Mischievous Meg

Sometimes you shouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The great Manny Rayner extols this book, published in Swedish in 1960 as Madicken, in both the original Swedish and its German translation. The English translation is supposed to be sub-par; however, I really enjoyed the adventures of 9-year-old Meg Peterson, a girl with too much imagination and too little sense, as she attempts to replicate parachuting out of an airplane, portraying Pharoah’s daughter discovering Moses amongst the bulrushes, or “skating” on a frozen river much too far from home. Too often, Meg shanghaies her 5-year-old sister Betsy into her wild schemes.

Written by Astrid Lindgren, best known for Pippi Longstocking, Mischievous Meg features a show more heroine unlike the unrealistically well-behaved storybook children; Meg gets up to all kinds of mischief, despite her best intentions. However, I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy the book — whether because of the translation or because of the book itself or because I read it in paperback rather than listened to it on Audible — as much as I did Lindgren’s The Children of Noisy Village. As with The Children of Noisy Village, I was at home sick when I devoured Mischievous Meg in a single morning, but it wasn’t as delightful.

Like The Children of Noisy Village, Mischievous Meg is set in a rural Sweden before automobiles became ubiquitous and before radio and television. What a delight to see Meg and Betsy play at being pirates or elegant ladies or the biblical Joseph! At the risk of sounding like an old lady, it’s sad how much has been lost to television, the Xbox, and the Internet. So I’ll take my own advice and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Mischievous Meg provided a welcome balm when I was in bed sick, and that’s good enough. show less

I've no doubt this is better for children, better in the original, and better if one thinks of Meg as more like 7, instead of almost 10 - she's awfully immature and innocent. And the line drawings were intriguing, different - and Meg looks awfully small and young in them.

Compare it more to the Ramona Quimby books than to Pippi Longstocking, and read it if you can, but don't worry that you're missing out on something amazing if you can't find a copy.

Very funny, very cute - just a lovely children's book all around. Shame I didn't read this as a child.

Nice children's book about a willful little girl in the early 20th century. Family based adventures, and everything ends cosily and happily.

Lovely sweet stories about tomboy Mardie and the scrapes she gets into with her little sister Lisbet. I loved this book as a child, and it remains one of my favourite childrens books. And definitely my favourite Swedish book of all time!

The escapades of a nine-year-old Swedish girl and her younger sister, as they picnic on the woodshed roof, play Moses in the bullrushes, go for a walk on the frozen river, and celebrate Christmas.

Excellent!