Customer Reviews

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter

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Astrid Lindgren has written so many fantastic books, it is impossible to name them all. But Ronia, the Robber's Daughter is among the best ones.

Ronia is born among a clan of robbers, and grows up surronded by love. But as she grows up she will discover that her small world is threatened from the outside. We are taken into a tale of strong friendship and love, a world where you are strong only because people love you, and you love other people. This is not a sweet love story, but a story where every child and grown up can learn important things about life. About forgiveness. About fright. And most of all about love.

Ronia, and her friend Birk are strong children. But at the same time they can cry and they can show their weakness. Lindgren is a master in showing the whole specter of human feelings. And it is very easy to believe in her characters, believe that they are real, cause they show real human feelings.

Many children must go through hard times, and feelings can be almost impossible to talk about. Lindgren's books are of great help. And best and most important of all, Ronia is a book about love, love as the strongest feeling. With love you can overcome.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

I don't know if it's the fact that I don't exactely like being an adult - always expected to "be realistic, reasonable and responsible", but I still dive into the books of my childhood when I need to "get away" for a while. For me personally, there isn't a question that Astrid Lindgren's stories are some of best ones out there. Ronia's story is full of fantasy, fun, imagination, danger and adventure, but it also gently reminds us of the importance to be determined, to stand your ground, to love, to forgive and just to never give up.
Any book that combines great story telling with a good message without being preachy about it...that's what I call a great book.

The last time I read this book was when I was nine, but the images have stayed with me all this time. I got my copy of RONIA a couple of days ago from Amazon.com, and it is better than I remembered. The aching loving relationship between parents and children, and the pain of making choices that come against that (called 'growing up') is beautifully brought out in this brilliant tale, set against a landscape of a forest with dark stands of trees, populated by beasts of the earth, and harpies and dwarves, and a lighting-riven castle. Although not quite so explicit, it is a Romeo and Juliet type story, with the charm and appeal of innocence. Ronia is a headstrong heroine who will capture your imagination instantly!

I am 29 years old now. I found this book in a library when I was 7. I fell in love with this book and would look at the cover over and over! I read that library book until age 12. That was when I went to a bigger school. My library no longer exists now and that book I read so often I hope is in the hands of a young girl. The forest Ronia lives in has dangers. Her father tells her to be aware of these places and animals. Ronia goes to each of these dangers and practices not being afraid. This is just one of the lessons Ronia can share with you. I will never forget the lessons learned in this book.

Growing up, this was my favorite of the Astrid Lindgren stories, with the number two spot held by "Mio my Mio". I hadn't read it in translation before, and while I still think the original Swedish was better, this translation keeps the wonders of the book intact. Great and interesting creatures, fantastic characters, and a great and complex story. A lot of fun to read and highly recommended.

I've read most of Astrid Lindgren's books and this one is one of the most exciting. Here is an excellent role model for girls who have been encouraged to identify themselves with sleeping beauties who don't do much except admire their prince's boldness and wit. This is a book that made me want to remain a kid forever. It is a book that I didn't want to end...images and adventures galore, an embodiment of my yearning for an independent life on the high seas of adventure...hey, these were my best childhood dreams!

I was about eight when I first got this book as a Christmas present from my parents. The story tells of a young girl born into a band of robbers during 'a dark and stormy night.' The robbers, whose leader Ronia's father is, live in a castle that was split in half by lighting the night Ronia was born. The other half of the castle is inhabited by a rival group of robbers whose leader has a son the same age as Ronia. One summer Ronia meets Birk, her counterpart, in the woods, and the children start a secret friendship.

Filled with wholesome adventures in the woods, interesting creatures (none of them TOO scary), and a conflict of families that gets solved in the end, the book is a delight. This book remains one of my favorite books from childhood, one that I read many times and always looked forward to reading again.

this is perhaps my favorite book ever to read to little girls (my daughters at the moment are 18 and 5; i just got through reading ronia to the 5). it's incredibly joyful, incredibly sad, incredibly adventurous, incredibly life-affirming. i particulalrly love the dad character, matt, who feels and expresses everything with total intensity and immediacy. it has an anti-pc/anti-didactice flavor that makes its actual lessons seem genuine. anyway, buy six copies and give them to all the parents of your daughter's classmates etc.

Growing up in Germany, where Astrid Lindgren is read by every child, Lindgren's stories affected me deeply. It may sound silly, but they enrich my life to this day. Without a shadow of a doubt, Lindgren is the best children's author in the world.

I'm on a bit of a mission to get her books more widely read in the English-speaking world. There is no better place to start than with Ronia, the Robber's Daughter. It's a story about growing up, torn loyalties, and, above all, love - a very human story, set in a fantastical world of forests, goblinfolk, and adventure. Read this book, then, read The Brothers Lionheart - and don't forget to give Lindgren's books to a child you care about.

"A robber's daughter, joy and gladness!" shouted Matt the stormy night that his daughter, Ronia, was born. Ronia grew up in Matt's Fort with her parents and her father's band of robbers. When she was old enough her parents let her walk through the woods by herself. While she was exploring she met Birk, the son of her father's arch enemy, Borka. Birk along with his parents and their band of robbers move into a section of Matt's Forest which they called Borka's Keep. At first Ronia and Birk despised each other but, they soon became best friends. One day, Matt captured Birk and wanted to use him to get Borka off his land. Ronia was extremely upset. Matt was furious and said that he no longer had a child. Birk and Ronia ran away into the woods where they lived all spring and summer long. Awhile later, Ronia came across Matt, who begged her to come home. After a few difficult decisions and challenges, Borka and Matt joined forces and Ronia and Birk were allowed to see each other anytime without worrying about their fathers' feud. This book was a very good adventure story.

I liked that the author threw in some scenes that were a little suspenseful. Bumper, one of Matt's robbers, was shot in the neck with an arrow by one of Borka's men. He survived, thanks to the nursing skills of Ronia's mother. When Ronia found a spot to meet Birk under Matt's Fort she heard someone coming but, the person did not come all the way down to see Birk. There were several times throughout the book when Birk and Ronia were almost attacked by wild harpies and other creatures. While Ronia and Birk were trying to train and ride wild horses they lost control and the horses went galloping as fast as they could through the forest to get them off.

I also liked how the characters developed. When Ronia and Birk first met they did not like each other at all. They then became best friends and later became "brother and sister." Matt and Borka had been rivals for many years. In the end, they were friends and partners, like they were when they were very young. Even Birk's mother and Ronia's Mother were able to get along.

Some of the creatures of the forest had odd ways of saying things. When Ronia got her foot stuck in a rumphob's den one of them asked, "Un's stuck in t'roof, woffer did un do it?" The gray dwarfs exclaimed, "Gray dwarfs all, bite and strike!" They would say this every time they saw a human. While out in the woods Birk and Ronia were being chased by a whole flock of wild harpies. One of them screamed, "Ho, ho! Lovely little humans in the water! Now the blood will run, ho, ho!" These kinds of dialects gave the creatures more character and made the book fun to read.

The thing that I liked the most about the book was that the author put a lot of detail into the characters' emotions, especially Matt's. When Ronia was first born Matt carried her high and proud and showed her off to all of the robbers. He danced and cheered with lots of enthusiasm. After Bumper was wounded, Matt was walking up and down the hall grinding his teeth and cursing Borka under his breath. While Ronia was out living in the woods, he would lie in bed almost all day, staring at the ceiling. He barely ate and everyone in the fort was depressed and they never sang or danced. Ronia was screaming and hitting everyone within her reach when she saw that her father had captured Birk. This is an excellent book for anyone who likes stories of friendship and adventure.

By K. Lissner