Literary Trees – The Lemonade Tree

In the grounds of Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren’s home at Näs, Vimmerby, stands a huge hollow elm tree. It measures more than seven metres in circumference and is more than 200 years old. When Astrid was a little girl, it was called the Owl Tree, because owls lived in it and she could hear them hooting at night. With all its knobbly bits and protrusions, it was a wonderful tree for children to climb (it is now protected by railings and children are no longer permitted to climb it).

In Pippi Longstocking, Pippi pulls bottles of ‘sockerdricka’, a type of lemonade, from its trunk and shares them with her friends Tommy and Annika. To them it is ‘the Lemonade Tree’ and it has remained so to the thousands of visitors who flock there each year. It is a loved part of Pippi’s fictional world where everyday things can be extraordinary, and where there are no rules and regulations telling the children what they can and can’t do, eat and think. Pippi lives in her house, Villa Villekulla, with her horse and pet monkey. Generations of child readers have been enchanted by the idea of someone getting lemonade from the inside of a tree.

Pippi is, for so many children, a symbol of freedom. No adult tells her what to do, she is strong and resourceful, is always having fun and is kind and generous. Perhaps it is not only children who would like to have a Lemonade Tree? My ideal tree would supply nicely chilled bottles of champagne, but I will continue to dream of a Book Tree into which I could simply reach and draw out my next fantastic book to read. Well, dreams are free …