Active Audience Guide: Pippi Longstocking

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Pippi Longstocking: The Family Musical

Synopsis .....................................................................................................................................................Washington State Learning Standards .........................................................................................Astrid Lindgren – Author and Activist ..........................................................................................A Chat with Elizabeth A. Friedrich, Prop Manager ..................................................................About the Set ...........................................................................................................................................About the Costumes .............................................................................................................................A Short Pippi History – On Page, Screen and Stage .................................................................How do you say “Långstrump?” – Pippi’s Name around the World ................................Peter, Huck, Anne and Pippi: Pippi Longstocking’s Place in Child-Rebel Fiction .......Learning about Learning ....................................................................................................................That Can Be a Pet? .................................................................................................................................Talk to the Animals ...............................................................................................................................Words & Phrases That Might Be New to You .............................................................................Jump Start – Give This a Try ..............................................................................................................Drama in Action – Learn by Doing .................................................................................................Activity Pages ..........................................................................................................................................Booklist ......................................................................................................................................................Share Your Thoughts ............................................................................................................................

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Presents

Table of Contents

SYNOPSIS

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Pippi, a boisterous young girl with freckles and pigtails, has just moved into her new home, the dilapidated Villa Villekulla. Fresh from her father’s pirate ship, she has

brought along a big bag of gold coins; her only companions are a horse and a monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Climbing up on her roof to have a look around the neighborhood she sees a group of very prim and proper school children on an outing.

Two students, Tommy and Annika, catch sight of Pippi’s horse inside the house, and go to investigate. As soon as they meet the irrepressible Pippi, the children realize

they will all be the best of friends. Pippi proudly tells them about her father, a pirate king who went overboard and is presently lost at sea but is sure to come back to her soon. Pippi also lets them know that her mother keeps an eye on her from heaven. She introduces them to Mr. Nilsson, boasting that he once worked as a meatball chef in Shanghai. Tommy and Annika tell Pippi it’s not right to lie. While Pippi insists she is telling the truth about her father and mother, she admits that sometimes her stories get away from her. She promises to do her best to stop telling tall tales.

Mrs. Prysselius from the Social Welfare Office, having heard that there is a child living alone in the house, arrives to check on Pippi’s situation. Pippi informs her that Mr. Nilsson is living there with her, so Mrs. Prysselius asks to meet him. She is alarmed to be introduced to a monkey and insists that Pippi will need to attend school and go live in an orphanage. Unperturbed and insisting that she is just fine where she is, Pippi engages Mrs. Prysselius in a wild dance and the poor woman retreats, exhausted.

Tommy and Annika ask Pippi to go to the circus with them. At the circus, Pippi enrages the Ringmaster but wows the crowd by besting the trick rider Miss Carmencita in equestrian skills. She even defeats the Mighty Adolf in weight lifting and a wrestling match, proving herself to be the strongest girl in the world. Pippi turns down the paper money award for defeating the wrestler, offering to share her “real money” with Mighty Adolf and generously tossing some of the gold coins to the circus patrons as well.

A thief, Bloom, sees her distributing the gold coins and that night brings along Thunder Karlson to break into Pippi’s house in search of the loot. They are surprised to find Pippi awake, counting her coins and completely unafraid of them. They leave with plans to return once she is asleep. But when they come back Pippi wakes and readily tells them where to find the gold—then she overpowers and outmaneuvers them, leaving them in a heap on the floor. Telling them they must learn to be sweeter she gives them each a gold coin to buy a sweet and they depart, rubbing their bruises.

Left alone, Pippi wishes upon a falling star for the return of her father, Captain Longstocking. She hears his voice as she relives seeing him fall overboard and sings to the winds to blow him home to her again.

The following day, under orders from Mrs. Prysselius, Constables Cling and Clang arrive at Pippi’s house to take her to the orphanage. Tommy and Annika try unsuccessfully to convince them that Pippi can manage by herself. Always eager to play a game, Pippi leads the two policemen in a merry chase that ends with them stranded on her rooftop. Pippi rescues them with a ladder and they give up their attempts to corral her.

Continued on the next page...

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Pippi decides to go to school with Tommy and Annika, as she is jealous that they get holidays off and intrigued by the prospect of learning “pluttification tables.” She tries her best, but simply does not know how to behave or to properly answer questions in the classroom, and her infectious energy brings the room to chaos. Finally, School Mistress and Pippi agree that for the time being it would be best for her not to attend school.

Tommy and Annika invite Pippi over to a tea party their mother is giving for guests who include Mrs. Prysselius and Mrs. Granberg, who believes in the strictest of rules

for children. Pippi arrives with the friendliest of intentions. However, her playful forwardness and ignorance of even rudimentary manners manages to turn the tea party into a disaster. Even Tommy and Annika’s mother, who likes Pippi, suggests she leave, and she does so—after swinging from the chandelier and smearing cake onto Mrs. Prysselius’ cheeks.

A few months later, as the three children play together outside Pippi’s house, Mrs. Prysselius appears to tell Pippi that she has not given up on her. She offers to take her into her own home where she will love her, spoil her and, incidentally,

have lots of good, manual labor for her to do. Pippi declares she prefers to stay in her own house and Mrs. Prysselius leaves, promising that Constables Cling and Clang will soon return to take her away.

Pippi brushes away Tommy and Annika’s fear that Pippi might be taken away by showing them how to “snuff stuff”—how to find ordinary stuff they can use for imaginative play. With a discarded cake tin she creates a marvelous percussive dance which is interrupted by someone blowing a horn. It is Captain Longstocking, returned from the far seas! The captain announces that he will soon be sailing off on his good ship Hoptoad, taking Pippi with him.

Tommy shouts that Mrs. Prysselius and Cling and Clang are coming. To have some fun, Pippi convinces her father to hide. Pippi amuses herself by proving too flexible and dexterous for Cling and Clang to handcuff. The constables once again end up exhausted and helpless. When Mrs. Prysselius accuses Pippi of lying about the existence of her father, Pippi gleefully points to her father’s hiding place, and he triumphantly emerges to end the debate.

As the Hoptoad prepares to sail away, Tommy and Annika are devastated. Pippi gives them her horse and gold coins as they take their leave, but this doesn’t console them. Pippi realizes how important their friendship is and tells her father that she is going to stay at Villa Villekula. Sad to leave Pippi, but knowing he will see his independent daughter again soon, Captain Longstocking takes the Hoptoad to sea along with his fearsome and hearty crew. When Tommy and Annika return home they are thrilled to find Pippi back at Villa Villekulla, ready for more adventures ahead.

