Children’s Books similar to Pippi Longstocking

A little girl who is determined to strike a blow for nonconformity manages to arrive at school every day with a hairdo more outrageous than the day before. And each time, the cast of copycats grows and grows – until the day she threatens to shave her head! The strong female voice will speak to many, asserting the importance of individuality and independent thought. A worthy addition to your collection of kids books with a similar theme to Pippi Longstocking.

Unlike Pippi Longstocking, Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. (“The”) Trunchbull – a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.

However, the story of Matilda is far from predictable – the big surprise comes when Matilda discovers a new, mysterious facet of her mental dexterity. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings. Not dissimilar to our beloved Pippi Longstocking.

Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?

For a girl as enthusiastic about life as Ramona, starting the first grade should be easy! But with a teacher who doesn’t understand her, a tattletale classmate, and a scary dog who follows her on the walk home from school, Ramona has a hard time acting like the big girl everyone expects her to be. But when she shows up to school with a missing shoe, Ramona gets a fresh grip on her courage in order to make it through a mortifying situation.

Newbery Medal winning author Beverly Cleary lovingly chronicles the ups and downs of elementary school woes. And similar to Pippi Longstocking, Ramona is one of the more relatable strong female lead characters for young readers.

E. B. White’s Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that you and your kids will love. This is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur – and of Wilbur’s dear friend Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider who lived with Wilbur in the barn. With the help of Templeton, the rat who never did anything for anybody unless there was something in it for him, and by a wonderfully clever plan of their own, Charlotte saved the life of Wilbur, who by this time had grown up to be quite a pig. But be forewarned, you may need a box of tissues within close reach. And just like Pippi Longstocking, one of our all-time faves!

Who can slide up banisters, banish naughtiness with a swift “Spit-spot,” and turn a make-believe sidewalk drawing into a lovely day in the park? Mary Poppins, of course! From the moment the beloved nanny arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life for the Banks family is full of excitement. This box set features three adventures in paperback: Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Comes Back, and Mary Poppins Opens the Door.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.

A Little Princess, a 1904 children’s novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, follows the story of Sara Crewe, a young girl sent to a boarding school in London where she is to be lavishly cared for as instructed by her doting, wealthy father, Captain Crewe. When her father dies, and she is left an orphan and a pauper, Sara becomes a servant at the school, and befriends a maid with whom she shares an attic room. Her imagination keeps her alive in her destitute life, and the rich stories she invents become as real to the reader as they do for Sara and the maid. A Little Princess is an excellent example of a kids book with strong female characters – in a similar vein to Pippi Longstocking.

Nicholas and his friends always seem to end up in some sort of mischief. In the school room, at home and in the playground, their exuberance often takes over and the results are calamitous – at least for their teachers and parents. Whether confusing the photographer hired to take the class picture, rescuing a ‘stray’ dog, or trying desperately to help the teacher when the school inspector pays a visit, Nicholas always manages to make matters worse. This hilarious and heart-warming book will ignite laughter in children and adults alike. These stories of Nicholas’ careless antics blend a wonderfully imaginative sense of humour with a refreshing take on life – to leave a lingering aftertaste of ageless romantic charm in any reader. A worthy addition to any list of kids books that channel the essence of Pippi Longstocking.

This childhood classic relates a small-town boy’s pranks and escapades with timeless humor and wisdom. On the banks of the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer and his friends seek out adventure at every turn. In addition to his everyday stunts (searching for buried treasure, trying to impress the adored Becky Thatcher), Tom experiences a dramatic turn of events when he witnesses a murder, runs away, and eventually returns to attend his own funeral and testify in court. And though The Adventures of Tom Sawyer generally deals with graver issues than Pippi Longstocking, the quest for knowledge and youthful exuberance is remarkably similar.

Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a curiosity that leads from one adventure to another! The classic novel about the little girl with a flair for the outrageous will delight and entertain both you and your children. Pippi’s high-spirited, good-natured hijinks cause as much trouble as fun, but a more generous child you won’t find anywhere.