I owe my travel bug to Pippi Longstocking

Pippi books stuck at customs in Istanbul

A Danish news site (dr.dk) reported today that about 1,200 Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) and Alfie Atkins (Alfons Åberg) books are currently stuck at customs in Istanbul.

The books were on their way to five Kurdish libraries and had been donated by the Swedish organisation Komak, who fight for children’s rights in Kurdistan.

Officially the books are being held back because they are not accompanied by the right documents, however it has also been suggested that it is because the books are in Kurdish.

Don’t mess with Pippi

I’m particularly upset about this, because I love Pippi Longstocking! In fact, I’m convinced I owe my passion for travel to Pippi and Emil i Lönneberga (another of Astrid Lindgren’s fantastic characters).

Pippi didn’t really travel much (she left that to her pirate dad), but I was fascinated by her adventures. So much so that I used to suck in my cheeks hoping I would develop huge dimples like the child that played Pippi in the televised version.

Get it sorted

So I don’t really care why the books are stuck at customs in Istanbul, just get it sorted! There’s a little girl out there just waiting to become the next Pippi!

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