Description
🇬🇧 Publications: Casterman
Language: French (Although the vocabulary is simple, you should have a good sense of French)
Martine takes us to Brussels.
You probably wonder who Martine is and why she has that retro face.
At first I didn’t know either.
Belgian author Gilbert Delahaye (1923-1997) and illustrator Marcel Marlier (1930-2011) created a series of 60 books in French.
Protagonists were Martine and her dog Patapouf.
The first book was published in 1954, “Martine on the Farm”. Then “Martine at the circus”, “Martine on a trip” etc.
The series was a great success and was released in many languages. 85 million copies were sold around the globe.
In each country, Martine had a different name, thus acquiring 40 different names.
In England she was called Emma, in the USA Debbie, in Flanders Tini, in Albania Zana, in Italy Cristina, in Sweden Mimmi, in Turkey Aysegül.
In Greece she was called Marili.
Greek books of Marili are still listed in bookstores, although they are discontinued.
The book I bought at the Zaventem airport, in Brussels is a recent edition.
It is a 2021 edition that was inspired by Martine and guides us through Brussels.
It offers interesting information that can be read by young and adults, as long as they know French.
Martine is a popular figure, that is why you can find her mural in the Laaken area of Brussels.
More information about the mural can be found in the city’s mural guide, which can be obtained, free of charge, from the tourist office (main building of Grand Place).
While searching for Martine, I came across an interesting map of Brussels’ neighbourhoods. You can find it here.
You can also explore the Like A Local section of the city’s official site.





