Miffy
Dick Bruna's adorable character Miffy has charmed readers since 1955. Miffy is now established as not only a favourite pre-school character, but a design icon. The bold, simple illustrations and playful language ensure that the books remain popular today. To date, over 80 million Dick Bruna books have been sold worldwide in 44 different languages.
Biography
Miffy was created while the Bruna family were on holiday at the seaside resort of Egmond aan Zee, Holland. Dick Bruna would tell his baby son bedtime stories about a little white rabbit who lived in the garden of their holiday home. One day, Dick was drawing when suddenly a bunny appeared on the sheet of paper. Miffy was born, though it took some time before she looked the way we know her today. In the first Miffy book, she looks a bit like a fabric toy animal with clumsy ears. However, since 1963, she has become the familiar Miffy with two straight ears and cheerful black eyes who has many exciting adventures.
All the Miffy books are about the ordinary things in the lives of little bunnies and children, from the loss of a favourite teddy to the birth of a younger sibling. Dick Bruna is firstly a painter and illustrator, so he works on the illustrations using his familiar thick black line and bright colours before he starts writing the text. The Miffy books always include 12 illustrations and a poem of four lines on each left-hand page, which is written in simple language and bold print. The one exception to this is Miffy's Dream where the pictures tell the story. Miffy and the Miffy books are now a design icon, as illustrated by the best-selling title, Miffy at the Gallery.
