A few weeks ago, we stumbled upon Lotta Says No!by Pippi Longstocking’s author, Astrid Lindgren.

The book tells a charming tale of three siblings and the girls were enchanted. When we finished the story this week, I was anxious to start reading the author’s classic Pippi Longstocking. The original English version of Pippi Longstocking was published in 1950. While our copy of Pippi was certainly more current than that, the translation sounded a bit dated, the print was small and there were few pictures. I love reading chapter books that both my four year old and seven year can relate to and frankly, I was afraid that I might lose my four with this reading. Quite by mistake, while at the library yesterday, I found a newer version of Pippi with illustrations by Charlie and Lola’s Lauren Child and translation by Tiina Nunely.

The story remains true to the original but the pictures and translation are fresh. Both girls sat transfixed last night and have already incorporated Pippi into their pretend play, a sure sign that a story is loved. I learned a valuable lesson with this experience. While we all want our children to enjoy the classics, it is possible to give in a little to modern sensibilities allowing children to truly embrace our older stories. Perhaps Shakespeare will be next…