Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) was born in Vimmerby, Sweden, and grew up on a family farm in the Småland countryside, a setting that later formed the backdrop for many of her books. She did not begin writing until 1944 when she began to set down the Pippi Longstocking stories she had invented over the years to entertain her daughter, Karin. Her first book ( Britt-Mari Opens Her Heart ) was published by Rabén & Sjögren that same year, followed by Pippi Longstocking in 1945. In 1946, Lindgren became an editor and then the head of the children's book department at Rabén & Sjögren, living in Stockholm and spending summers on her beloved island of Furusund in the Stockholm archipelago. After the Pippi series, Lindgren wrote many fairy tales, picture books, and chapter books. In addition to writing more than forty children's books, Lindgren published and produced plays and screenplays, and was politically active and lobbied successfully for what became the Animal Protection Act of 1988. She received the Swedish Academy's Gold Medal in 1971 for her contribution to children's literature, and the Dag Hammarskjöld Award (1984), Albert Schweitzer Medal (1989), and Right Livelihood Award (1994) for her humanitarian efforts. In 2003 the Swedish government created the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in her honor.