Happy 60th birthday, Miffy

One of the fun things about having children is introducing them to all the things from your own childhood. And one of the things I really, really loved when I was Eliza’s age was Miffy.

The Miffy books, with the bright primary colours and deceptively simple line drawings about the little rabbit were always my favourite, especially Miffy’s Birthday, a book I recently found saved in our loft (along with all my Judy Blume books).

My parents also gave me a box set of all the Miffy books as a jokingly nostalgic 21st birthday present, and I had no idea at the time I’d be reading them with my own daughter. But Eliza now loves them just as much as I did. We even used Miffy and the New Baby to explain about my pregnancy.

Did you know…?

• Miffy was created in 1955 by Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who first drew sketches of a little bunny to entertain his young son whilst on a rainy seaside holiday in Holland
• Miffy’s official birthday is 21 June (same as Prince William)
• The Miffy stories have sold over 85 million storybooks worldwide and are now are translated into more than 50 languages.
• Dick Bruna is the most borrowed author from Dutch libraries
• Every picture of Miffy is created by hand using pencil & black poster paint, together with coloured card. Often it can take Bruna all day to get her expression just right
• The Miffy brand is globally worth US$300 million

The Miffy books were recently relaunched in the UK, and there’s a whole range of books now, from the simple stories through to pop-ups, stickers and even Miffy milestone cards.

This year we’re working with Miffy as an ‘official’ Miffy Mum, and to celebrate Miffy’s birthday, I’m giving away a Miffy book bundle (it contains Queen Miffy, Miffy is Crying, and Miffy’s Garden).

To enter:

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to tell me who the Miffy fan in your life is. For additional entries visit the A Baby on Board Facebook page, follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and tweet a message.

The prize giveaway will close at 12am on 29th June. The winner will be picked at random from all valid entries.

You can also enter my competition to win your house jobs taken care of (and if you’d like to vote for us in the finals of the MAD Blog Awards as best pregnancy blog you can do so here – read my nine reasons why you should vote. Thank you!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway