Who Is Miffy and Who Are Her Friends?

Miffy is a Dutch little white rabbit, whose real name is Nijntje. Nijntje is short for konijntje, meaning little rabbit. That's exactly what Miffy is – a rabbit with in a little red frock. She is the only rabbit in the world who has her own museum, her own website and her own shop. She is a very famous Dutch celebrity who stars in the musical; Nijntje gaat op vakantie – Miffy goes on a holiday.

Her debut was in Miffy, the first Miffy / Nijntje book to be published. An angel visits Mr and Mrs Bunny, Miffy's parents, and tells them that they will have a beautiful little rabbit child. The next day the little rabbit arrives. Mrs Bunny dress her in a red frock and all the animals in the country come to say hello. After a while little Miffy becomes very tired. She closes her eyes and Mr Bunny closes the shutters.

Miffy, together with her friends Boris and Barbara Bear, Melanie the bunny, Poppy and Grunty Pig, Snuffy the Dog, and Farmer John go in search of adventures. They go shopping, visit Grandma Bunny, go to school, have a day at the seaside and at the playground.

During a rainy seaside holiday in the 1950s, Dick Bruna created a little white rabbit for his son to make up for the bad weather. He dressed her in a red frock and named her Nijntje. When she became an international celebrity, her name was changed into Miffy. But she remained Miffy for Dutch children.

An illustrator and designer, Dick Bruna worked in the family publishing business. He became known as illustrator of book jackets and posters.  His Miffy stories were so popular that he became a full time children's book creator. Now in his eighties, Dick Bruna continues to work on new stories and Miffy merchandise.

In total, Bruna has produced more than one hundred and twenty books of which fifty are Miffy adventures. Each little book has twelve pages, an illustration on the right side page and a four rhyming lines on the opposite page. Nijntje is a real Dutch konijntje. In one of the stories, she dreams about her own bicycle, about a ride through the woods and cleaning her bicycle afterwards so that it shines and sparkles.

Simple lines make up the Miffy character. Dick Bruna reduces everything to its essence and no line is redundant. Simple lines and empty space leave room for a child's imagination.

Every line is important. A little cross for the nose and mouth. A double cross for Miffy's parents, because they are older. He draws in heavy graphic lines, uses simple shapes and only primary colours – red, blue, yellow, white and green, and occasionally brown for animals.

Nijntje's / Miffy's Shop in Amsterdam
De Winkel van Nijntje Scheldestraat 61, Amsterdam Open Tuesday - Friday 10:00 - 18:00, Mondag from 13:00 amd Saturday until 17:00

Dick Bruna Huis Museum
Agnietenstraat 2, Utrecht Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 17:00

Miffy's Website
Listen to a Miffy story, play a game with Miffy or watch a Miffy video. Small kids can do it all by themselves.