Pippi Longstocking touches on many themes and ideas. Here are a few we believe would make good Discussion Topics: Authority, Independence, Confidence, Friendship.

We believe that seeing the show and using our Active Audience Guide can help you meet the following Washington State Standards and address these 21st Century Skills:

• Growth Mindset (Belief that your intelligence and ability can increase with effort.)• Perseverance • Creative Thinking• Critical Thinking • Communication• Collaboration

In our 2014-15 season guides we will transition to Common Core Standards along with Washington State schools.

Washington State K-12 Learning Standards

Theatre 1. The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.

1.1 Understand arts concepts and vocabulary.1.2 Develops theatre skills and techniques.1.4 Understands and applies audience conventions in a variety of settings and performances of theatre.

3. Theatre: The student communicates through the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts). 3.1 Uses theatre to express feelings and present ideas. 3.2 Uses theatre to communicate for a specific purpose.

4. The student makes connections with and across the arts to other disciplines, life, cultures, and work.4.4 Understand that the arts shape and reflect culture and history.4.5 Demonstrates the knowledge of arts careers and the knowledge of arts skills in the world of work.

Reading1. The student understands and uses different skills and strategies to read.

1.1 Use word recognition skills and strategies to read and comprehend text. 1.2 Use vocabulary (word meaning) strategies to comprehend text. 1.3 Build vocabulary through wide reading. 1.4 Apply word recognition skills and strategies to read fluently.

2. The student understands the meaning of what is read. 2.1 Demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension. 2.2 Understand and apply knowledge of text components to comprehend text. 2.3 Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and ideas in

literary and informational text. 2.4 Think critically and analyze author’s use of language, style, purpose, and perspective in literary

and informational text. 3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.

3.1 Read to learn new information. 3.2 Read to perform a task3.3 Read for career applications

Communication1. The student uses listening and observation skills and strategies to gain understanding.

1.1 Uses listening and observation skills and strategies to focus attention and interpret information. 1.2 Understands, analyzes, synthesizes, or evaluates information from a variety of sources.

Writing 1. The student understands and uses a writing process.

WASHINGTON STATE LEARNING STANDARDS

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WHAT IS ARTS INTEGRATION?A definition and checklist from The Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts program.

Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.

Some educators confuse any effort to include the arts in their classroom with arts integration. While all types of arts-based instruction are encouraged, it is helpful for educators to know when they are engaged in arts integration. To achieve this awareness, an Arts Integration Checklist is provided. Educators answering “yes” to the items in the Checklist can be assured that their approach to teaching is indeed integrated.

Approach to Teaching• Are learning principles of Constructivism (actively built, experiential, evolving,

collaborative, problem-solving, and reflective) evident in my lesson?Understanding

• Are the students engaged in constructing and demonstrating understanding as opposed to just memorizing and reciting knowledge?

Art Form• Are the students constructing and demonstrating their understandings through an art form?

Creative Process• Are the students engaged in a process of creating something original as opposed to

copying or parroting?• Will the students revise their products?

Connects• Does the art form connect to another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?• Is the connection mutually reinforcing?

Evolving Objectives• Are there objectives in both the art form and another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?• Have the objectives evolved since the last time the students engaged with this subject matter?

For more thoughts about this subject and a wealth of useful information(including lesson plans) go to:http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators.aspx

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ASTRID LINDGREN – AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST

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“The best thing about my childhood was that we enjoyed just the right amount of safety and freedom.” - Astrid Lindgren

Astrid Lindgren is one of Sweden’s most important authors. She wrote plays, film scripts and published over 100 books, which have sold tens of millions of copies and been translated into more than 90 languages. She revitalized children’s literature and combined artistic integrity with commitment to the rights of children and young people.

Astrid Lindgren was born Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson on November 14, 1907. She grew up on Näs farm near Vimmerby, in the county of Småland in southern Sweden. Her parents created a loving and secure home for their children, and she had a happy childhood on the farm. Lindgren and her siblings helped the maids and farmhands. But the children also enjoyed a great deal of freedom. In the kitchen of one

of the farmhands Astrid heard fairytales and stories which ignited her love of books.

Astrid was inspired to write her Pippi Longstocking books when her daughter Karin was lying sick in bed. Karin wanted to hear a story and asked her mother to tell her about “Pippi Longstocking.” Astrid used the name, pulled out of thin air by her daughter, to make up stories to entertain her. She never thought of writing down Pippi’s tales until she twisted her ankle, slipping on the ice in a Stockholm park. Unable to do the things she usually did, she filled the time by writing.

She sent a copy of the stories to the publisher Albert Bonniers Förlag, who rejected the manuscript. But Astrid discovered her love of writing books and wrote Confidences of Britt-Mari. This book won second prize in publisher Rabén & Sjögren’s writing competition for girls’ fiction. Rabén & Sjögren published Britt-Mari in 1944 and Pippi Longstocking in 1945.

The publication of Pippi Longstocking changed Astrid Lindgren’s life. The book’s enormous success made her a world-famous author. However it also caused an outcry in Sweden. The free-spirited and unruly Pippi Longstocking worried teachers and parents, and some critics warned of the collapse of public morals. Lindgren, however, believed her books could be a good influence, saying, “All I dare hope for is that they may contribute a little bit towards a humane and democratic view of the world in the children who read them.”

In 1946, Lindgren began a career that lasted 24 years as an editor for her publisher, Rabén & Sjögren. During this time, Lindgren also continued to write children’s books. In order to fit writing into her busy schedule, she used shorthand to write her stories in bed in the mornings before going to work in the afternoon. She would later type out her manuscripts on a typewriter at home. She introduced a number of new and interesting characters—such as Emil, Kalle Blomquist, the Brothers Lionheart and the Bullerby children—but none achieved the overwhelming popularity of Pippi.

While Lindgren was best known in Sweden for her books, she also became known for her support for the rights of people and animals. She participated in social debate, shaping public opinion in speeches and newspaper articles. She expressed her concern for the welfare of children and supported legislation

Astrid Lindgren and her family. Astrid is standing in the back row.

Surrounded by her fans, 1969

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to protect animals against abuses by factory farms. She argued in favor of peace and democracy and against all forms of violence. She also pointed out the disastrous effect of Sweden’s high tax rate in a satirical story called Pomperipossa in Monismania which she wrote when the government began taxing her income at a rate of 102%. Because of the high regard in which Lindgren was held, her words made an impact on legislators and spurred changes in many areas.

