Since the first book, The Pancake Cake, was published in 1984, a total of 18 books have been published in the series. The books have sold 15 million copies worldwide.
The wise old man Pettson and his cat Findus have become a beloved series of children’s books that many Swedes have grown up with in one way or another. The books follow their idyllic life in the country, where Findus often causes mischief for Pettson and has discussions with the chickens. Even the Muckles, who can only be seen by Findus, like to cause mischief in the house by stealing a sock or moving things around.
Findus is more of a child than a real cat in the book series, and author Sven Nordqvist says the inspiration came from his own life in the country with his wife and two sons.
– It was fun back then, when everything was new. It was easy to find inspiration when the children were young, the author told Swedish state broadcaster SVT.
Films and computer games
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the book series, which in addition to 18 books has included animated films, a series, a Christmas calendar, a comic book, computer games and semi-animated feature films. The books have been translated into 47 languages and have sold 15 million copies worldwide.
However, the author says that the desire to draw and make books has waned over the years, and inspiration has also waned since the children moved out, something he dealt with in When Findus was little and disappeared, published in 2001. Now Nordqvist feels the time has come to call time on the classic duo.
– There aren’t many years left in my life, so I feel it would be fun to do something else.
