Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking written by Astrid Lindgren

Children’s Novel, for ages 9-11

5 Stars

Pippi Longstocking is an orphan girl who lives by herself in the lovely Villa Villekula with her monkey Mr. Nilsson and her horse. Pippi, her pets, and her neighbor friends, Tommy and Annika, do through what should be a normal life, but what always turns into an adventure with Pippi around.

                I loved this book. Growing up I watched all of the Pippi Longstocking movies over and over again, but never did I know that these movies were based on a book. Just like when I was watching the movies as a child, I found myself laughing out loud while reading this story because of the silly things young Pippi does, thinking that it is perfectly normal to do so. Astrid Lindgren uses precise vocabulary to paint precise pictures of the words into the reader’s head. For example,  on page 15 one line states, “She was Miss Pippi Longstocking out for her morning promenade” (Lindgren, 15). Promenade is defined to be a stroll or walk, especially in a public place, as for pleasure or display. This word describes exactly what Pippi does on a daily basis, walk around in public for pleasure, but ends up on display because of the weird things she does. Using a different word other than promenade would not have filled that sentence with as much wealth. The very next paragraph describes Pippi’s appearance using so much detail and adjectives that Lindgren is really showing the readers what Pippi looks like, painting a distinct picture in their heads, versus just telling the readers what she looks like in one simple sentence. This use of immense detail and imagery also help to define Pippi’s personality. While reading the story, although it could be satirical in nature, no sarcasm exists. This story is written from the third-person, but with the focus being on Pippi’s point of view, so all of her actions are described are being ordinary and that she is a mature and sophisticated nine year old because she lives on her own. This is how Pippi sees herself, even though none of it is true. Yes, this story is filled with humor, but it is because of how naive Pippi is in regards to society, her actions, and the norm of society and actions at the time. All of these reasons makes Pippi Longstocking a very enjoyable read as it is a very well-written story.

                I will definitely use this novel in the future with my students. The amount of great things found within the literature of this story make it perfect for a book to be read in literature circles. This makes the book appear to be read from an efferent stance because it is being assigned to students to read for educational purposes, but I think the students will quickly find that they will want to read this book for pleasure, from the aesthetic stance. Many projects, discussions, and ways to test the comprehension of my students could be made up, in a fun way, based on this book. For example, the students could draw a map or make a mobile of the different adventures that Pippi goes on in the story. This project will be fun for the students to make as well as show me, as the teacher, that they read and understood the story. Keeping a running list of new vocabulary words would also be a worthwhile assignment because of the wide range of precise vocabulary used within the story. This list could go on forever of ways to incorporate this story in a reading/language arts class. Also, this novel would make a fantastic read-aloud as it would easily keep the attention of the listeners because they will always be wondering what funny thing Pippi will do next as well as anticipate the laughter that will come once they hear it. Whether it be used in literature circles or as a read-aloud book, Pippi Longstocking will always have a place in my classroom.