Sven Nordqvist

Sven Nordqvist

Sven Nordqvist (born April 30, 1946 in Helsingborg , Sweden ) is a Swedish draftsman . Nordqvist is one of the most popular authors of children's books in Germany and his home country Sweden. He is best known for the books about Pettson and Findus .

life and work

Nordqvist grew up in Halmstad in Sweden . He actually wanted to be a draftsman from his youth, but was rejected by several art schools. He studied architecture at the Technical University in Lund and then worked as an architect and as a lecturer for architecture in Lund. On the side, he continued to try his hand at an illustrator in advertising and for postcards, posters and picture books. After completing his architecture studies, he taught himself drawing in distance courses. In 1983 he won first prize in a children's book competition and has since worked exclusively as an author and illustrator for children's books. He is married and has two grown sons.

Stories with Pettson and Findus

In Nordqvist's stories of Pettson and Findus , several small scenes take place on each side. Findus the tomcat in particular can be seen three, four or five times in many of these pictures, for example when he is shooing chickens, riding a unicycle or cleaning the room by surfing on the mop. Nordqvist's pictures are rich in detail, also in terms of secondary characters, nature scenes or the mess in old Pettersson's house, workshop, chicken coop and garden. Nordqvist's stories are everyday stories and always end with a happy ending or at least the restoration of the status quo .

The author himself says about the popularity of his books and his character: “I think it's the human measure. Everything is manageable, you live in nature and you are closer than in the city. Perhaps we care more about the children and have more respect for them than individuals. And that is why Pettersson is so popular with children, because he allows a lot, because he does not punish and provides security. "

Nordqvist settles his characters Petterson and Findus in rural Sweden idyll, which he knows from the holidays of his youth. The couple's coexistence is shaped by Findus' childlike anarchy, which is absorbed by Petterson's affection for his cat. Nordqvist would like to show that all possibilities are open to children, that it is the parents' task to take care of children when they reach their limits. In this microcosm, better educational knowledge interferes.

Due to its great success, there are now CDs, cassettes, PC games and an animated series with Pettson and Findus. Puppet and human theater (such as the Puddle Theater ) also act out the stories.

More work

Sven Nordqvist also produced the illustrations for the children's books about the cow Mama Muh , whose texts were written by Jujja Wieslander and Tomas Wieslander , and for Die Menschen von Birka , a non-fiction book about the world of the Vikings by Mats Wahl and Björn Ambrosiani .

Awards

• 1989 Elsa Beskow badge
• 1992 German Youth Literature Prize together with Pelle Eckerman in the children's non-fiction category for lenses, magnifying glasses and magic scopes
• 2003 Astrid Lindgren Prize for the complete work
• 2007 August Prize for the picture book Where is my sister?
• 2013 LovelyBooks reader award in the children's book category for Findus moves

Works

• A birthday cake for the cat. 1984, ISBN 3-7891-6170-5 .
• Pippin the Small and the Big World. 1985, ISBN 3-551-51342-2 .
• The Christmas porridge. 1987, ISBN 3-414-81811-6 .
• Fireworks for the fox. 1987, ISBN 3-7891-6172-1 .
• Poor Pettersson. 1988, ISBN 3-7891-6173-X .
• The hat hunt. 1989, ISBN 3-414-81812-4 .
• Pettersson gets a Christmas visit. 1989, ISBN 3-7891-6174-8 .
• Lenses magnifying glasses and magic scopes. 1991, ISBN 3-7891-3401-5 .
• Riot in the vegetable patch. 1991, ISBN 3-7891-6902-1 .
• Nicke finds a chair. 1992, ISBN 3-7891-6905-6 .
• Nicke drives a taxi. 1992, ISBN 3-7891-6906-4 .
• Pettersson is camping. 1993, ISBN 3-7891-6907-2 .
• Tomorrow, Findus, there will be something. 1995, ISBN 3-7891-4307-3 .
• Findus and the rooster in the basket. 1997, ISBN 3-7891-6911-0 .
• How Findus came to Pettson. 2002, ISBN 3-7891-6916-1 .
• The people of Birka. This is how the Vikings lived. 2002, ISBN 3-7891-5111-4 .
• Cooking with Petterson and Findus. 2004, ISBN 3-7891-4321-9 .
• The secret of the Christmas elves. 2006, ISBN 3-7707-5362-3 .
• The crazy hat hunt. 2007, ISBN 978-3-7707-5363-5 .
• Where is my sister? 2008, ISBN 978-3-7891-6940-3 .
• Minus travels the world. 2009, ISBN 978-3-7707-5364-2 .
• ABC - Anton's journey through the alphabet. 2010, ISBN 978-3-7707-5366-6 .
• New songs by Pettson and Findus. 2010, ISBN 978-3-7891-8431-4 .
• Come with me to Pettson and Findus! A hidden object book. 2011, ISBN 978-3-7891-6945-8 .
• Björn Bär finds something funny. 2011, ISBN 978-3-7707-5367-3 .
• Lisa is waiting for the bus. 2011, ISBN 978-3-7707-5368-0 .
• Findus is moving. 2013, ISBN 978-3-7891-7909-9 .
• Walk with dog. 2019, ISBN 978-3-7891-1060-3 .
• Look what I can do, Petterson! 2019, ISBN 978-3789112959 .

Scripts

• 1999: Petterson and Findus.
• 2014: Pettson and Findus - little tormentor, great friendship

literature

• Peter Körte: Pettersson, that's me! Sven Nordqvist celebrates the men's economy in his stories about the odd old man and his anarchic tomcat Findus. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. No. 42, October 22, 2006, p. 61.

Web links

• Literature by and about Sven Nordqvist in the catalog of the German National Library
• Author portrait Sven Nordqvist at Oetinger-Verlag

swell

1. ↑ Roswitha Budeus-Budde: The cat looking for adventure. Retrieved December 17, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Körte, FAS October 22, 2006, p. 61.