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''Pettson and Findus'' ( sv, Pettson och Findus) is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist. The books feature an old farmer (Pettson) and his cat (Findus) who live in a small ramshackle farmhouse in the countryside in around the 1950s. The first of the Pettson och Findus books to be published was ''Pannkakstårtan'' in 1984 (first published in English in 1985 as ''Pancake Pie'').
To date, nine story books have been published in Swedish, plus a puzzle book, song book and cook book. The books have worldwide book sales of over 15 million and have been translated into 55 languages. There are two alternative English translations of the characters' names: in the books published in the UK by Hawthorn Press, as well as those published in English by Swedish publisher Opal, they have the original names, Pettson and Findus, while in the books published in the USA by Carolrhoda Books they are called Festus and Mercury.
In addition to the books, there are also three Pettson and Findus 75-minute-long animated films, an animated TV series of 26 25-minute parts, computer games and board games. In December 1993, the Swedish TV company SVT broadcast one of the Pettson and Findus stories, ''Tomtemaskinen'' (The Mechanical Santa), as its annual
On the premises of Julita manor, Sven Nordkvist helped build a farm designed after the books. The author himself has created some of furniture and interior. Everything on the farm has been designed in a 2:3 scale, adapted to the size of the children.
Sveriges Television's Christmas calendar
''Swedish Television's Christmas calendar'' ( sv, Sveriges Televisions julkalender) or ''Swedish Television's Advent calendar'' ( sv, Sveriges Televisions adventskalender) is a Christmas calendar TV series mainly for children, broadcast by Sver ...
(Christmas calendar), with one 15-minute part shown each day up until Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
. In 2000 the world of Pettson and Findus was recreated full scale at the Junibacken Children's Museum in Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
The setting for the stories
Pettson is an old farmer who lives in a ramshackle falu red-painted wooden farmhouse in the Swedish countryside. He is presumably a widower, as in ''Pettson Goes Camping'' he tells of a planned camping trip with his wife in his youth, but no children are mentioned. His neighbours regard him as a bit odd, but he does have the company of a cat, Findus. Findus is dressed in a green-striped costume and wears a cap. Pettson and Findus can converse with each other, and the cat can stand up on his two hind legs like a human - Findus thus appears and behaves as if he were a small child. However, Findus, unlike Pettson, is aware of other "small creatures" (called ''muckles'') living in the house, who play havoc with Pettson's belongings. Each of the books takes off from simple events, such as gardening, going fishing, preparing for Christmas, and so on. It emerges in one of the later books, ''When Findus was little and disappeared'', that the cat had been given to Pettson as a kitten, and that he had arrived in a cardboard box with the text "Findus
Findus () is a frozen food brand which was first sold in Sweden in 1945. Findus products include ready meals, peas and Crispy Pancakes, the latter of which were invented in the early 1970s.
The Swiss food company Nestlé owned the Findus brand ...
Fresh Peas" on the side - hence the inspiration for the choice of a name.
The Pettson and Findus books
#Pancakes for Findus / Pancake Pie (2007) / The Birthday Cake (NorthSouth Books, 2015) (original: Pannkakstårtan, 1985) #Findus and the Fox / a.k.a. The Fox Hunt (2009) / The Fox Chase (NorthSouth Books, 2015) (original: Rävjakten, 1986) #Findus at Christmas / a.k.a. Merry Christmas Festus and Mercury (2011) (original: Pettson får julbesök, 1989) #Findus Plants Meatballs / a.k.a. A Rumpus in the Garden / a.k.a. Festus and Mercury: Ruckus in the Garden (2013) / A Ruckus in the Garden (NorthSouth Books, 2018) (original: Kackel i grönsakslandet, 1990) #Findus Goes Fishing / a.k.a. Festus and Mercury: Wishing to go Fishing (2016) (original: Stackars Pettson, 1991) #Findus Goes Camping / a.k.a. Pettson Goes Camping / a.k.a. Festus and Mercury Go Camping (2010) / The Camping Trip (NorthSouth Books, 2017) (original: Pettson tältar, 1992) #The Mechanical Santa (Tomtemaskinen, 1994) #The Rooster's Minute (Tuppens minut, 1996) #When Findus was Little and Disappeared (2008) / Findus Disappears! (NorthSouth Books, 2014) (original: När Findus var liten och försvann, 2001) #Findus Moves Out (2012) (original: Findus flyttar ut, 2012) #Findus, Food and Fun / a.k.a. Puzzle with Findus (2014) (original: Pyssla med Findus) #Pettson and Findus Song book (original: Pettson och Findus sångbok) #Pettson and Findus cookbook (original: Pettson och Findus kokbok) #Keeping Up With Findus (2019) (original: Kan du ingenting, Pettson?, 2019)The Pettson and Findus films
* ''Pettson & Findus – The cat and the old man years'' (''Pettson och Findus – Katten och gubbens år''), 1999. * ''Pettson och Findus – Kattonauten
''Pettson och Findus – Kattonauten'' is a Swedish children's film from 2000, based on the books ''Pettson and Findus'' by Sven Nordqvist
Sven Otto Rickard Nordqvist (born 30 April 1946) is a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's boo ...
'' (''Pettson och Findus – Kattonauten''), 2000.
* ''Pettson & Findus – Pettson's Promise'' (''Pettson och Findus – Tomtemaskinen''), 2005
* ''Pettson & Findus – Forget-Abilities'' (''Pettson och Findus – Glömligheter''), 2009.
* '' Pettson & Findus: Fun Stuff'' (''Pettson och Findus - Roligheter''), 2014.
* ''Pettson och Findus - Juligheter'', 2016.
* ''Pettson och Findus - Findus flyttar hemifrån'', 2018
The Pettson and Findus farm
On the premises of Julita manor, Sven Nordkvist helped build a farm designed after the books. The author himself has created some of furniture and interior. Everything on the farm has been designed in a 2:3 scale, adapted to the size of the children.
TV series
A TV series, also titled ''Pettson and Findus'', aired on KiKA in 2000. The series was written by Sven Nordqvist, music by Naima and was produced by TV-Loonland AG andZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
.
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettson and Findus Characters in children's literature Series of children's books Novels set in Sweden Swedish children's literature Literary characters introduced in 1984 1984 Swedish novels Literary duos Fictional Swedish people Fictional farmers Fictional cats 1984 children's books Male characters in literature Animal characters in literature Children's books set in Sweden Children's books set on farms Children's books set in the 1950s Book series introduced in 1984