Th
e package from our sister library in Gislaved, Sweden arrived on the morning of the Pippi Longstocking 70th Birthday celebration – it was like Christmas all over again! We were delighted to discover Pippi bookmarks and special red, wooden 50th anniversary yo-yos.
When I visited the Gislaved Bibliothek in June of 2015, I heard some of their plans for their Pippi Longstocking celebration. I hoped to replicate some of their activities for the children in Westerville, Ohio. Over the years of our sister library collaboration, one thing we had done is to have similar events – exchanging ideas, patterns for crafts, and display ideas – in both locations. As Pippi Longstocking is a character known by all Swedish children, an integral part of the c
ulture, I wanted more children in Westerville to also know of Pippi. And what better occasion than a birthday?
Around 50 children and their families attended the birthday celebration, held on a wintry late December afternoon during the schools’ Christmas break. After showing the first few minutes of the movie, I read a chapter from the book in which Pippi becomes a Thing-finder.
“The whole world is full of things and somebody has to look for them. And that’s just what a Thing-finder does.” – Pippi Longstocking
One of the activities later was for all the children to become Thing-finders too. Other activities included
playing “Don’t Step on the Floor,” making Swedish paper stars, a photo opportunity to “Dress Like Pippi” and pepparkakor cookies for refreshments.
The librarians and staff of the Westerville Public Library look forward to more exchanges with the library staff in Gislaved in the years to come!
Robin Gibson, Youth Services Librarian, Westerville Public Library, Westerville Ohio USA
IFLA Sister Libraries 