The illustrators
Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstockings is a story of a girl who definitely carves her own path, is a brave and loyal friend, and approaches life with a kind of whimsy. I have enjoyed seeing Pippi through the eyes of these various illustrators.
Originally published in Sweden in 1945 by Raben & Sjogren
Louis S. Glanzman
I’m a person who really enjoys a good color illustration so for me to feature a black & white illustration first takes something unique, and here, you have it. Louis S.Glanzman’s illustrations are just perfect. Cheeky, and I just adore his Pippi! Also, my favorite illustration is Pippi drawing a horse on the floor and not all the versions have it…Glanzman has the best one!
Translated by Florence Lamborn
This edition published in 2005 by Puffin Books
Michael Chesworth
This is the version I chose to read to my then, 5-year old son. It is wily, colorful, and has all the coolest parts illustrated: the horse bits, the hollowed out tree, and the circus scene! Plus the pictures all contain some hilarious element! This version also contains three adventures in one, so is great value for money.
Translated by Florence Lamborn
Contains Pippi Longstocking, Pippi Goes on Board and Pippi in the South Seas
Published 1997 by Penguin Group
Lauren Child
Lauren Child’s illustrations for her version of Pippi Longstocking just blow me away! So unique! I love the patterns she uses and feel they are great at holding children’s attention and intriguing their imagination! It only partially shows the floor horse, but has the best illustration of the children’s “Don’t Touch the Floor” game at Pippi’s Birthday party that I have seen. So fun! The second of Pippi’s adventures (Pippi Goes on Board) illustrated by Lauren Child came out in 2020.
Translated by Tiina Nunally
Published in 2021 by Oxford University Press
See end of this post for a video featuring this illustrator
Mini Grey
This paperback version is so darling! Mr Nilsson, the monkey, adorns every chapter heading with a little clue of what’s to come, and the illustrations are so cheerful you quickly forget they are not in color!
Translated by Susan Beard
Published in 2020 by Oxford University Press
*Original Illustrator
Ingrid Vang Nyman
Pippi Longstocking was first published in 1945 and Vang Nyman’s illustrations set the tone for all Pippi’s to come, and they are adorable! I think her Pippi is the cutest of all the Pippi’s! Has the best horse carrying illustration of all in my opinion!
Translated by Susan Beard
This edition published in 2020 by Puffin Books
Other Pippi Longstocking Illustrators
(Scroll right to see more)
Picture Books and Comic Strips
Ingrid Vang Nyman’s illustrations in color! She and Astrid Lindgren created this shortened and highly illustrated version of Pippi for the little ones!
Ingrid Vang Nyman’s illustrations in comic book format!
Pippi Moves In and Pippi Fixes Everything comics are another collaboration between Lindgren and Vang Nyman and are re-imaginings of the classic chapter book stories and were originally published in 1957–1959, a decade after the original books.
Pippi Longstocking in Other Languages
German Version beautifully illustrated in full color by Katrin Engelking. Love, love, love that it has an illustration of the village, which you can take a look at through Amazon.de.
Another German version; this one illustrated by Rolf Rettich also features an overview scene of the village, but in black and white. However, it is so beautifully ornamented and stylized that it’s on par with the color version above. Check it out on Amazon.de.
I loved reading about Pippi Long Stockings growing up. I always loved the classics.
I somehow never read Pippi as a child…but watching my son get into the story I read it to him was so much fun! Children’s classics just have that special something that draws children in and fascinates.