When Findus Was Little and Disappeared

By Sven Nordqvist

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hawthorn Press
• Release date: Dec 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781912480456

Book preview

Reviews for When Findus Was Little and Disappeared

[pivic-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is original, funny, sad and made in such an exquisite way, both gently and with a huge amount of humor, that any reader is rendered helpless to its charm and the author's ingenuity.

I can't remember when I last read a book that's as much for young kids as for old ones.

Pettsson, an old man who lives in the countryside, is in need of a friend. He thought about getting himself an old lady, but then again, naw, that'd be too much trouble. Something smaller, perhaps? Well, a dog! No...it'd require too much attention? But how about a little cat? his friend asked. Well...

The day after his friend had brought along a box which read "Findus green peas" [Findus being a household brand in Sweden]; as he opened the box, Findus stood on all fours, tiny as a button.

They instantly became best friends, and one day, as Pettsson was reading the paper about a clown, Findus' first words were "I want pants like that!".

This marks the start of the tale which is only a bunch of pages long, and is utterly remarkable because of several things. Nordqvist is an absolutely fantastic and remarkable writer as well as an extremely meticulous and funny illustrator. Findus comes alive with every stroke of his pens, and what goes on in the background - constantly! - makes for great re-reads.

I'm 34 years old and really nearly wept upon seeing Findus crying while hiding from a "monster". Art moves me, I guess. I realise the author hasn't really created any monsters or black-and-white imagery which feels great to me; I hate it when people try to present two diametrical versions of good and bad, without anything in-between - which so often is the case.

All in all, this is an absolutely brilliant tale and I'm very glad to see that it's available in other languages as well. Long live Pettson & Findus, as well as Sven Nordqvist!

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh goodness. Such a delightful story about love & friendship and courage. Heartwarming and silly, simultaneously. I love the muckles... I surely do hope I can find more of these stories - if only I had grandchildren and so could justify buying them!

[melaniehope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the Findus book series. They are sweet, simple and have wonderful illustrations. In this story, we learn how Findus the cat actually becomes Pettson's pet. I like to read these books to my seven year old daughter.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Originally published in Swedish as När Findus var liten och försvann, this ninth installment of Sven Nordqvist's marvelous series of picture-books about grumpy farmer Pettson, and his quirky cat companion, Findus, is actually only the seventh I have been able to obtain and read, the seventh and eighth books (Tomtemaskinen and Tuppens minut, respectively) being unavailable, as far as I'm aware, in English. A prequel of sorts, When Findus was Little and Disappeared tells the story of how Findus first came to live with Pettson, as a young kitten (as well as how he got his name!), and also fills in some information about the little creatures that run around Pettson's house (unseen by him) throughout the series.With plenty of that distinctive humor one has come to expect from Nordqvist, but also a heartwarming element of sweetness that was quite unexpected, I think When Findus was Little and Disappeared might be one of my favorite entries in the series. The artwork is as engaging as ever, with its wealth of details and amusing visual effects (I like the way Nordqvist portrays the direction of Pettson's gaze at times, with the pupils seen in his glasses, rather than behind them), and the story is immensely satisfying, for the reader who has come to care about these characters. I was quite pleased, moreover, to discover something about the little muckles that only Findus can see, not the least of which - what these tiny creatures were called!All in all, another wonderful book, in a wonderful series (I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like a broken record). I only wish that more of these stories had been translated, as I've now reached the end of the available titles in English. Ah well... I can always reread, I guess!

[debnance_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t find anything in any language for the 1001 book, Findus’s Pancakes. Had to settle for using Google Translator to help me through this, a different book in the Findus series, written in German as it wasn’t available in English or even its original Swedish.As best I can tell, this is a quirky little story of an old forgetful farmer and his cat (who wears blue striped pajamas). This tells how the cat, Findus, comes to live with the farmer, Pettersson. Even with this miserable translation technique, I got the silliness of the conversations between farmer and cat. Probably a stretch to cross this one off my list.A 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.

[bnielsen_30 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sverige, ude på landet, ca 1990Katten Findus bor hos den gamle Peddersen. Katten har tøj på og kan tale med Peddersen og fungerer i det hele taget som var den et opvakt lille barn.I denne historie lokker Findus Peddersen til igen at fortælle historien om da Findus blev væk.Peddersen savner selskab, så Beda Andersen fra nabogården kommer forbi med en lille kat i en papkasse, hvor der har været 12 dåser grønne ærter af mærket Findus.De kommer snart til at holde meget af hinanden. Findus lærer at snakke og Peddersen syer tøj til ham. Men en morgen er Findus pist væk. Peddersen leder fortvivlet og imens sidder Findus i en kasse i haven og tør ikke røre sig. Han har været ved at udforske haven, da han bliver overrasket af en grævling.Et par små underlige væsener, Buklere, finder Findus og lægger spor ud, så Peddersen kan finde ham og redde ham fra grævlingen.Og så levede de lykkeligt til deres dages ende.Sød lille historie.