During her life, Astrid Lindgren received numerous awards and honors, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1958), the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1973) and UNESCO Book Award (1993). In 2005 the collection of her original manuscripts in Stockholm’s Royal Library was placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

In 1967, the Astrid Lindgren Prize was instituted by Rabén & Sjögren. The prize is awarded every year on her birthday in November for meritorious authorship in Swedish children’s and young adult literature.

In 1996, The Russian Academy of Science requested the asteroid No. 3204 be named after Astrid Lindgren. Astrid said that maybe people should start calling her Asteroid Lindgren instead.

She founded Astrid Lindgren’s Children’s Hospital in 1998.

She died in Stockholm on January 28, 2002. Lindgren’s burial ceremony was televised in Sweden, and her death was headline news internationally. One obituary, in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, referred to Astrid Lindgren as “...the whole world’s queen of fairy tales.”

After her death, the Swedish government founded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest monetary award for children’s and youth literature, in the amount of five million Swedish crowns ($700,000).

In April 2011 the Bank of Sweden announced that the new twenty-kronor bank notes planned for 2014-15 will bear a portrait of Astrid Lindgren.

Excerpted and adapted from: Astrid Lindgren Official Website - http://www.astridlindgren.se/en/ Floris Books - http://www.florisbooks.co.uk/authors/astrid-lindgren.html About.com - http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/astridlindgren.htm

THE BOOKS

Astrid Lindgren wrote over 100 books. These are a few of her most popular.

• Pippi Longstocking (series)• Bill Bergson (series)• The Brothers Lionheart

The center of attention during the filming of The Brothers Lionheart, 1977

• Emil (series)• Karlson on the Roof (series)• Lotta (series)

• Mio, My Son• Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter • The Six Bullerby Children (series)

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A CHAT WITH ELIZABETH A. FRIEDRICH, PROP MANAGER

Please tell us a little bit about your working process.

As a prop manager, my job is to work with directors, designers and my fellow employees to produce the properties needed for SCT’s plays. Think of properties as things you can move. If you imagine your house or apartment as the set, everything you move with you to a new house is a prop. That includes furniture, pictures, throw rugs, food and even your pets! Although some theaters treat animals as actors, some put the prop department in charge of them.

My daily jobs include: reading and understanding the scripts; creating prop lists for each show and deciding which props will be built and which purchased; shopping for props and materials;

reading rehearsal and performance reports and then forwarding information to my staff if there are notes about props that need to be taken care of; hiring and supervising staff; attending design and production meetings; collaborating with other production departments on “crossover” props (props that may be partly built by the scene shop, need to use costume elements on them or that need the lighting department’s help for electricity run to them, for example); creating show archives (records) after the shows have closed; and maintaining the shop in good working order.

What is a particularly interesting or unusual challenge on this project and how are you setting out to solve it?

Pippi Longstocking presents us with two interesting challenges: a gramophone (an old-fashioned record player) and consumable food.

The gramophone will be a built prop because it needs to be light enough to be carried by an actress but sturdy enough to take some abuse—as part of the action of the show it gets kicked. Real gramophones are heavy and delicate, so that won’t do. In addition, because we want the record to spin we’ll have to engineer the box to protect the motor while it gets tossed around. Since the gramophone does not have to be “practical” (in prop language that means it doesn’t have to work—it doesn’t have to actually play records or produce sound) we will make the bell out of some lightweight and durable material: maybe plastic or foam. We might build two gramophones in case one breaks during the run of the show.

Real food on stage can be trickier than it seems. During the play, Pippi needs to eat part of a cream cake. To produce this prop we’ll need to find out if the actress has any allergies or food preferences:


A gramophone

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she may be vegan or lactose intolerant. We will have to make something that she can eat that 1) will look like cream cake, 2) won’t spoil under hot stage lights before she eats it and 3) she likes to eat and can stand to eat for 11 shows a week. Cream will not work for this—it would spoil. So we will have to use something else, maybe mashed potatoes or frosting.

What in your childhood got you to where you are today?

We had a piano at home and music and art were all around me while I was growing up. I have a long history in theater stretching back to a 6th grade play of Charlotte’s Web (when I understudied Charlotte) to high school musicals where I played oboe in the orchestra for Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun and Brigadoon. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Design at Buffalo State College and have spent 17 years working in professional theaters. I love the collaborative part of theater and music. I love that in lyrics and in a play we can explore our lives and the lives of people

very different from us. I think we can learn from stories and become more empathetic and generous people as a result.

I also love that I use a little bit from all the classes I took in school. I use history to learn when something was invented (matches and pencils are good ones to know). Math is used in the shop all the time to calculate lumber needs and to engineer projects. We use science to decide which glue will hold different things together (plastic to rubber, for example) or which dye or paint to color different materials with. And I use my English writing skills every day to communicate clearly with my co-workers about what we’re building and how. Art class? We couldn’t do without art!

Elizabeth A. Friedrich was previously prop manager at Intiman and La Jolla Playhouse and has built props all over Seattle, Southern California and Buffalo, NY. She built props for SCT for several years before she became prop manager here. She built Harold’s boat and crayons for Harold and the Purple Crayon and carved Morla’s shell for The Neverending Story.

Even prop food that is not eaten onstage often gets special treatment. These

sandwiches were used in A Year with Frog and Toad. In the action of the play they had to get soaking wet then squeezed to show water coming out of them. They are made

using sponges instead of bread. Fabric trim is sewn onto a piece of felt and glued

between the two sponges to look like lettuce.

The pizza was made by creating a mold of the pizza, and then “casting” the prop out of liquid vinyl (a kind of plastic) that hardens

but stays flexible. Anyone who has made ice cubes has made a casting: the mold is the ice cube tray and the ice cubes are the cast item.

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ABOUT THE SETFrom Jennifer Lupton, Set Designer

Believe it or not, somehow I managed to miss reading the Pippi Longstocking books when I was a kid, so it’s been great fun getting to know her during this design process. Since Astrid Lindgren, the author, is from Sweden, I wanted to research folk art in her country and I found that their traditional woodcarving had great, simple, fun shapes I thought Pippi would love. For example, I used these carvings in the frame around the stage (the proscenium), the wall at the back of the stage (the crossover wall), and on Pippi’s bed.

The most important set piece in the show is Pippi’s house. It needs to be big enough to hold a horse, sturdy enough to climb on and we need to be able to show the inside and the outside of it. It will be a big piece of scenery taking up a lot of room on stage. My big challenge was what to do with it during the scenes that don’t take place there, like the circus, school and the ship scenes. All those places are part of Pippi’s world, so I decided not to hide the house in those scenes but to use it to become part of the other places. The next question was how to make that happen. By spinning the house, we get to use the different sides of it to be different places. A house this big would be too difficult to just push around, so the plan is to use a track cut into the floor that hides a cable attached to a motor and computer to spin the house and move it where we need it to be—with additional help from our stage crew. See how you think this idea works.

