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Findus and Pettson Series

When Findus Was Little and Disappeared

Hardback
February 2009
9781903458839
More details
  • Publisher
    Hawthorn Press
  • Published
    3rd February 2009
  • ISBN 9781903458839
  • Language English
  • Pages 28 pp.
$17.95

Farmer Pettson sat doing the crossword, with Findus the cat on his knee. “Tell me about when I disappeared,” said Findus.

“You haven’t disappeared,” said Pettson. “You’re sitting right here.”

“Yes, but—when I was little.“

“Oh then ... But you’ve heard the story so often before.”

“But tell it to me anyway!”

So here is the story of when Findus was little and disappeared. Findus and Pettson live in a red farmhouse, with a henhouse, workshop, and toolshed set among the forests, fields, and meadows of rural Sweden. Every picture tells a story, with a fascinating, magical world of tiny creatures.

(Children age 4 and up and early years educators)

“It’s not often that we come across books with such immediate and lasting appeal as Sven Nordqvist’s ‘Findus’ series. The stories are ingenious, the characters are quirky and original, and the illustrations are absolutely delightful.... I can’t recommend them highly enough. Hurrah for Findus!”

— Philip Pullman, author, His Dark Materials trilogy (including The Golden Compass)

“The stories are charming and amusing and the illustrations are busy with lots of animals and detail for children to look and discover. Children love these books, so do parents and grandparents as they can read them safe in the knowledge that they’re harmless and gentle but are also fun, well-written stories that are great for girls and boys.”

— Chris Elrick, The Onion Magazine

“My heart is still working on un-melting itself.”

— Bookwitch

Sven Nordqvist

Sven Nordqvist (b. April 30, 1946) is a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's books and is known best for his series Pettson and Findus, about old farmer Pettson and Findus, his talented cat. Nordqvist was born in Helsingborg and grew up in Halmstad, Sweden. He originally wanted to be an illustrator but was rejected by several art schools, so he studied architecture at Lund Institute of Technology and worked for a while there, lecturing on architecture. Meanwhile, he continued to look for work as an illustrator of advertisements, posters, and picture books. In 1983, he won first prize in a children's book competition and since then has worked exclusively as an author and illustrator of children's books. During his career, Nordqvist has received awards in Sweden and Germany. His Pettson and Findus books are especially popular in Germany, where the characters are known as Pettersson and Findus. In Danish they are named Peddersen and Findus. In Finnish they are Pesonen and Viiru, and in a few English translations, Festus and Mercury. In 2007, Sven Nordqvist won the Augustpriset literary award in the children's books category, for his book Var är min syster? (Where is my sister?). In 1992, he won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize). He is married and has two adult sons.