قصة الكتاب :
Pippi Longstocking is the fictional character in a series of children’s books by Swedish author, Astrid Lindgren. This was Astrid’s second book which she wrote as a present for her daughter’s tenth birthday. It got published in 1945. Pippi was named by Lindgren’s daughter Karin. The stories were conceived at the request of Karin, who had come down with an illness and wanted her mother to narrate them to her. Most of the tales were improvised by Lindgren on the spot about an unconventional girl with boundless energy. The three Pippi chapter books were published between 1945 – 1948 and was followed by three short stories and several book adaptations. Astrid Lindgren received the Raben & Sjogren’s Best Children’s Book Award for Pippi.

\r\nThe main character in all the stories is the titular Pippi Longstocking. She is a red-haired, freckled, playful, unpredictable and unusually strong girl. She is portrayed as being able to lift her horse one-handed. She does not take too kindly to unreasonable or condescending adults and makes fun of them. Pippi does not want to grow and has four best friends, two of whom are her horse and her monkey. The neighbour’s children Tommy and Annika are the other two. Pippi lives without her parents. Her mother is no more and her father disappeared at sea. She believes that her father landed in one of the South Sea Islands and rules it as a King. Pippi lives in an old house with her horse and her monkey and loves to make treats for her friends. She tells tall tales and has a stock of weaponry that she wields when she pleases. Nine-year old Pippi who has no one at home to keep an eye on her lives her life according to her whims. She turns everything into an adventure and often engages in fun pursuits with her friends such as ‘thing-finding’ around the village she lives in. She is portrayed as the kindest and most generous of friends.

\r\nLindgren’s daughter Karin has stated that she related more to the characters of Tommy and Annika as a child. The character of Pippi seemed too far removed from her personality which made the character more interesting and intriguing to both her and her friends, among whom the stories of Pippi were popular even before they hit the shelves officially. Pippi Longstocking has been translated into several languages and adapted into many movies and TV series. Since its first publication, the stories have delighted generations of children around the world. \r\n