resident red headed heroine. Canada has Anne of Green Gables. America has Caddie Woodlawn. Sweden has Pippi Longstocking. She's the greatest thing since sliced bread and twice as perky. For a fabulous romp through the increasingly ridiculous, I more than recommend this quirky spunky fan-freakin'-tastic book. It hasn't aged a jot.

Pippi reinforced my innate belief that I could do anything I wanted to do and that it was OK to be a strong and brave girl. I grew up in Sweden but ended up fighting drugs and crime while providing housing in American public housing neighborhoods, still buttressed by that Pippi can-do/never-give-up spirit. I'm still lifting horses over my head and scaring the bad guys, all the while having the time of my life. Thank you Pippi and thank you Astrid Lindgren!

Pippi Longstocking is the best series of books ever. Astrid Lindgren wrote these books so colorfully and beautifully, every child has to love them.

Pippi was originally translated from Swedish, and, if you speak it, I would recommend getting the Swedish version.

This was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I wanted to be Pippi! Long live Pippi Longstocking!

Pippi longstocking was one of the first chapter books I read as I had to read it for a Third grade class. I enjoyed the way she gets herself out of jams and helps show the neighbor kids a whole new way of life that they've never seen before. There is one thing that is stuck in my mind from that book and it is how everything is upside down in her house. I think that this should be every kids first chapter book because it is easy to read and it helps kids open their imagination. It showed me how to use mine and even though I didn't do the stuff Pippi did it still helped me open up my imagination and I hope it still helps kids.