Reliving Pippi Longstocking

A few months back, I called Barnes and Noble to try and pick up a Pippi Longstocking book to read to at my son's school. "How do you spell Pippi?" The lady ask. You have to be kidding??!! Pippi Longstocking was easily one of the most recognizable little girls in children's literature. I laughed at the salesman on the phone and said, "Are you serious? You don't know Pippi?" She didn't even know the author--and she worked in the children's section. Shameful, really.

After our brief stint in Sweden, where Pippi lives as a hero to children. Before the age of three, any good Swedish child can name every character in the books and tell you about them. They have a museum dedicated to Pippi and Astrid Lindgren (the author). You'll find Pippi clothes, books, back packs, dolls, games, puzzles. You name it, they have it.

This past weekend, the Swedish embassy in DC hosted a Pippi Day. Me needing a little bit of Sweden, made the very long trek into town. It was cute and very Swedish. Alex asked all kinds of questions about why Pippi lived alone and why she has a monkey and a horse. We have read a few of the storied, but I went to get one of the Pippi movies on Sunday since it rained all day. (Not the same ones I saw as a child.) Both kids just instantly fell in love with her. She's fun and mischievous. Pippi stories, like many Swedish stories, touch on topics which are a bit taboo here like bullying, grief divorce, and death. You mix that in with a bit of imagination and even a bit of magic and you get something very unique.

The past few days it's been fun to have Pippi back into our lives. She gives us a touch of Sweden and a bit of fun. I hope she'll stick around for a while.