On "Ronia, the Robber's Daughter": A Book Review

Title: Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter
Author: Astrid Lindgren
Genre: Children’s Fiction  

About the book… 
On a momentously stormy night, so stormy that the fort they live in splits in half, Lovis and Matt’s daughter Ronia is born bringing great joy to them and Matt’s whole band of robbers. As the years go by Ronia grows up happily is Matt’s Fort and exploring the woods around it, until one day she see’s someone her own age on the other side of the gapping hole that divides the two halves of the fort. When they learn that rival Borka and his band have moved into the deserted half of Matt’s fort trouble starts brewing for both sides and things only get worse when Ronia and Borka’s son Birk become friends. 

What I think…
I really wanted to like this book, but I have to say it’s my least favorite of Lindgren’s books that I’ve read up to this point. This one seemed lacking in the playfulness that the Emil, Pippi Longstocking, and Karlson books have and the fantasy elements weren’t as good as The Tomten (which is saying a lot since The Tomten only has a Tomten in it, whereas this book had dwarves, harpies, and a few other creatures). 

A good portion of the story takes place in the woods, which does make it slow at points because there’s a good amount describing what Ronia feels about spending time there. Lately, I haven’t really been in the mood for stories that have long peaceful parts, though, so this might be more of my own mood influencing this feeling. 

On the other hand, this story was very old fashioned both in themes and the way it was written, which liked about it. I loved that it isn’t written down to children and is just as readable as an adult. The characters were also enjoyable, especially one by the name of Noodle-Pete, although, once again, not quite to the same degree as some of Lindgren’s other characters.

To sum it all up… 
Not my favorite topic-wise, but if you really like Astrid Lindgren, then it’s worth a try.♥