Miffy at the Seaside by Dick Bruna (Egmont Publishing)

Can you believe this diminutive bunny is 60 years old? Neither can we! To celebrate Dick Bruna's timeless classic series of fantastic stories for tinies, we've been revisiting a few of the Miffy books. . After a successful movie outing, Miffy will be starring in a new Sony TV series in October produced by Blue Zoo Productions, and of course there's always a ton of brilliant Miffy merchandise that's bound to catch your child's eye as they head back to school and are looking for cool bags, pencil cases and other accessories with Dick Bruna's distinctive designs emblazoned on them.

You can find out more about the Miffy range, the brilliant books and all the cool Miffy items over on the official Miffy Store Website.

Miffy is such a timeless and enduring character that we feel sure that most of our followers and readers must have at least one Miffy book (or piece of merchandise) tucked away at home somewhere. I remember Miffy books being hugely popular in the library when I was a wee infant. They're still as popular today with Charlotte's generation - Show anyone (boy or girl) in her class a picture of Miffy and they'll instantly know who it is!

Miffy and the New Baby is a newly reprinted and re-released version of Dick Bruna's classic. In this tale, Miffy's mum and dad have an announcement. Miffy is about to get a new brother or sister.

(Charlotte always interrupts on the first couple of pages of this book to point out that Miffy's mum and dad are eerily alike!)

Miffy's mummy gets bigger and bigger, and one day (rather calmy, I thought) announces that the baby is on its way, and it's time to go to the hospital (she's obviously never seen "One Born Every Minute" where such a statement would not be politely whispered, more hollered from the rooftop accompanied by a load roaring).

Miffy meets her new baby sibling and gets to hold baby, and so begins another chapter in her life.

The genius of Dick Bruna's enduring tales is that they're simple, no-nonsense but always familiar to children reading them - who will encounter Miffy's situations in their own lives.

We're building up quite a Miffy collection at home and Charlotte still loves them, even though she's probably a bit old for them now. We'll keep them so perhaps one day she can pass them on to her own little bunnies.

Charlotte's best bit: Always the bit where Miffy's Mum and Dad gather at the start of the book for the important news

Daddy's Favourite bit: Timeless and enduring. Dick Bruna was a genius way ahead of his time, and it's testament to how great these books are that children still love them so much to this day.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

We love Miffy - and we still can't believe that it's nearly 60 years since Dick Bruna's timeless bunny character first appeared in children's books.

Miffy is still a hugely important and identifiable brand for children, so it's great to see the old books getting some love and attention courtesy of Simon and Schuster, and Tony Mitton. With the permission of Dick Bruna's estate, Tony has reworked several of Dick Bruna's original Miffy books for a modern audience, bringing them bang up to date.

The stories are still fantastic, and it's surprising how many sensitive subjects the books cover (from ecological issues to bereavement, no we're seriously not kidding!)

To accompany the relaunch of the brand, S & S are also producing a range of brilliant sticker and activity books like the one pictured in our header image (Miffy's Day, a fun book full of brilliant Miffy stickers and things to scribble and do).

We'll be taking a more in-depth look at Tony's re-treatment of Miffy very soon but in the meantime, take a look at the full range of new Miffy goodies on Simon and Schuster's website.

Charlotte's best bit: Great stickers and activities with a well-loved favourite character

Daddy's Favourite bit: Miffy is timeless and enduring. Here's to the next 50 years!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books

We've seen so many nativity books since the merest whiff of a suggestion that the festive season is starting soon but none have managed to warm our hearts as much as this beautiful book. Dick Bruna, the genius behind Miffy, put together many children's books on diverse themes throughout his career, including this absolutely brilliant take on the traditional Nativity story.

Bruna's trademark graphic style lends itself to the christmas story really well (particularly those cute angels), and once again as we always say whenever we realise how old these books are, "Christmas" does not feel like a 50 year old book.

For the 50th Anniversary edition, picked out in a gorgeous white cover with gold inlaid scribe, it's a festive treat for the eyes.

Perfect christmas booky fare!


Charlotte's best bit: The rather cute baby jesus

Daddy's Favourite bit: Wonderful angels singing from on high in typical Bruna style

(Kindly sent to us for review by Bounce Marketing / Simon and Schuster Children's Books

"Good grief, 60 years old!? Are you kidding me?"

