Mirabelle Goes for a Walk

by Michael Muller

Meet Mirabelle and Mr. Muller—an irresistible Boston terrier and her devoted owner. They discover the joy of the simple and the pleasure of the everyday—playing catch, chasing a butterfly—in a fresh, appealing new series of board books.

With her oversized head, black-and-white features, and round, wide-set eyes, Mirabelle is the most expressive of dogs. She looks inquisitive, feisty, happy, smart, and eager. Eager for what? For adventure! Together with her owner, Mr. Muller, in his bow tie and big eyeglasses, Mirabelle fills her days with activities like playing catch with a red rubber ball or going for a late-afternoon walk and stopping at an ice cream truck. Mirabelle and Mr. Muller know what every little kid knows— the simplest thing can be endlessly fascinating and fun.

The smart look of the Mirabelle books is as original and iconic as Mirabelle herself, combining strong black lines, bright spots of color, and bits of photography to create seamless collages. The text of each story is a dialogue between Mr. Muller, who asks questions, and Mirabelle, who replies with her actions—perfect prompts for parents to take the Mr. Muller part and the child to answer in the role of Mirabelle.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

10 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2012

About the author

Michael and Mirabelle began their lives together on Christmas 2006 and an instant love affair blossomed. Michael’s artistic background in photography and collage and his love of reading allowed him to invent their world together and inspired him to create the Adventures of Mirabelle. Mirabelle is now the star of a series of children’s books published by Workman Publishing . I never realized that when Mirabelle came into my life she would become the direction of my life. To me Mirabelle is a symbol of believing in yourself and following your dreams.

Reviews

[lookmairead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why I gift this board book (series): Often I say this book was highly recommended by our Boston Terrier. (But really, my kids would agree too.)

My kids loved these books so much they “memorized” the words so they could read them to themselves.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Rowan favorite. He thinks Mirabelle is a cat, which makes a certain sense since French Bulldogs are delightfully weird looking dogs, and Mirabelle just does not meet the Ron Swanson weight criteria for dogs. That aside, Rowan just really dogs these pictures. Has a great time flipping through it all on his own, and will also let you flip a few pages and read the words before taking over again and going on a walk with Mirabelle in the order he prefers. Every walk with Mirabelle becomes a newly ordered experience, the way walks should be.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t see what the appeal is with this book. I was bored reading it and bored looking at it.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it in a store at the zoo. Like the illustrate of the dog, and the story was cute.