Her works have been published in over 100 languages with a sale of around 165 million books worldwide. Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren's stories of Bullerby, about everyday heroes like Kalle Blomquist, Karlsson on the Roof and Emil of Lönneberga, turned her into one of world's best-known author of books for children and young people to this day. 'Both are reminiscent of the imagination of a madman.' He said Astrid Lindgren lacked talent and was uncivilized, while the character Pippi was abnormal and pathological.īut Pippi's popularity, especially with children, proved her creator right. 'No normal child eats a whole cream cake or walks barefoot on sugar,' wrote John Landquist, a well-respected professor, in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. They felt her language was sloppy and vulgar, and the book demoralizing. Critics argued that this 9-year-old with the strength of a giant, who lived alone in a mansion and did whatever she wanted, could be a bad role model for children. Initially, however, Pippi was the subject of debate, at least among adults.

Christmas 1945 saw the publication of Pippi Longstocking that went on to become a children's book classic. In 1945, Astrid Lindgren entered a slightly modified manuscript of Pippi's adventures in a children's book competition by publisher Raben & Sjogren's - and won first prize. Three years later, Astrid Lindgren jotted down the Pippi stories and sent them to a publisher, allegedly with the words: 'In the hope that you will not alert the Youth Welfare Office.' The rejection was prompt. So, her mother Astrid invented a red-headed little girl with freckles and two stiff braids, whose mother is an angel and whose father is a king of the South Seas, and who lives in a house named Villa Villekulla with Mr. 'Pippi Longstocking' - that was the name the girl came up with. In Sweden back in 1941, Astrid Lindgren sat beside her little daughter Karin who was sick in bed. About 8.6 million Pippi Longstocking books have been sold in Germany since 1949, from a total of about 70 million worldwide.

Pippi is still very popular in Germany, according to the books' Hamburg-based publisher, Oetinger. This is not only true in English, but in each of the over 70 languages into which Pippi's adventures have been translated to date. It takes a long moment for Pippito rattle off her full name. 'Allow me to introduce myself: Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking!' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Astrid lindgren pippi