Maisy Hou Là!

We are big fans of Maisy Mouse in this house, and have been since my mum gave a not-so-big Big Bro a present of Maisy's Fire Engine. She's a simple, brightly painted character created who, together with her menagerie of friends, have adventures doing ordinary things that are recognisable by toddlers- vacuuming, visiting the library and driving all manner of vehicles to name just a few. Maisy was originally a book character (by Lucy Cousins) whose popularity has led to a range of spin off products including animations. Big Bro loves the 5 minute episodes, and so do I: Maisy and her friends are always polite and helpful to each other and generally happy, and their adventures are short and easy to follow.

I won't dwell on the background, but recently Big Bro has related to a particular Maisy animation episode, "Oops" (I haven't seen a book version). The English version isn't available on YouTube, but somehow the French version- "Mimi Hou Là!" has escaped the copyright police, and the pictures tell the story if your French, like mine, isn't up to preschool level!

Thankfully Big Bro has been quick to learn how to avoid "Hou Là" incidents (so far!), but like Cyril the Squirrel, sometimes a bit of nagging is in order...

The colourful Maisy illustrations are also enjoyed by Little Bro, so they are a great book for the boys and I to all enjoy together. Even though I can recite many of the books, I think I'll be a bit sad on the day that the boys consider themselves too old for Maisy.

In the meantime, Vive la Souris Maisy!