Written by Saanchi Biyani, a grade 4 student.

I am a big fan of the  ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. How about you? The characters have been presented in such a way that it feels like most of them are actually real.  The funniest character, my favorite, is ‘Gregory Heffley’.

He’s quite similar to ‘Pippi Longstocking’, another one of my favorite characters. I came across Pippi Longstocking during this lockdown. When my Dad got me a set of those books, I got really fascinated by the character.

Pippi Longstocking is a fictional central character in a series of children’s books written by Astrid Lindgren, a Swedish author. The author’s style of narration is so interesting that it is liked by children as well as adults. The first book was published in 1945, and the first English language edition came in 1950. The first three sets of books were published between 1945 to 1948 (Pippi Longstocking, Pippi Goes on Board, and Pippi in the South Seas), followed by three short stories and a number of picture book adaptations. As of 2018, these have been translated into over 70 languages and made into several films and television series. She was named by Astrid Lindgren’s daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was on a break from school.

I love Pippi Longstocking because she is an independent girl who is playful, unpredictable, and strong enough to motivate people to live their dreams. She has four friends: a horse, a monkey, and, Tommy and Annika, who are her neighbours. She often mocks and tricks adults she encounters, and reserves her worst behaviour for the rudest ones. She only really gets angry when someone treats her horse badly. She is the daughter of a pirate captain and has adventurous tales to tell.

Its been 75 years and Pippi is still entertaining the children and adults with her adventurous tales. Though pretty old,  it seems that she is still fit, playful, and naughty. I am just waiting for my brother to turn 6 years old (currently he is 3) so that I can read out her stories to him. Happy Birthday Pippi! I wish you a healthy and happy life, and pray that you make people laugh always.