Technical drawing for one of the panels that frames the stage, based on traditional

Swedish woodcarving Side view of Pippi’s bed showing carving detail

These ground plans show an overhead outline view of the placement of Pippi’s house in different scenes. The shaded area is the position of the house in the photo of the set model next to it. This first position is used for scenes at Pippi’s house.

Photograph of the set model of Pippi’s house, Villa Villekulla

Circus

School

Ship

The house is rotated so that the back of the house becomes the circus wall. The back wall is painted with stripes that match the curtain lowered in front of it. The curtain has a section cut out of it to make an entrance.

This side of the house is used for the school

On the pirate ship, Hoptoad. You can just see part of Pippi’s house under the sail farthest to the right.

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ABOUT THE COSTUMESFrom Catherine Hunt, Costume Designer

Sketch of Pippi’s costume

Example of Swedish folk art embroidery (designs sewn on fabric).

Pippi has some embroidery on her pockets and the top of her dress.

Pippi puts on a fun hat and vest to go to the circus

Dressed up for the tea party

Pippi Longstocking is brave, strong, not afraid to be who she is and lots of fun to be around. When we first started talking about the way our Pippi should look, we knew that she had to have red hair, braids and long stockings (of course!), but that she also had to have a way of dressing that was all her own. We decided to make her a collector of sorts—a girl who has many clothes from her past adventures and wears them in fun, interesting and artful ways. We wanted the clothes to have a sense of charm and innocence, so for color, texture and shape, I am using the look of the 1950s. It was also important to me to keep in mind that this story has its origins in Sweden, so in places I’m using fabrics and patterns that remind us of Swedish folk designs.


Pirate research image, Howard Pyle’s illustration from his book

The Ruby of Kishmoor, 1908

A member of the Hoptoad crew

Because some of the women in the cast (besides Pippi) are playing pirates, we used research inspiration like this image from The Ballad of the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon. The women are Anne Bonney and Mary Reade, two of the most famous pirates of all time.

Ready to get back on board the good ship Hoptoad in her pirate gear Captain Longstocking

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Oh, and I forgot to mention Pippi gets to dress like a pirate!

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A SHORT PIPPI HISTORY – ON PAGE, SCREEN AND STAGE


In 1945 Astrid Lindgren created Pippi Långstrump, the strongest girl in the world who lives with her horse and monkey on the outskirts of a small Swedish town. Pippi has come a long way since then. She quickly became very popular in Sweden, and Lindgren followed up Pippi Långstrump with two more chapter books: Pippi Långstrump går ombord (Pippi Goes on Board), published in 1946 and Pippi Långstrump i Söderhavet (Pippi in the South Seas), published in 1948. Lindgren also wrote several Pippi picture books, beginning in 1950 with Pippi har julgransplundring, literally “Pippi’s Christmas-tree plundering,” published in English as Pippi Longstocking’s After-Christmas Party.

Pippi first made the jump to movies in 1949, but her landing was a little rocky. Per Gunvall, the writer/director, took many liberties with the plot of the books, Pippi was played by a 26-year-old actress and Lindgren did not like the film.

But that didn’t keep Pippi down for long. In 1954 Pippi Långstrump, was translated into English and published as Pippi Longstocking—and when the stories appeared in English, Pippi quickly became popular all over the world. Her books have been translated into more than 90 languages.

International popularity led to Pippi’s small-screen debut in 1961. The American TV series Shirley Temple’s Storybook (hosted by Shirley Temple) included a 14-episode adaptation of Pippi Longstocking—the first American adaptation, first in color and first to feature a child actor playing Pippi.

But Pippi made her most successful leap to the screen in the Swedish Pippi Longstocking television series, which aired in 1969. Because Astrid

Lindgren was unhappy with the 1949 adaptation, she wrote the script herself for this version. Nine-year-old actor Inger Nilsson managed to capture Pippi’s spirit and the series was re-broadcast many times all over Europe. The series was re-edited (crudely hacked up, really), poorly dubbed into English, but still retained enough of the original magic to become successful as two feature films in the United States—Pippi Longstocking and Pippi Goes on Board. The cast reunited to make more feature films, which were also successful in the U.S.—Pippi in the South Seas (Pippi Långstrump på de sju haven) and Pippi on the Run (På rymmen med Pippi Långstrump).

In versions by a variety of different playwrights, Pippi has also been popular on stage, but she’s never played Broadway and, so far, no definitive stage version of the story has emerged.

Viveca Serlachius as Pippi in Per

Gunvall’s 1949 film

Gina Gillepsie as Pippi in Shirley Temple’s Storybook–Pippi

Longstocking, 1961

Inger Nilsson as Pippi in the Swedish television series

written by Astrid Lindgren

Poster for the film made from the TV series

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Astrid Lindgren herself authored a Swedish adaptation, which served as the basis for a version by Thomas Olson and Roberta Carlson, developed by The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis in 1982. The Children’s Theatre Company took that version on a national

tour in 1990. SCT’s production uses the script Pippi Longstocking: The Family Musical which premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Danske Theater in 1999. It was developed by the Danish one-name folk-rock musician Sebastian and Staffan Götestam, a Swedish actor, playwright, director and chef who rose to fame in Sweden playing Jonatan in an acclaimed Swedish feature film adaptation of another Astrid Lindgren book, The Brothers Lionheart (Bröderna Lejonhjärta). Sebastian and Staffan’s musical has had productions all over the world, including Israel, Spain and, in 2013, Taiwan.

Pippi has survived countless other adaptations, repackagings, cartoons, etc. and powered a long-running industry of Pippi products all over the world. One example of the affection people have for her is Pika’s Festival, the most popular children’s festival in Slovenia (Pippi is known as “Pika Nogavička” in Slovenia) which has been held every year since 1990. The festival features a wide variety of performances and events, most of which are not directly related to Pippi but all of which are inspired by the strength, originality, independence, tolerance and imagination that Pippi embodies.

Sebastian

Pippi-related merchandise includes everything from dolls,

toys and clothing (socks are no surprise), to

puzzles, video games and apps.

Staffan Götestam

Information compiled from:

The Guardian – http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/15/featuresreviews.guardianreview30

Sebastian – http://www.sebastian.info/Junibacken – http://www.junibacken.se/om-junibacken/personerna-bakom-junibacken/

staffan-gotestamPika’s Festival – http://www.culture.si/en/Pika%27s_Festival

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippi_Longstocking

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One of the many fun things about Pippi Longstocking is saying her name, something Pippi herself enjoys. Here are some of the ways people say her name around the world.

