The Findus and Pettson Series

Pancakes for Findus

Sven Nordqvist

Sven Nordqvist sees himself as an artist rather than an author he uses the word 'tecknare', which means 'drawer' or 'draughtsman' in Swedish.

Born in 1946 in Helsinborg and raised in Hamstad, southern Sweden, he began to draw seriously as a teenager. Turned down by art school, he studied architecture instead, and subsequently worked in Lund as an architect and teacher.

With time, however, he began to make a living as an artist, freelancing with advertising agencies, and illustrating schoolbooks and novels. He drew posters and cards and exhibited his prints across the country. His first book, published in 1983, won a competition for best picture book, and launched his career as a popular children's author.

Sven Nordqvist has received many awards including the Swedish Literature Award for Pancakes for Findus and the Pettson and Findus series, the Elsa Beskow Medal, the Astrid Lindgren Prize and The German Youth Literature Prize. He is a member of the Swedish Academy for Children's Books.

Sven Nordqvist about Findus and Pettson

"The books about Pettson and Findus take place in a small, delineated, idyllic and safe world, where the minor problems that arise are solved by the story's end. I believe that security is important for small children. The world should be comprehensible. Essentially that's how I myself would like it to be."

"I write not so much to tell a story as to revisit the free world that a story can describe."

"Imagination is important in a children's book. It is important to show children that there are alternatives, to invite them into a world that is different from the everyday. I don't view words like 'idyll' and 'escapism' quite as critically as many others do, but ultimately I do want to suggest some kind of moral. Pancakes for Findus is, albeit indirectly, about how you shouldn't criticise people who act strangely, before you know their reasons."