Biography
Dick Bruna's father eventually became the largest publisher in Netherlands. His company, A.W. Bruna & Zoon, had a bookstand at virtually every one of the country's abundant railway stations. His father's intentions were for Bruna to follow in his footsteps, but Bruna had different plans. Bruna's brother eventually took over the business, but Dick Bruna always remained a close collaborator.
In 1955, while on holiday with his wife Irene and their child, he saw a rabbit hopping around their house and later made attempts to draw it, thereby creating Miffy. "Miffy" is the English-language name, whereas "Nijntje" (pronounced nein-che) is the original Dutch name of the rabbit, stemming from "konijntje" which is the diminutive form of "konijn" (rabbit).
Over the years Bruna has illustrated over 2,000 covers and over 100 posters for the family business, A.W. Bruna & Zoon. His most recognized illustrations were for the Zwarte Beertjes (English: little black bears) series of books, including The Saint, James Bond, Simenon, and Shakespeare.
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