米菲兔之父：迪克·布魯納

曉菲

Dick Bruna w a s a D u t c h author， artist， and illustrator1. H e w a s b o r n into a family of publishers in the Netherlands， and created more than 100 posters2 and about 2，000 books for his familys company.

H i s f i r s t Miffy book was p u b l i s h e d i n 1955， inspired3 by his own son. When he saw his son playing with a toy rabbit， it reminded him of a pet he used to have. He then sketched4 a rabbit going under the name Miffy， the cute little rabbit that was known by the entire world for decades. The character went onto become a “magic product”：one that was featured on stationery5， childrens toys， clothes and other goods sold around the world.

“He was very much loved around the world. I remember traveling with him to Australia， to New Zealand， and to Japan. Wherever he would go， people would queue up6 for signing sessions of his books，” said Marja Kerkhof， Brunas spokesperson.

Of the success of his illustrations， “They are very clear pictures， almost like a pictogram7. In fact， he cuts so many parts because he only goes to the essence8 of things. Of course， he chooses very strong， powerful and primary colors. Even today if you see it in a store， you would think‘Hey， this looks different from a lot of other things out there. There is no clutter. Its all very clear，” she said.

Bruna was loved most of all in his birthplace， Utrecht where， as one fan pointed out， there is even a traffic light shaped like Miffy in Brunas honor.

On Feb.16th， 2017， Dick Bruna， the beloved author， and illustrator best known as the creator of Miffy， died at the age of 89 in his hometown Utrecht in the Netherlands. In his more than 60-year career， he left behind more than 124 books for Miffy， which were translated into over 50 languages and sold over 85 million copies.

In honor of Bruna， a museum in Utrecht tweeted the news about his death with a picture of Brunas beloved character： arms behind her back， and a single tear below her left eye.