Chinese – (Changwazi Pipi)Czech – Pipi Dlouhá PunčochaEsperanto – Pipi Ŝtrumpolonga Estonian – Pipi Pikksukk Faroese – Pippi Langsokkur Filipino – Potpot HabangmedyasFinnish – Peppi Pitkätossu French – Fifi Brindacier (literally “Fifi Steelwisp”)German – Pippi LangstrumpfGreek – Πίπη Φακιδομύτη (Pipe Phakidomyte, literally “Pippi the freckle-nosed girl”)Hebrew – (Bilbi Bat-Gerev)Hindi – Pippi Lambemoze Hungarian – Harisnyás PippiIcelandic – Lína Langsokkur Indonesian – Pippi Si Kaus Kaki Panjang Italian – Pippi Calzelunghe Japanese – (Nagakutsushita no Pippi)Korean – (Malgwallyang’i Sonyŏ Ppippi)Kurdish – Pippi-Ya Goredirey Latvian – Pepija Garzeķe Lithuanian – Pepė Ilgakojinė Norwegian – Pippi Langstrømpe Persian – Pipi Joorab-BolandehPolish – Pippi Pończoszanka, or Fizia Pończoszanka Portuguese – Píppi Meialonga (Brazil), Pipi das Meias Altas (Portugal)Romanian – Pippi Şoseţica Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian: Pipi Duga Čarapa / Пипи Дуга Чарапа Slovak – Pipi Dlhá Pančucha Slovene – Pika Nogavička Spanish – Pipi Calzaslargas (Spain), Pepita Mediaslargas (Latin America) Sinhalese – Digamasedaanalaagee PippiSwedish – Pippi Långstrump Thai – Pippi Thung-Taow YaowTurkish – Pippi Uzunçorap Vietnamese – Pippi Tất Dài Welsh – Pippi Hosan-hir

Chinese – 长袜子皮皮

Greek – Πίπη Φακιδομύτη

Hebrew – גרב-בת בילבי

Japanese – 長靴下のピッピ

Korean – 말괄량이 소녀 삐삐

Persian – پی ی نده پ ل ب جوراب

Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian: Пипи Дуга Чарапа






















HOW DO YOU SAY “LÅNGSTRUMP?”

Swedish

French

Italian

Japanese

Chinese

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PETER, HUCK, ANNE AND PIPPI: PIPPI LONGSTOCKING’S PLACE IN CHILD-REBEL FICTION

Pippi Långstrump, published in 1945, continued a great tradition of rebellious child protagonists in literature. Pippi does things that children are not supposed to do. She tells outrageous lies and refuses to accept the authority of adults, including policemen and teachers. She is eccentric on principle. She sleeps with her head under the covers and her feet on the pillows. She shares her house with a monkey and a horse. However, our enjoyment of Pippi’s adventures is less complicated than our reaction to many of the great earlier child-rebel stories because, unlike other fictional child rebels, her cheerful nature, more positive social environment, unlimited wealth, superhuman strength, ability to make friends and common sense keep her insulated from the traumas that those protagonists undergo.

What sort of society is Pippi rebelling against? In 1945 Sweden was on the brink of an extraordinarily rapid transition from a backward, impoverished, agrarian country into one of the richest places on earth. That transformation was made possible by the strictest social consensus in the democratic world. Sweden valued cooperation over originality and created a vast cradle-to-grave welfare state, supported by very high taxes, where it was almost impossible to be either very rich or very poor. The Swedish sociologist, Ake Daun, in a study published in 1989, stated that the Swedish “national self-stereotype is a peaceful person who dislikes unruliness and disorder and prefers calm…clean, quiet, industrious and modern.” Pippi, of course, embodies a fantasy version of the exact opposite of that stereotype. Here she is making pancakes:

And then she got out three eggs and tossed them high in the air. One of the eggs landed on her head and cracked open, making the yolk run into her eyes. But the other two she easily caught with a saucepan.

“I’ve always heard that egg yolks are good for your hair,” said Pippi, wiping her eyes. “Just wait and see, my hair is going to start growing like mad.”

Another great child-rebel protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, is like Pippi in many ways. He, too, acquires an enormous fortune in gold that allows him to live as he pleases and he, too, rebels against society for some of the same reasons as Pippi:

The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied.

Huck Finn, illustrated by E.W. Kemble for The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, 1884

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Dialect aside, that sounds like something Pippi might say. However, the evils of the society which surrounds Huck go far deeper and transform his rebellion into something far more serious when he decides to rescue his friend Jim from slavery:

I […] says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” […]

It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I […] said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn’t. And for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too.

Like Huck Finn and Peter Pan and many another child protagonist, Pippi has absent parents. She has no practical need for them. Neither does Peter Pan. His magical abilities provide the same freedom that her money, common sense and super-strength do. Peter claims to prefer freedom to family so much that he ran away on the day he was born to live with the fairies. But he is clearly haunted by the absence of a mother in his life. He takes Wendy to Neverland to be a mother to the lost boys, and tells her:

I thought […] that my mother would always keep the window open for me, so I stayed away for moons and moons and moons, and then flew back; but the window was barred, for mother had forgotten all about me, and there was another little boy sleeping in my bed.

By contrast, Pippi suffers no serious trauma from her parents’ absence, although her mother is dead and her father washed overboard in a storm at sea. She misses both, but is consoled by the thought of her mother looking down on her as an angel from heaven and remains eternally confident that her father will return. She never doubts that her parents love her, and when her father does return, she chooses to stay with her friends rather than to rejoin him.

Pippi keeps her innocence—she stays always happy and free. Peter Pan always seems on the verge of losing his, and Huck does lose his innocence as he learns about the world and himself. But for better or worse, Pippi never comes close to learning any lessons from her experiences. Why should she? She’s happy, healthy and safe. She doesn’t need to flee to Neverland or down the Mississippi on a raft. She lives the completely carefree, adventure-filled existence that Huck and Peter Pan strive for and only partly achieve.

Although Pippi lacks the depth and complexity of Huckleberry Finn and Peter Pan, her rebellion against society is, in some ways, even more radical. For unlike Huck and Peter, Pippi is a girl. The first Pippi Longstocking book came out in 1948 when the social pressure on girls to conform to social standards was intense. Pippi shares a great deal with another famous rebellious fictional heroine: red hair, freckles, charismatic high spirits, absent parents, resilience, imagination, difficulty following rules and a love for fantastic stories. Anne of Green Gables also succeeds


Peter Pan, illustrated by F.D. Bedford for Peter and Wendy by

J.M. Barrie, 1911

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in making close friends when she moves to a new house. But where Anne’s personality and appearance often make it difficult for her to fit into a society she longs to join, Pippi is perfectly happy with herself just the way she is. Here is Anne on red hair, for instance:

“...what color would you call this?”

