My third grade teacher, Anne Gillett, read to us almost every day. E.B. White, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Beverly Cleary remain some of my literary heroes thanks to Mrs. Gillett. Perhaps the most hilarious books Mrs. Gillett read to us were the Pippi Longstocking (in Swedish, Pippi Långstrump) books by Astrid Lindgren. Pippi dressed in unusual attire, had superhuman strength, and her four best friends were her horse (who she could lift easily over her head), her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her neighbors, Tommy and Annika Settergren. Her father was a pirate, and later the king of a South Sea island.

The National Nordic Museum in Seattle is offering a free virtual celebration on November 14 for Pippi’s 75th anniversary. Sign up today!