Pippi Longstocking, Souvenir Queen of Stockholm (and Chaos)

Photo Credit: Desenio.ch

On the 10th day of the UBC, I would like to revive a childhood idol, you may remember her as well...

You can spot more or less the same items in every souvenir shop in Stockholm: Viking helmets, moose plushies, wooden Dala horses, colorful knitted hats — and of course, headbands with red Pippi Longstocking pigtails.

I'm not sure how popular Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) is outside Europe. Created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, Pippi has been translated into over 75 languages and turned into a beloved TV series.

Critics have described her as a wild, unruly brat in ragged clothes with bright red pigtails who lives in a falling-apart house and refuses to obey any rules.

They’re not entirely wrong, but as a kid, I found her endlessly charming and fun. See for yourself:

Pippi lives with her squirrel monkey Mr. Nilsson and her white horse (yes, inside the house) in Villa Villekulla, on the edge of a small Swedish town. Her mother is said to be in heaven, and her father? King of a faraway South Sea island.

Photo Source: Wikipedia

She’s nine years old, fiercely freckled, and sports those iconic sideways braids. Since she has no parents around, she does exactly as she pleases. And thanks to a suitcase full of gold coins, she’s financially independent, too.

Pippi constantly clashes with adults. When two policemen try to take her to a children’s home, she outsmarts them. The stern schoolteacher Miss Prysselius tries to make Pippi fit in, but Pippi's logic-defying antics make that impossible.

Academics? Also not her thing. She struggles mightily with spelling, and when it comes to multiplication, she can’t even pronounce it, calling it “muddleplication” instead.

Luckily, Pippi has her well-behaved neighbor friends Tommy and Annika, who join her for all kinds of wild adventures:

• They send out a message in a bottle.

• They discover a tree that magically grows lemonade.

• And when it’s time to bake gingerbread cookies? Forget the table! Pippi rolls out the dough on the kitchen floor because, naturally, “there’s much more room.”

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels

Even birthdays go differently in Pippi's world: at her own party, she gives the gifts - to Annika and Tommy.

And like all iconic children’s characters, Pippi has her own theme park-style attractions. In Stockholm, there’s Junibacken, a one-of-a-kind children’s cultural center on Djurgården island. Opened in 1996 with Astrid Lindgren’s involvement, Junibacken is more than a museum. It’s a storybook world come to life with an imagination playground, over 1,600 theater performances a year, and Sweden’s largest children’s bookshop.

We didn’t visit, but I think my brother and I would have loved it as kids!

There’s also Kneippbyn Sommarland on Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, south of Stockholm. It features the original Villa Villekulla used in the TV series, a Pippi Theater, and tons of kid-friendly fun from pedal boats to bouncy castles and even a flying boat.

Whether you see her as an untamed rebel or a free-spirited role model, there’s no doubt Pippi Longstocking has left her mark; not only in Swedish culture, but in gift shops, childhood memories, and imagination-fueled theme parks.

Did you grow up with Pippi Longstocking? Or was another book character your childhood favorite?