[Anne] twitched one of her long glossy braids over her thin shoulder and held it up before Matthew’s eyes. [...]

“It’s red, ain’t it?” he said.

The girl let the braid drop back with a sigh that seemed to come from her very toes and to exhale forth all the sorrows of the ages.

“Yes, it’s red,” she said resignedly. “Now you see why I can’t be perfectly happy. Nobody could who has red hair. I don’t mind the other things so much—the freckles and the green eyes and my skinniness. I can imagine them away. I can imagine that I have a beautiful rose-leaf complexion and lovely starry violet eyes. But I CANNOT imagine that red hair away. I do my best. I think to myself, ‘Now my hair is a glorious black, black as the raven’s wing.’ But all the time I KNOW it is just plain red and it breaks my heart. It will be my lifelong sorrow.”

By contrast, in addition to feeding them an egg, Pippi braids her own fiery red pigtails so tight they stick straight out from her head, drawing as much attention as possible. She always wears pigtails, though. Pippi has some traits more typically associated with boys, such as physical strength and a tendency to resolve her problems through action, but she is perfectly happy being a girl. She is not a tomboy. She is something far more threatening to the society around her—a girl who does whatever she wants rather than what is expected of her. She is a release valve from the pressures of society, able to share her enjoyment of life with her friends and readers without the darkness and difficulties that fall in the way of more serious child rebels like Anne, Peter and Huck.

Sources:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), by Mark TwainPeter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up (1904), by J.M. BarrieAnne of Green Gables (1908), by Lucy Maud MontgomeryPippi Långstrump (1948), by Astrid Lindgren; Quote from Pippi Longstocking (2007), translated

by Tiina NunnallyThe Guardian –http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/15/featuresreviews.

guardianreview30

Anne Shirley, illustrated by M.A. Claus and W.A.J. Claus for Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud

Montgomery, 1908

Pippi, illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman for Pippi Longstocking’s

After Christmas Party, 1950

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LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING

In Pippi Longstocking, Mrs. Prysellius from the Social Welfare Office comes to check on Pippi at home because she’s been hearing rumors of a child living alone. When she meets Pippi, she insists that Pippi go to school because she has a lot of things to learn.

MRS. PRYSELLIUS: Suppose someone asked you what the capital of Portugal was. You wouldn’t know the answer, would you?

PIPPI: Of course I would. I’d just say, “If you really want to know what the capital of Portugal is, then just write a letter to Portugal and ask them.” Anyway, I’ve been to Lisbon with my dad.

Mrs. Prysellius is right that school is an important part of children’s lives. But Pippi is right, too. There are other ways to learn. Pippi knows that if you don’t know the answer to something, you can ask. And she knows that you learn things by doing—she didn’t have to read that Lisbon is Portugal’s capital; she learned that by going there.

Learning is what happens when your brain gets new information and you figure out what it means or you find a new way to think about something you already know. That information could be about multiplication, dancing, playing baseball, poison ivy, outer space or a million other things.

We all learn things in our own way. You and your sister or brother or your best friend may be a lot alike, but one of you might like to read about things and have them explained to you before trying something new, and one of you might like to start the something new right away. (Pippi sure seems like a start-right-away person.) It depends on what works best for you, but also on what you are learning. I think we can agree that it would be a better idea to see pictures of poison ivy and read about it instead of just touching a lot of plants to see which one made you itch. But if you want to learn to dance, you can start by putting on some music and dancing however you want.

Most of the time we use a combination of ways to learn. If you want to play baseball, someone needs to teach you the rules, but until you grab a bat and try to hit a ball you can’t play the game. After you’ve started to dance on your own, you might start taking classes or watch videos of people dancing to see what you can learn from them. And we also can mix unexpected things together to help us learn. Maybe you are someone who can memorize 3 x 7 = 21 more easily if you sing it as a little tune while you do your multiplication tables. Or can understand outer space better if you write a poem about it.

The whole world is a classroom. We learn things every day of our lives. School is great because it’s all about learning, with teachers there to help you figure things out including what is the best way for you to learn. But sometimes, you just have to dance.

THAT CAN BE A PET?

TOMMY: Why is there a horse in the kitchen?PIPPI: Because the hall is very small and he doesn’t like the living room. - from Pippi Longstocking

When Tommy and Annika first meet Pippi, they know right away that there is something unusual about her. Not only does she have a horse living in her house, she has a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson! Who wouldn’t want to be her friend?

Pets have a strong effect on us. We don’t know for sure when people started taming animals, but we do know it was a long, long time ago. Around the world, dogs were used for hunting or protection. Cats were in charge of getting rid of mice and rats. Ancient Egyptians kept cats; the

Romans had dogs and birds, too. These animals could live a healthy life in captivity and could be trained.

While animals still guard us and chase away the rodents, over the years they have become part of the family. In return for their companionship, it is our responsibility to treat these animals with love and respect and to care for their needs.

There are many wonderful and varied animals in the world, but not all of

them make good pets. Many are too dangerous, and many others would not be able to live a healthy life away from their natural habitat. But beyond dogs, cats, birds, fish, lizards and guinea pigs, there are animals that, under the right conditions, might fit well with a family. Just remember that no animal, no matter how cute or interesting, should be brought into a place where it cannot be cared for properly or get the kind of attention it needs.

In China and Japan, people do keep dogs and cats, but crickets are also a very popular pet. They are usually kept in wooden or bamboo cages in bedrooms so that they can sing their owners to sleep. They are considered good luck and they act as a kind of reverse alarm bell—they stop singing when someone approaches.

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Pippi and her animal friends depicted on a

Swedish stamp

Pet crickets in bamboo cages in Beijing, China

Bird cages hanging on trees in a Beijing park


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Songbirds are also very common pets in China, and it is not unusual to see people taking their birds for walks in the park. They keep them in their cages as they walk, so maybe they are taking the cage for a walk and the bird just happens to come along for the ride.

Children of families who work with and are surrounded by animals, like farmers, sometimes adopt goats, chickens or lambs as pets. In the deserts of northern Africa a child might adopt a baby camel as her or his companion.

