Picture Book Review: Miffy by Dick Bruna

As a child I had never read any of the Miffy books and I'm fairly certain that my awareness of them is only through the TV show (with that voice actor that sounds like Katey Sagal but is not Katey Sagal). I never watched the show as it was one of the ones my son had zero interest in but I've seen a minute or two here or there. 

When Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit wish to have a baby their wish is granted by a cherub. They name their little baby rabbit Miffy.

So this is really one of those books that had me say, "Eh, I don't get why this is such a classic." Please don't hate me if you really love this one. I did love the artwork but there were a few things that struck me in a way that pushed me towards not liking the book.

First off these are rabbits right? Cause uh if there is one thing we are taught about rabbits is that they like to make babies...lots and lots and lots of babies. So for them to only have the one and that it requires an angel? I don't know where in there I lost my ability to suspend my disbelief but I lost it.

Secondly, the obvious gender roles from a time gone by. The idea of the woman doing all the cooking cleaning and shopping (I do see the irony here as I currently fall in that role). Also they mention Mr. Rabbit working in their garden but he only grows flowers. So that means Mrs. Rabbit has to buy vegetables when she goes shopping. Does Mr. Rabbit have a job to pay for the vegetables? Why doesn't he just grow the vegetables himself if he loves to garden?

I'm in a real debate on rating this one. I'm probably at 1 1/2 stars but do I bump it up or down? When in doubt bump it up so 2 out of 5 stars.