Scrap and the Pirates facts for kids

Scrap and the Pirates, also known as Skrallan and the Pirates, is a fun children's book. It was written by the famous Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The original title in Swedish is Skrållan och Sjörövarna. This book tells exciting stories about a little girl named Scrap and her adventures.

Adventures on Seacrow Island

The story of Scrap and the Pirates takes place during the summer. Scrap, whose Swedish name is Skrållan, lives on a special place called Seacrow Island. She enjoys watching her family.

Her grandfather, Melcher, and her father, Peter, are busy fixing the roof of their house. Her mother, Malin, is hanging up the laundry. Scrap really loves her grandfather. He is very funny and sometimes falls off the roof or even into the sea!

Scrap's Friends and Family

Scrap has a young uncle named Pelle. He is only ten years old. On Seacrow Island, there are also other friends. These include Tjorven, her dog Bootsmann, and Tjorven's parents, Nisse and Märta. Stina and her grandfather also live there.

Tjorven's sisters and Pelle's older brothers often play together. Scrap usually spends her time with Pelle, Tjorven, and Stina. She even celebrates her third birthday with them on the landing stage by the water.

Fun and Games

One day, Scrap, Tjorven, Pelle, and Stina play hide-and-seek with Melcher. Melcher hides in a spot where chickens used to lay eggs. His pants get very dirty! Meanwhile, Pelle gets distracted. He forgets about the game because he is watching a large grasshopper. Pelle loves animals more than anything.

Later, Scrap tries to use the seesaw with Bootsmann, the dog. It does not work well because Bootsmann is much heavier than her. Her side of the seesaw stays up in the air! After that, the children play sack jumping, which is a lot of fun.

Pirate Adventures

The children then go to an old ship. They pretend to be pirate gangs and have exciting battles there. They sometimes get in the way of Mr. Vesterman, who is trying to work on the ship.

Before going home, Scrap plays in a small basket, pretending it is a boat. She thinks it was a wonderful day full of adventures.

About the Book

Scrap and the Pirates (Skrållan och sjörövarna) was first released in 1967. The publisher was Rabén & Sjögren. This book is special because it is based on two films. These films are called Tjorven och Skrållan and Tjorven och Mysak.

Book and Film Connections

The films were shown in some countries. However, in other countries, only the book was released. The book was translated into English, but the films were not. The pictures you see in the book were actually taken during the filming of these movies.

The story in this book happens after the events in another book by Astrid Lindgren, called Seacrow Island. Some parts of Scrap and the Pirates are also shown in the films. Other parts are completely new stories that only appear in the book.

Seacrow Island's Location

The story takes place on a made-up holiday island called Seacrow Island. This island does not really exist. However, the book mentions some real places nearby. These include Söderöra, Furusund, and Rödlöga. This means Seacrow Island is imagined to be in the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden.

The photos used in the book were taken by Sven-Eric Delér and Stig Hallgren. The wonderful story text was written by Astrid Lindgren herself.