Do you know who Miffy is? Chances are, if you have children then you have seen/read/own a Miffy book. Miffy is a children’s book character with ‘little white rabbit with dots for eyes and a cross for a mouth’. Sydney Morning Herald writer Amelia Dalton has written a short article discussing the creation of Miffy (which is outlined below):
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“Born in 1927 in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Dick Bruna displayed an early passion for drawing and painting. However, Bruna’s father hoped he would tire of his art hobby and join the family publishing house instead.
“Sent to London for a year to learn the trade, Bruna later visited Paris, where he was captivated by the art of modern artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.  Upon his return to Holland, Bruna began work as an illustrator at the family business.
“In 1955, during a holiday in seaside town Egmond aan Zee with his wife, Irene, and infant son, Sierk, Bruna saw a konijne - a little rabbit - hopping in the dunes.  He later drew a stylised bunny for Sierk.  Bruna named the rabbit ‘Nijntje’ (’Miffy’ is the Anglicised version) and Miffy, Bruna’s first book featuring the character, was published by AW Bruna and Son later that year.
“Bruna has largely stuck with his formula: each square book has 16 pages, with 12 illustrations and 12 four-line poems (there are exceptions, such as ‘Miffy’s Dream’, which has no text at all). All have happy endings.  He gradually introduced new characters such as Miffy’s parents, friends such as Poppy Pig, Poppy’s niece, Grunty, bunnies Aggie and Melanie, and Miffy’s dog, Snuffy.
“According to the official Dick Bruna website (www.miffy.com), the author/illustrator has always used the same palette of red, blue, yellow, white, green and orange.  Now a grandfather, Bruna has written and illustrated about 100 children’s books - which have been translated into 40 languages - selling more than 85 million copies.  The latest is ‘Queen Miffy’, published last year.”