Martine

I adore these Martine board books by Gilbert Delahaye and Marcel Marlier that Muriel is perusing! They feature a little girl named Martine, with guest appearances by various friends and animals. If I'm reading the copyright info correctly I think they were first printed in 1949, though Wikipedia says they were first published in 1954. The illustrations are very sweet and definitely look straight of of the fifties. I especially love the idyllic portrayal of European village life. I am not sure how many books there are in mes premiers Martine (my first Martine). The backs of each book list a different number of titles, from 18-28, on just the 8 or so books we own. According to Wikipedia there are over 50 Martine books, but I think it is including non-board books like this one, which look more like early readers to me. The Martine books can be found translated into English under the name Debbie. They are out of print now, but Alibris and AbeBooks carry a few titles.