Pippi

Confession time: I was a really awkward kid. I wasn't pretty, I was tall, freckly, with red hair. Your basic Pippi Longstocking, without the cool house with the porch and a horse, never mind the confident personality.

And like many awkward kids, I found refuge in books. I devoured stories by Roald Dahl, Jan Terlouw and others. And I still do, even now that being tall isn't a bad thing anymore (I can reach stuff from the upper shelves at the supermarket), red hair makes me special, and I've grown to love my freckles. I've outgrown my awkwardness.

And yet...

Pippi Longstocking is still my hero. She's confident, wears whatever she wants, sleeps upside down in her bed and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. I still want to be Pippi. Pippi rocks.

So how about you? What was your favorite book and character as a kid?