M. Farag
Lit.ForChildren
Naomi Wood
2-1-01

Researcher Role forPippi Longstocking

1. "Pippi Longstocking is a prime example of the anti-authoritarian book... Pippi stands for every child's dream of doing exactly what he or she wants to" (Orvig).

One of the main things children seem to love about Pippi is that she lives by herself and she doesn't answer to anyone. Most children at some point in their lives dream of this and in reading this book are able to imagine all of the different possibilities of being by themselves.

2. Pippi - in Swedish this means crazy or nuts (Metcalf).

3. "Pippi is their (Tommy and Annika's) entertainer, their distorting mirror, and their guiding star, twinkling with wit and irony" (Metcalf).

Tommy and Annika represent the everyday child who has parents, rules and must go to school. Their lives were boring and routine until Pippi came into the picture. They are all of the children that idolize Pippi and wish that they could live like her.

4. Villa Villekulla - this evokes not only a playful mood with its alliterations, but its connotations in Swedish. A villa is a beautiful mansion. However, Pippi lives in a run down old house, but this is in line with her use of exaggeration and tall tales. (Metcalf).

5. "Every night, when I sat by her bed (her daughter) she nagged me the way children do: 'Please, mummy, tell me a story.' And one evening... I asked her, 'What shall I talk about?' So she answered, 'Tell me about Pippi Longstocking.' She made up the name in that very instant. I did not ask her who Pippi Longstocking was. I just started to tell her a story." --- Astrid Lindgren----http://www.astridlindgrensworld.com And so the story of Pippi Longstocking came about. Her daughter made up the name and Lindgren did the rest.

Summary:
The story of Pippi Longstocking is a timeless tale that children around the world can relate to. Every child has longed to be on their own without the rules of adults or expectations of adults and this book brings alive those fantasies. Most children are able to identify themselves as Tommy and Annika and can imagine what fun it would be to have Pippi as a playmate next door. Lindegren used words to help bring out the meaning in the story, but unfortunately much of that gets lost in the translation. Pippi is the hero that every child dreams of being and reminds us that anything is possible.

Works Cited:

"Astrid Lindgren Talks About Herself." Astrid Lindgren's World. Feb 1 2001. <http://www.astridlindgrensworld.com/info/astrid.html>.

Metcalf, Eva-Maria. "Tall Tale and Spectacle in Pippi Longstocking." Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 15 (1990) 130-35.

Orvig, Mary. "A Collage: Eight Women Who Write Books in Swedish for Children " The Horn Book Magazine. Feb. 1973

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