The eccentric little girl with the freckles and red braids, who lives in Villa Villekulla, was Astrid Lindgren's favorite character. Pippi Longstocking dared to talk back, climb walls and wear unusual clothes. In Lindgren's children's book, Pippi is the strongest girl in the world and, since she doesn't have parents, she's allowed to do whatever she wants.

"Pippi Longstocking" was Astrid Lindgren's first book, but it garnered her global fame. Actually, Lindgren (1907-2002) never planned on becoming a writer. She invented the crazy stories about the parentless redhead in 1941 when her own daughter was home sick. In 1944, she wrote them down. Since then, the story has been translated into some 50 languages.

Astrid Lindgren lived for over 60 years in the Vasa quarter of Stockholm at the address Dalagatan 46. That was the house she was born in, which she was able to purchase in 1965 with the money she won with the Swedish national literature prize. Lindgren had two children, Lasse and Karin, and incorporated many of their ideas in her books.

Astrid Lindgren read all of her stories to her daughter Karin (left) first before she got them published. From Bill Bergson to Karlsson-on-the-Roof, all of her characters were appealing to children - if not, Lindgren's own kids would veto them.

Many of Astrid Lindgren's novels have been turned into successful movies as well. Millions of children all over the world have sat in front of the TV and dreamed of adventurous worlds like the one in "The Six Bullerby Children." The town in the story is based on Sevedstorp, the village where Lindgren's father grew up. It's located just a few kilometers from her hometown, Vimmerby.

In 1978, Astrid Lindgren became the first children's author to win the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. In her speech at the award ceremony in Frankfurt, she made an appeal for children's rights - an issue she was passionate about her whole life.

Astrid Lindgren wasn't only interested in children's tales, but also in politics. She started writing a diary on September 1, 1939, the day the Nazis invaded Poland and World War II began. She noted that it was unfortunate that no one had shot Hitler. Her war-time diary was published as a book just this year.