 People dressed up as Findus (left) and Pettson (right) | |
| Author | Sven Nordqvist |
|---|---|
| Original title | Pettson och Findus |
| Illustrator | Sven Nordqvist |
| Cover artist | Sven Nordqvist |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Genre | children |
| Published | 1984- |
| Published in English | 1985- |
| No. of books | 14 |
Pettson and Findus (Swedish: 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).[1]
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.[2]
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 Sveriges Television's Christmas calendar (Christmas calendar), with one 15-minute part shown each day up until Christmas Eve. In 2000 the world of Pettson and Findus was recreated full scale at the Junibacken Children's Museum in Stockholm.
- ^ Laura A. Wideberg, "Pettson and Findus charm children and adults alike", World Literature Today, September 2005.
- ^ An analysis of the differences between the US and UK translations of the Pettson & Findus books was made in an academic article, titled "From Pettson and Findus to Festus and Mercury...and Back Again: A Comparison of Four Translations of Sven Nordqvist's Picture Books" by Beth Anne Yoxsimer Paulsrud at the Dalarna University College Department of English. See: [1]