Lindgren, Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson

▪ 2003

      Swedish children's writer (b. Nov. 14, 1907, Vimmerby, Swed.—d. Jan. 28, 2002, Stockholm, Swed.), delighted youngsters around the world with more than 70 books, but her greatest creation was the indomitable Pippi Longstocking, a freckle-faced, red-haired nine-year-old character that Lindgren had conceived in 1941 to entertain her sick daughter. The anarchic Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking first appeared in print in Pippi Långstrump (1945; Pippi Longstocking, 1950); the novel and its sequels sold millions of copies and inspired both Swedish- and English-language films. Lindgren created several other popular characters, notably master detective Bill Bergson, the six Bullerby children, the mischievous five-year-old farm boy Emil, and Ronja, the robber's daughter. She also wrote poetry collections, songs, plays, screenplays, and serials for radio and television. Lindgren received scores of awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1958, the Swedish Academy's Gold Medal in 1971, and the 1993 UNESCO International Book Award, and she was commemorated with a statue in Stockholm; two Swedish museums featured her work, and the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital opened in 1998. Her books were translated into more than 60 languages, including Arabic, Azerbaijani, Vietnamese, and Zulu.

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