Pippi Longstocking (Puffin Modern Classics) by Astrid Lindgren
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Book Reviews of Pippi Longstocking (Puffin Modern Classics)
Book Review: That Freckled Faced Red Haired Girl
Summary: 4 Stars
Pippi Longstocking is not your average little girl. For one, she lives all by herself in a large house, with no parents around to tell her to do anything. Then there's the animal factor. Instead of having a little kitten like a normal girl, Pippi has a pet monkey named Mr. Nelson, and a horse who lives on her porch! But even with all of her strangeness, Tommy and his sister Annika - who just happen to be Pippi's next-door neighbors - think that Miss Longstocking is the best thing to ever happen to them, which is why they try to spend all of their time with her. But the fact that this red-haired girl doesn't go to school puts a damper on their weekdays. But definitely doesn't put a damper on the crazy adventures they have together, as they get into all sorts of mischief and trouble.
I first read PIPPI ON BOARD years and years ago at the library, and have been a Pippi fan ever since. The movies about her wacky life have only made me love her even more. However, I had never read PIPPI LONGSTOCKING, Astrid Lindgren's first installment into the trials and tribulations of Pippi's life, and now that I have, Pippi's whole story has become clear. Pippi is an energetic girl who loves the finer things in life - and has the money to afford it. Her influence on the children around her - while not the greatest - is outrageously funny, and will cause readers to laugh out loud. Overall, Astrid Lindgren's PIPPI LONGSTOCKING is a book that will go down in history alongside the works of Roald Dahl. Marvelous!
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
Book Review: Astonishingly Irreverent
Summary: 4 Stars
Pippi Longstocking is an entertaining work of classic children's fiction, but one that has some curious attributes that leave you wondering what the author's intent may have been.
The title character is an orphaned Swedish girl who manages to live alone thanks to her remarkable resourcefulness and special abilities. In a series of humorous episodes, she confronts and defeats conventional behavior, civil authority, and the narrow prejudices and expectations of her contemporaries. Pippi, in her naive and uneducated way, sees through the artificiality of custom and tradition, exemplifies the free spirit and unfettered imagination, and defies the community standards of dress, decorum, and hygiene. She is a model non-conformist (yes, this is an oxymoron).
What puzzles us more is that Pippi also has superhuman strength and other unnatural talents. She can lift her pet horse off the porch and into the yard. She excels circus performers in their stunts without ever having practiced them. None of these superhero attributes is ever explained. What is the message here? That by defying the rules we gain superpowers? That conformity saps our vital force? That Pippi is as impossible as she is imaginary?
Whatever the notions that may have gone into Pippi Longstocking, she is a delightfully irreverent and defiant breath of fresh air in a world of increasingly circumscribed attitudes and expectations.
Book Review: Good Fun
Summary: 4 Stars
My children and I loved the stories. Watch out for the last story however. The generous Pippi shares guns with her friends. I had to explain to my six year old that this is from a different time in a different country and that she should never ever touch a gun.Book Review: Pippi Longstocking (not cut out for a 1st grader)
Summary: 4 Stars
The book is a classic and I love it but it definitely is not reading material for a 1st grader. I bought this for Christmas (although Amazon promised to get it here by then and it came December 27th) I will give it to my daugher for her 7yr b-day.Book Review: Pigtailed Pixie Opens Doors of Imagination
Summary: 3 Stars
This 1940's story is somewhat dated and admittedly corny in places, but kids 6-11 can relate to the amazing antics of the spunky title character. By the 1940's books were finally being written for children--for sheer entertainment--as opposed to being boringly instructive and preachy. Most female characters (human and animal) were portrayed as silly or weak in mind and/or body, at least compared with their male counterparts. Thus the PIPPI books represent a breath of literary fresh air, which was truly appreciated 70 years ago.
All children can admire the unique heroine, a Swedish mighty-mite: at 9 Pippi sports long braids, freckles and saucy knee socks, but she lives alone (without adult supervision) with just her pet monkey--quite unique for Scandinavia. "Normal" neighbor children are amazed by her incredible strength and daring creativity. Modern elementary kids will instantly recognize that her exploits are pure fantasy, but they remain delightful escapist fare decades later. Pippi opens the doors of adventure to the stereotyped siblings, Tommy and Annika. Her exuberance is all part of her charm, so let your inner child out and invite today's young readers to indulge. A real imagination-builder for kids of all ages. Hey, why should Kids have all the fun anyway?