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Summary: 18...And Still Reading Pippi
Review: For years, I've enjoyed reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading Pippi Longstocking and the three other books that follow it. This is one of the very few children's books that are, very necessarily, a staple of any good childhood. Pippi allows every child, whether it be in age, or in heart, to live out fantasies of going to the ends of the earth and of having fun adventures from which they'll always come out on top, with Pippi leading the way. Though there were few books in the series, especially compared to most other children's series, the powerful words contained within their covers more than compensate for this, raising your imagination to new heights. I have only one message for anyone reading this: BUY THIS BOOK. Whether or not you have children, this is an exciting, completely irreverent, and just plain fun story that will have you laughing and dreaming just like a kid--again. :)
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Summary: A red-headed charmer with a delightful zaney sense of humor
Review: I remember reading Pippi Longstocking for the first time. I was immediately drawn into the story of this independent and quirky kid, no parents in tow, who confidently moves into her Villa with a monkey and horse. Her nutty antics, her seeming unconcern for the conventional and bizarre remarks all have that Scandinavian sense of humor that's hard to define, but very tart and funny. No wonder this book has become a children's classic. And I have to confess, I still giggle over it today. A real winnder and great for a young reader.
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Summary: One of the most engaging books written for boys and girls!
Review: Pippi Longstocking is frequently one of the first chapter books read to children, and as a first grade teacher, I can attest to the value of its choice. Pippi is a larger than life character who does so many things that young children find absolutely wonderful and satisfying. * * * * * * * * * * * Pippi, an *orphan* with braids askew, lives all by herself at Villa Villekulla. Her only companions are her monkey and a horse (who lives on her porch).Children get to know Pippi through Annika and Tommy, *proper* children who live next door. Pippi looks at things as obliquely as her braids; she usually sees the positive side of things, unless she is requested to go to school or learn the multiplication tables. She has her own ideas about things, and simply cannot be made to follow the rules, but her way of disobeying is amusing and quite chathartic for children who ALWAYS have to follow the rules that adults make. She does not inspire kids to break the rules;she just makes them laugh with glee at her absurdity. She has *powers* that they adore!
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Summary: December#10
Review: 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.
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Summary: The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Review: Pippi Lonstocking was one of the first books that I read as a child ALL by myself. While looking for a birthday gift for my 6 year old niece, a reluctant reader, I remembered Pippi and the joy of reading this wonderful book by Astrid Lindgren. Not only was she able to read it by herself, but she would curl up in a corner of her room to finish the whole book! What a success! Pippi's whacky adventures provide the reader, especially young girls, with lots of fun.
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Summary: Pip pip and tarry ho!
Review: 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.
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