In the Arignar Anna Zoo in southern India, orphaned elephant calves that have been rescued from the forest are cared for by local families. The elephants carry the

children home from school on their backs, play soccer and even sleep curled up with them.

The Yanomami Indians of the Amazon rain forest hunt for their food, but they have such respect for the animals that feed their families that they adopt any orphans that are left behind. These new family pets—monkeys, sloths, opossums, birds, and others—are fed and cared for the rest of their lives.

And what about Pippi’s horse and monkey? Pippi may be able to keep a horse in her kitchen, but that’s not the best idea for anyone else to try. However, some horses do much of their work indoors. You probably know something about service animals—seeing-eye dogs that help guide the blind, for example. But did you know that miniature horses are being used as guides, too? Like dogs, they are also used as therapy animals in hospitals and to help people who are mobility impaired.

It’s not only horses and dogs that are helpers. There are a variety of animals that make life better for their owners: parrots that help the hearing impaired, ferrets that can sense when

their owner is about to have a seizure, pot-bellied pigs that guide the blind or can open and close doors. And yes, monkeys can help people, too. Some Capuchin monkeys are trained to assist individuals who are paralyzed or unable to perform certain physical actions. They become that person’s hands, opening doors, turning on light switches and picking up objects. All these animals go through a great deal of training to be calm, reliable and able to do their work well—so Mr. Nilsson will not be taking on this job. But these animals don’t only help their owners with tasks. They provide the same love, companionship and joy that pets bring to all of us who care for them.

A girl and her pet chicken in Afghanistan

Scout, a miniature horse, leading his blind companion

Children sleeping with the young elephant in their care at the Arignar Anna Zoo in India

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TALK TO THE ANIMALS

A cat meowing in Seattle sounds just like a cat meowing in Japan. But the way people imitate the sound of the meow can change in different languages.

Take a look at some of these examples from different countries. They are all awfully fun to say out loud. And if you practice them, you’ll be ready to say hello to a pig in Sweden or a rooster in Italy.

CatEnglish: MeowFrench: Miaou (myou)Japanese: Nyā (nyaa)Korean: Yaong (yawng)Spanish: Miau (mee-ou)

DogEnglish: WoofChinese: Wāng (wang)French: Ouaf (woof)Korean: Meong (mung)Spanish: Guau (wou)

DuckEnglish: QuackChinese: Gāgā (koo-koo)French: Coin Coin (kwe kwe)Italian: Qua Qua (kwa kwa)Spanish: Cuac Cuac (kwak kwak)

PigEnglish: OinkDanish: Øf (oof)Japanese: Būbū (boo boo)Russian: Khryu (heh-roo)Swedish: Nöff Nöff (nuhf nuhf)

RoosterEnglish: Cock-a-doodle-dooFrench: Cocorico (koh-koh-ree-ko)Italian: Chicchirichì (kee-keeree-kee)Japanese: Kokekokkō (ko-kay-ke-koh)Spanish: Quiquiriquí (kee-keery-kee)

SheepEnglish: BaaGerman: Mäh (meh)Japanese: Mē (may)Korean: Maemae (may-may)Swedish: Bä (bah)

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WORDS & PHRASES THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO YOUPippilotta, Pantry-cleaner, Pepperminta, Gaberdina, Ephraim’s Daughter, Longstocking – small room where food is stored

I can spell “insipidness” – boringness

I can spell “obsequiousness” – over eagerness to obey

Hello, Mrs. Priss! Prysselius – Pippi is using the sound of Mrs. Prysselius’s name to make a comment about her. “Priss” is short for “prissy” which means too proper and fussy.

I’m from the Social Welfare Office and... – office in charge of helping people in need

MRS. PRYSSELIUS: You know, you need a special permit to keep monkeys as pets.PIPPI: Not for Mr. Nilsson. He permits anything and everything.

Mrs. Prysselius uses the word as a noun to mean “official written permission.” Pippi uses it as a verb meaning “allow.”

No, we want to know what you’ve done with all that lolly you had before. – money. A British slang word.

Back on the job, no longer linger – take your time

We’re your friendly constables, so happy that you rang! – police officers

Can you imagine anyone wanting to live in a hovel like this? – small, dirty house

In the name of the law and statues concerning juveniles and young people...statues – Constable Clang is confusing words and really means “statutes,” written laws. juveniles – young persons

Oh, they’re just a couple of busybodies who want to know all about me. – people who are too nosey

Your imagination is unbounded. – unlimited

And when he ate his liverwurst sandwiches, the pigeons had every other bite. – liver sausage

Harboring a runaway?harboring – giving shelter torunaway – person who runs away from home


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Eh, Clang, don’t you think we ought to get some reinforcements? – extra people to help

We don’t really need to catch this whelp – young dog or wolf. The word can be used to describe a rude child.

Actually, I think a child should be silent when it’s with its elders – people who are older than the child

They really ought to be taboo – forbidden

I just can’t stand insolent children. – rude

She’s absolutely lethal! – deadly

Quite frankly, I don’t care at all. – honestly

I promise I won’t throttle youI’ll really mollycoddle you

throttle – chokemollycoddle – spoil

Do you really want to share a house with a horse on the verandah, a monkey in my hair and cream cake all over me? – porch

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?woodchuck – groundhogchuck – throw

rusty sabers – swords

The best helmsman on the seven seas! – person who steers a ship

We weigh anchor tomorrow morning at ten. – raise. A ship “weighs anchor” before sailing away.

I’ve had to acknowledge that doing the impossible is impossible. – admit the truth

Yeah, they sang ‘til their tankards they rang – large drinking cup with a handle

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JUMP STARTIdeas for things to do, wonder about, talk about or write about before or after you see Pippi Longstocking.

What happened to Pippi’s father between the time he fell overboard from his pirate ship and the time he came back to Pippi?

Think of some names for Pippi’s horse.

What would you tell Pippi is the best part of going to school? What is the hardest?

Draw a costume for Pippi’s monkey, Mr. Nilsson.

What are different ways that people are strong?

What animal is the perfect pet for you? Why?

Invent a game for Pippi to play with you. Try it out with your friends.

Would you like to live in a house by yourself? What would it be like?

Dance like a pirate.

Make up a story about an adventure Mr. Nilsson had in a foreign country.

What circus act would you want to be part of?

Why is Pippi’s name so long? Make up a long name for yourself.

Have you ever broken a rule without knowing it was a rule?

What would it be like having Pippi for a neighbor?

Why is it good for friends to be different from each other?

Make a map of Pippi’s neighborhood.

Why does Pippi dress the way she does?

If you were moving into a house by yourself, what’s the first thing you would do?

