Alfie Atkins () is a fictional character created by the author

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's books about the character Alfie Atkins (Swedish: ''Alfons Åberg''), which she ...

from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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 or Alfons Jokinen in Finnish, Ifan Bifan in Welsh, Eliyahu in Hebrew, Frančkov Fonzek in Slovenian and Alphonse Aubert in French. The publishing company of the books is

Rabén & Sjögren Rabén & Sjögren is a book publishing company in Sweden. It was established in 1942 by and . Since 1998 it has been part of Norstedts förlag. The publishing focus is on children's and youth literature. Rabén & Sjögren was very successful, p ...

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, ...

* ''

Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins ''Very Tricky, Alfie Atkins'' () 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 aired over SVT on 4 January ...

'' ("Aja baja, Alfons Åberg") -

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

* ''

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. After dres ...

'' -

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 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

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

* ''

You're a Sly One, Alfie Atkins! ''You’re a Sly One, Alfie Atkins!'' () is a 1977 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 ...

'' ("Listigt, Alfons Åberg") -

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

* '' 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 ...

* ''

Är du feg, Alfons Åberg? ''Är du feg, Alfons Åberg?'' is a 1981 Swedish language 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 fro ...

'' -

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

* ''

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 depi ...

'' -

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* ''

Who's Scaring Alfie Atkins? ''Who’s Scaring Alfie Atkins?'' () 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 SVT on 15 January 1982. Plot ...

'' ("Vem spökar, Alfons Åberg?") -

1983 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 TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

* ''

Lycklige Alfons Åberg ''Lycklige Alfons Åberg'' ("''Lucky Alfie Atkins''") is a 1984 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over SVT on 15 January 1981. It was originally called ''Klaga lagom, 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 Southeas ...

(also known as "Klaga lagom, Alfons Åberg!") * ''

You Have a Girlfriend, Alfie Atkins ''You Have a Girlfriend, Alfie Atkins'' () is a 1985 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over SVT on 18 March 1994. Translated by Joan Sandin, it was published in English in 1988. ...

'' ("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 n ...

* ''

Kalas, Alfons Åberg! ''Kalas, Alfons Åberg!'' is a 1986 children's book by Gunilla Bergström. As an episode of the animated TV series it originally aired over SVT on 1 April 1994. Plot The previous day was Alfons birthday and the upcoming Saturday, he will have a ...

'' -

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 en ...

* '' Hokus pokus, Alfons Åberg!'' -

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

* '' Bara knyt, Alfons!'' -

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

* '' Vad sa pappa Åberg?'' -

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

* '' Där går Tjuv-Alfons!'' -

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

* '' Mera monster, Alfons!'' -

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

* '' Hurra för pappa Åberg!'' -

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

* '' Näpp! sa Alfons Åberg'' -

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

* '' Flyg! sa Alfons Åberg'' -

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

* '' 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* '' Hur långt når Alfons?'' -

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

* '' Alfons och soldatpappan'' -

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* '' Alfons med styrkesäcken'' -

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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 (7 August 1931 – 1 May 2023) was 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 animated short film and television ...

, the musical score was composed by Georg Riedel and the narration was provided by

Björn Gustafson Björn Herman Leonard Gustafson (born 30 November 1934) is a Swedish actor. He was born in Stockholm and has appeared in 93 films and television shows since 1956. He starred in the 1965 film '' Love 65'', which was entered into the 15th Berlin ...

. The show was a co-production between Åhlin's company PennFilm, the

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swed ...

and the

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

television channels SVT,

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

, DR and

YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

. 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 Torill Kove is a Norwegian-born Canadian film director and animator. She won the 2007 Academy Award for Animated Short Film for the film '' The Danish Poet'', co-produced by Norway's Mikrofilm AS and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Lif ...

brought Alfie Atkins to cinemas with the feature presentation ''

Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins ''Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins'' () is a 2013 Danish-Norwegian-Swedish animated feature film directed by Torill Kove. It is based on the book of the same title from the Alfie Atkins book series by Gunilla Bergström. Plot Alfie Atkins wants a dog f ...

''. 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 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