Astrid Ericsson Lindgren

Astrid Lindgren was born in Vimmerby, Sweden, in November 1907. In the early 1940s, she created a series of stories about a spirited red-haired girl with pigtails, freckles, and an extraordinary life, named Pippi Longstocking, to entertain her daughter who was suffering from pneumonia. Pippi Longstocking was first published in Sweden in 1945 and immediately captivated children of all ages. Speaking about her work, Astrid Lindgren said, "I write to entertain the child within me, and I can only hope that other children will find something in my writings that will entertain them, at least for a while." After the publication of Pippi, Astrid continued to write for children for the rest of her life. Her books have sold over 145 million copies worldwide and have been translated into approximately 91 languages. During her lifetime, Astrid Lindgren was honored with countless awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen International Children's Book Award in 1958, the Karen Blixen Medal from the Danish Academy, the Leo Tolstoy Medal from Russia, the Selma Lagerlöf Prize from Sweden, among others. She passed away in Stockholm on January 28, 2002, at the age of 94.