Alfie Atkins ( sv, Alfons Åberg) is a fictional character created by the author Gunilla Bergström from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1972. Alfie Atkins appears in books and animated cartoons. Alfie plays the role of a normal child, living with his father. During his younger years he had an imaginary friend named Malcolm (''Mållgan'' in Swedish; Moggie in English TV version), that only Alfie could see. Later, he gets real friends such as ''Milla'' and Victor (''Viktor''). He also has a housecat named Puzzle (''Pussel''). In the books, Alfie experiences many ordinary everyday events that kids can easily recognize. In his longing to grow up and be a big boy, Alfie often competes with his father on who can manage these events in the best way. Alfie's father is a nice and positive man. Women appear less frequently in the stories: Alfie has an aunt named Fifi (''Fiffi'') and a grandmother, but no mother is present. The first book about Alfie, ''Goodnight, Alfie Atkins'' (''Godnatt, Alfons Åberg''), came out in 1972. There are 24 books in the Alfie series, along with seven other Alfie books for smaller children. The books have been translated into 29 different languages. The books are written and illustrated by Gunilla Bergström. Alfie Atkins is named Alfons Åberg in Swedish and Danish, Willi Wiberg in German, Albert Åberg in Norwegian, Albert Albertson in Polish, Einar Áskell in Icelandic, Mikko Mallikas in Finnish, Ifan Bifan in Welsh, Eliyahu in Hebrew and Frančkov Fonzek in Slovenian. Since September 2020, he also exists in France where his name is Alphonse Aubert. The publishing company of the books is Rabén & Sjögren and Julia MacRae Books. The last book was published in 2012, nine years before Gunilla Bergström died at the age of 79.

Books

* '' Good Night, Alfie Atkins'' ("God natt, Alfons Åberg") -

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

* ''

Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins ''Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins'' ( sv, Aja baja, Alfons Åberg) is a 1973 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. Translated by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard, it was published in English in 2005. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally a ...

'' ("Aja baja, Alfons Åberg") -

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

* ''

Raska på, Alfons Åberg ''Raska på, Alfons Åberg'' is a 1975 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over SVT on 31 December 1979. Plot It's morning and Alfons Åberg will soon go to Kindergarten Kinderg ...

'' -

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* '' Alfie and His Secret Friend'' ("Alfons och hemlige Mållgan") -

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

* '' Who'll Save Alfie Atkins?'' ("Vem räddar Alfons Åberg?") -

* '' You're a Sly One, Alfie Atkins!'' ("Listigt, Alfons Åberg") -

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

* '' Is that a Monster, Alfie Atkins?'' ("Alfons och odjuret") -

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

* ''

Är du feg, Alfons Åberg? ''Är du feg, Alfons Åberg?'' is a 1981 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series, it originally aired over SVT on 14 January 1981. Book cover The book cover depicts Alfons running away from a fight behind a ...

'' -

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

* ''

Var är bus-Alfons? ''Var är bus-Alfons?'' is a 1982 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over SVT on 11 November 1988. The original title was "Slutbusat, Alfons Åberg!" Book cover The book cover depic ...

'' -

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

* ''

Who's Scaring Alfie Atkins? ''Who’s Scaring Alfie Atkins?'' ( sv, Vem spökar, Alfons Åberg?) is a 1983 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. Translated by Joan Sandin, it was published in English in 1988. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over ...

'' ("Vem spökar, Alfons Åberg?") -

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

* '' Lycklige Alfons Åberg'' -

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

(also known as "Klaga lagom, Alfons Åberg!") * '' You Have a Girlfriend, Alfie Atkins'' ("Alfons och Milla") -

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

* '' Kalas, Alfons Åberg!'' -

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

* ''

Hokus pokus, Alfons Åberg! ''Hokus pokus, Alfons Åberg!'' is a 1987 children's book by Gunilla Bergström Gunilla Elisabet Dukure Bergström (3 July 1942 – 23 August 2021) was a Swedish author, journalist, and illustrator. She is best known for her series of children ...

'' -

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

* '' Bara knyt, Alfons!'' -

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

* '' Vad sa pappa Åberg?'' -

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

* '' Där går Tjuv-Alfons!'' -

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

* '' Mera monster, Alfons!'' -

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

* '' Hurra för pappa Åberg!'' -

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

* '' Näpp! sa Alfons Åberg'' -

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

* '' Flyg! sa Alfons Åberg'' -

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

* '' Osynligt med Alfons'' -

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

* '' Hur långt når Alfons?'' -

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

* '' Alfons och soldatpappan'' -

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

* '' Alfons med styrkesäcken'' -

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* '' Skratta lagom! sa pappa Åberg'' -

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Film

Starting in the late 1970s, a cartoon series was produced, containing adaptations of the books. The main director was

Per Åhlin Per Johan Axel Åhlin (born 7 August 1931) is a Swedish artist and director of animated films. He is known for his collaborations with the comedy duo Hasse & Tage and for his own projects such as the feature film ''The Journey to Melonia''. Car ...

and the musical score was composed by Georg Riedel. The show was a co-production between Åhlin's company PennFilm, the

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the ''Filmhuset'' building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm. The building, comp ...

and the Nordic television channels SVT, NRK, DR and YLE. Between 1979 and 1982, thirteen episodes of approximately 10 minutes each were produced. In 1994, three additional shorts were produced.

Animated feature and subsequent cartoon series (2010s)

In 2013, Norwegian director Torill Kove brought Alfie Atkins to cinemas with the feature presentation '' Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins''. It is based on the book of the same title with additions made for the sake of runtime The film was followed by a new Alfie Atkins TV series of 13 episodes.

References

External links

Official Website

Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins on IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Alfie Sweden in fiction Book series introduced in 1972 Literary characters introduced in 1972 Male characters in literature Child characters in literature Fictional Swedish people Male characters in animation 1979 Swedish television series debuts Swedish children's television series Swedish animated television series