Pippi Longstocking: How a sick girl from Sweden became childhood's strongest hero

Cheeky braids, a suitcase full of gold coins, and the power to live life exactly as one wishes

Some stories don't begin at a desk, but at a sickbed. Pippi Longstocking owes her existence to a child with pneumonia, an exhausted mother, and a single sentence: "Tell me about Pippi Longstocking." This spontaneous request became one of the most widely read children's book characters in the world – and a symbol of not needing to prove anything to anyone to be perfectly fine just as you are.

A Story Invented for a Sick Child

In the winter of 1941, seven-year-old Karin Lindgren lay in bed with pneumonia. As often happened, she spontaneously made up a name and asked her mother to tell her about it. The name: Pippi Longstocking. Her mother, who was not yet working as a writer at the time, improvised the first stories about the unusual girl at that very moment.

It wasn't until years later, in 1944, while she herself was confined to bed with a sprained foot, that Astrid Lindgren wrote down the stories. For her tenth birthday, she gave her daughter Karin the finished manuscript. The first publisher she offered it to rejected it. But after Lindgren won a competition with another book, she revised the text – and in 1945, "Pippi Longstocking" was finally published in Sweden. The rest is world literature: to this day, the books have been translated into 77 languages and sold well over 66 million copies.

The Strongest Girl in the World

Pippi – full name Pippilotta Viktualia Rollgardina Mint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking – is nine years old, has red braids that stick defiantly from her head, and lives completely alone in Villa Villekulla. Only her horse "Little Old Man" and her monkey Mr. Nilsson live with her. Her mother has died, her father is away at sea and later even becomes king of a South Sea island. No adult dictates what Pippi has to do – and thanks to a suitcase full of gold coins, she doesn't have to worry about anything but her own adventures.

What made Pippi an icon was not just her proverbial superpower, with which she can effortlessly lift her own horse. It was the attitude behind it: Pippi doesn't ask for permission. She is kind-hearted, helpful, and loyal to her friends Tommy and Annika – but she doesn't let anyone dictate who she should be. For many readers, she became an early literary role model for self-determination, which had an impact far beyond children's rooms.

A Scandal Upon Publication – A Global Star Ever Since

When the book was published in Germany in 1949, there was a great commotion: a girl who didn't go to school, lived alone, and didn't take orders from anyone shocked many parents and educators of her time. The German edition became possible because the publisher Friedrich Oetinger heard about Pippi during a stay in Stockholm and asked Astrid Lindgren for a meeting – to this day, the Hamburg-based Oetinger publishing house is the publisher of her German books.

Pippi made the definitive leap into the collective memory with the Swedish-German film adaptation starring Inger Nilsson, which was produced starting in 1968. Almost everyone who grew up in Germany knows the theme song "Hey, Pippi Longstocking" to this day – an earworm that has spanned generations.

Why Pippi Still Touches Hearts Today

Astrid Lindgren never told stories moralistically, but from the honest imagination of a child. That's exactly what makes Pippi timeless: she embodies courage, generosity, and the childlike certainty that one is allowed to see the world differently than one is told. In 2025, Pippi celebrated her 80th birthday – and is as non-conformist as she was on day one.

Pippi with Us: An Everyday Helper with Braids

At Muurla, the traditional Finnish company that we also carry for our Moomin collection, you will find a whole range of lovingly designed Pippi products for everyday use: sturdy enamel mugs and bowls, practical storage baskets, trays, and more – all with the characteristic illustrations of Pippi, her horse, and her monkey Mr. Nilsson.

These products are more than just pretty dishes. They bring back a piece of that carefree, courageous childhood that almost everyone who grew up with Pippi remembers – whether at breakfast, during afternoon coffee, or as a gift for the next generation of little rebels.

Discover our Pippi Longstocking products from Muurla in our Muurla assortment – for anyone who wants to bring a little of Pippi's courage into their own home.