Do some poses like Miss Carmencita and Pippi do on top of the circus horse.

How do you think Pippi spent her time when she was living on the pirate ship?

If you had a sack of gold coins, what would you do with it?

Did Pippi’s choice at the end of the play surprise you? What choice would you have made?

Mrs. Prysselius, Constables Cling and Clang, and Pippi’s teacher all have a lot of trouble with her. Are there ways they could have dealt with her more effectively while still doing their jobs?

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DRAMA IN ACTIONThis is a customized Pippi Longstocking Dramashop* exercise for you to try.

EXERCISE: It Is What It Isn’tGRADES: First and up TIME: 10 minutesSET-UP: This exercise can be done sitting at desks or in a circle SUPPLIES: Wooden spoon; a ruler would also do

INSTRUCTIONS:Pippi Longstocking doesn’t do things the traditional way. She keeps her horse in the kitchen and sleeps with her feet on the pillow! Inspired by Pippi’s way of doing things in unexpected ways, we will use our imaginations to turn an ordinary object into something else entirely.

Present the wooden spoon to the class. Ask for a volunteer to come up to the front of the room and demonstrate how the object is usually used. Ask the observing students to put their hand on their head if that is how they use that object.

Mime using the spoon as a hairbrush. Rub your hands together if you can guess what I have turned it into. Call on a student to guess.

Once the new object is identified, invite a student up to the front to turn the spoon into something else by miming how it is used. Remind the students to use actions, but no sound. Encourage them to be specific about the object they are imagining and the way they use it.

State aloud the facial expressions you see incorporated into the action. Ask the students if the facial expressions help make it clear what the object is.

Repeat with more students. Or challenge the students with a new object of a different shape, like a roll of masking tape.

*A Dramashop is an interactive drama-workshop that Seattle Children’s Theatre offers to schools and community groups through our Education Outreach Program. Dramashops explore the themes, characters, historical context and production elements of SCT Mainstage productions. Professional SCT teaching artists work with students for an hour, fleshing out themes and ideas through dynamic theater exercises. Dramashops can occur either before or after seeing the play and can be held at SCT or at your location. Students get on their feet in these participatory workshops, stretching their imaginations while learning about the play.

For information about bringing a Dramashop to your classroom or community group, email [email protected].

I love you and I miss you. Pippilotta Pantry-cleaner Pepperminta Gaberdina Ephraim’s Daughter Longstocking

Complete Pippi’s letter by filling in the blanks with the appropriate type of word to create a brand new story.

Once you have made your story, ask your friends to select words without showing them the story and see what they create!

Today was ____________ (adjective)! Tommy and Annika invited me to a ____________ (noun).

You know how I love ____________ (previous noun plural). Especially the ones where they ____________

(verb) ____________ (plural noun)!

I decided to wear my ____________ (color) ____________ (article of clothing) with my

____________ (adjective) ____________ (article of clothing). I was ready to go, so I ____________

(adverb) ____________ (verb ending in -ed) onto my ____________ (animal) and off I went! When I got

there, Tommy and Annika’s ____________ (type of relative) was ____________ (verb ending in -ing) with a

few people. I said hello, but my ____________ (body part) was ____________ (verb ending in -ing) so I

went to see if they had any ____________ (noun). I found a large ____________ (noun) filled with lots of

different ____________ (noun plural). There were ____________ (noun) ____________ (plural noun) that

were ____________ (adjective) and almost as big as my ____________ (body part). There was even a

____________ (noun) that was ____________ (color) and shaped like a ____________ (adjective)

____________ (noun). It was ____________ (adjective)!

I was feeling pretty ____________ (adjective) so I decided to teach everyone that game we learned

in ____________ (exotic location) when you and I were visiting ____________ (important person). You

know, the one where everyone gets a ____________ (noun) and you sit in a ____________ (shape) and have

to figure out who has the ____________ (adjective ending in -est or -er) one. Then you take

turns____________ (verb ending in -ing) your____________ (previous noun) around the room. Tommy and

Annika loved it, but everyone else left before it was over. Too bad. They missed the ____________

(adjective) part!

I wish you were here dad so that we could ____________ (verb) together every day, like we used to.

Dear Dad,

Unscramble each word and write it correctly on the line below it.

Write each circled letter in order at the bottom of the page to complete the sentence.

How is each word part of Pippi Longstocking’s story?

Pippi grew up on a ship full of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

D T U R E V E N A

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

N G S T R O

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

K E Y M O N

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ E S R U L

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ — ___ ___ ___

N R O W G - P S U

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ S D N F R I E

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

R H O S E

SCRAMBLE HINTS

All the words used in the scramble are in the box below.

Check it if you need hints.

STRONG

RULES

MONKEY

FRIENDS

GROWN-UPS

ADVENTURE

HORSE

BOOKLIST

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For Children & Young Adults:

Finn Family MoomintrollTove Jansson

Gooney Bird Greene Lois Lowry

Harriet the SpyLouise Fitzhugh

A Little PrincessFrances Hodgson Burnett

Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of HypnotismGeorgia Byng

Peter and the StarcatchersDave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Pippi Moves In Astrid Lindgren, comic book illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman

Scandinavian MythologyJason Porterfield

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr seriesMaj Lindman

Clementine Sara PennypackerArmed with attitude, individuality and a penchant for disaster, Clementine, a wonderfully wacky girl who is the heroine of a great series of books, and the inventor of the world’s first pair of bologna glasses, makes her first appearance.

For Adults Working With Children & Young Adults:

Braiding Hair: Beyond the BasicsJen Jones

Manners Mash-up: A Goofy Guide to Good BehaviorTedd Arnold and many others

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the WorldJane Yolen

Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong GirlsJane YolenDrawing from stories around the world, renowned author Jane Yolen celebrates the smart, strong and sassy heroines of legend and lore in a collection that will encourage bravery in every child.

Booklist prepared by Sara Jensen and Julie MillerKing County Library System

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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

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Engaging young people with the arts is what we are all about at SCT. We hope that the Active Audience Guide has helped enhance and extend the theater experience for your family or your students beyond seeing the show.

Send us your commentsWe’d love to hear your feedback about the guide. You can email us at [email protected].

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Thank you for your support.

Seattle Children’s Theatre, which celebrates its 39th season in 2013-2014, performs September through June in the Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord Theatres at Seattle Center. SCT has gained acclaim as a leading producer of professional theatre, educational programs and new scripts for young people. By the end of its 2012-2013 season, SCT had presented over 230 plays, including 110 world premieres, entertaining over 4 million children.

Documents

Active Audience Guide: Pippi Longstocking