That was my reaction when I read through the press release for the re-issue of Dick Bruna's first book. Mr Bruna may well be famous for his timeless and brilliant children's character Miffy (who is still very much loved today), but this is the book that started it all, and defined Dick's trademark illustrative and writing style - a style much copied and much admired ever since.

So back in 1959 when the average children's book looked a bit like this...

1950s ABC Book

Dick Bruna, a freelance graphic designer working for his father's company in Amsterdam, came up with The Apple, and a pared down bold art style that publishers at first thought no one would be interested in at all.

Children, however, took to Dick's books immediately and with this simple story of an apple who is sad because he doesn't have any legs or ways to move, redefined the way children's books were perceived and produced something that felt aeons ahead of its time (this is the main reason I felt surprised that the book had been around for 60 years - the look and feel of the book ties in with books I remember from my childhood in the 1970s).

So the Apple is sad and a little lonely in this story, but soon he befriends a cockerel weather-vane. As night fall, the two embark on an adventure of discovery as they fly together through the night, with apple nestling on cockerel's back. They meet many creatures on their travels, and soon Apple realises that not only has he made an amazing friend, he's never going to feel stuck in one place ever again.

Of course, as they say, the rest is history. Dick's books have been reprinted many many times, and generation after generation have enjoyed them. More reprints are on the way but in the meantime, if you've never read a Dick Bruna Book, definitely start with the one that kicked it all off and changed children's books forever.

Charlotte's best bit: She loved the Apple's expressions, and the pared down art style ("Just like Miffy" she said - before she even knew it was the same person who'd written and drawn the miffy books)

Daddy's favourite bit: A pleasant surprise to find how old the book was, and how important Dick Bruna is in the realm of children's books. Stunning and groundbreaking stuff that heavily influenced kid's books for years to come.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Tate Publishing)

It's National Gardening Week this week and a good way to get your little ones thinking about the glorious sunshine, the sheer joy of getting completely covered from head to foot in rich brown soil, and growing your own little plants is to dive into a great little book all about a child's first garden.

Miffy is an enduring character, and indeed Charlotte's very first soft toy was a tiny little Miffy - so it's great to revisit the Dick Bruna books, that have entertained little ones for a very long time.

Dealing with topics as diverse as gardening, first days at school and even grief, the books are eye-catching, beautifully designed and bunnytastic!

We took a look at Miffy's Garden to celebrate National Gardening Week and in it, Miffy's dad decides that Miffy is now old enough to learn all about things that grow in the garden.

Raking, digging, sowing and growing, Miffy learns that the garden holds infinite possibilities to grow plants to eat, plants to share and plants of stunning beauty - just like your own garden!

Keep an eye on the Royal Horticulture Society's theme week as it develops, and just as the first sunny days of spring (I know, they're a bit late!) come along, there's never a better time to dive into your own garden and start thinking about seeds to sow! If you fancy kitting out your little ones with lots of Miffy gardening goodies, check out the official miffy store. www.miffyshop.co.uk

For parents with iPads, there's also a great "Miffy's Garden" app available from the iTunes store for £2.99.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/de-tuin-van-nijntje/id495662581?l=nl&ls=1&mt=8



Charlotte's best bit: A huge big basket of lovely juicy carrots for Miffy and family!

Daddy's favourite bit: Dick Bruna books have been loved by children for years and it's easy to see why, they're still as brilliantly told and designed as they always were.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Egmont Books)

Miffy, the endearing children's character created by Dick Bruna is 57 years old. With new generations of children discovering the enthralling stories and simple artwork that is the trademark of the character, a second iPad app - "Miffy Goes Flying" is now available for your little tech wizards.

Developed by Sanoma Media / Mercis, "Miffy goes flying" capitalizes on the iPad / iPhone's features to offer more than just an app makeover for a classic book series. As the story unfolds, your children will get to play three interactive mini games to help Miffy and her Uncle take to the skies.

The app is available on iTunes for the introductory price of £2.49 (rising to £2.99 after the 6th August so get in quick!)

English and Dutch language options are included with the app.

Here are a few screenshots: