Pippi is funny. ‘Who tells you when it’s time to go to bed?’ Tommy asks. ‘I do that myself,’ said Pippi. ‘First I tell myself once, very nicely, and if I don’t obey I tell myself again, quite crossly, and if I still don’t obey, well, then there’s trouble, I can tell you.’ Pippi has a way of turning the world
upside down, upending convention, and using words however she likes. She is a master of the bizarre and surreal monologue. She is a Teller of Tall Tales. She is wild and unpredictable, with the destructive potential of an unexploded bomb. She is able to take care of herself and other people: to cook, to clean, to camp, to feed everybody, and to organise. Pippi is generous in every way. She has independent means of finance – an endless bag of gold coins. Pippi is not scared of ANYONE, no
matter how important they think they are. Pippi gently perplexes those who are trying to educate her or make her do things like ‘multikipperation,’ by possibly deliberately misunderstanding things. Pippi is an uncontainable force: when she tries going to school, Pippi’s drawing of a horse refuses to be restricted to a piece of paper and is happening on the floor: she explains: ‘I’m in the middle of doing the front legs now, but when I get to the tail most likely I’ll have to go out into the corridor.’ There’s joy in language: looking through a telescope Pippi says: ‘I can practically see the fleas in South America with this.’
Under it all there is understated heart from Astrid Lindgren. In
Pippi Goes Aboard the threat of Pippi going away looms. Here’s when Pippi is just about to leave and board her father’s ship:
She turned to Tommy and Annika and looked at them. What a strange look, thought Tommy. It was exactly the same look Tommy’s mum had on her face once when he was very, very ill. And what is that look?
Astrid Lindgren leaves you to work that one out for yourself. And lastly, here’s my favourite character,
Mr Nilsson. I did love drawing all those Mr Nilssons.
OUP’s new editions of Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking books with Mini Grey’s illustrations are available now, £5.99 pbk.
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