Mr. Men

Mr. Men is a series of 46 children's books by Roger Hargreaves started in 1971. Little Miss was an accompanying series of 33 books with female characters that started in 1981. After Hargreaves' death in 1988, his son, Adam, began writing and illustrating new stories involving the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, including the creation of six new characters.

Related Topics:
Children's book - Roger Hargreaves - 1971 - 1981 - 1988

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Mr. Tickle was the first Mr. Men character created by Hargreaves, a round, orange figure with long, bendy arms drawn after Adam asked him what a tickle looked like.

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Each book in the original Mr. Men and Little Miss series introduced a different title character and their single dominant trait in order to convey a simple moral lesson. The Mr. Men and Little Miss characters would frequently reappear in the later books of other characters. The books' simple and silly stories, with bright-colored, boldly drawn illustrations, made them quite popular, with sales over 100 million worldwide in twenty languages. They have been adapted into cartoons for television, as well as other merchandise.

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In 2001, a competition was held in the Sunday Times for children to submit their own Mr. Men character, which was to be published in a limited edition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. Mr. Cheeky by 8 year-old Gemma Almond was the winner, and her creation was then published and sold only in branches of W H Smith, with a portion of the proceeds going to a charity for children's leukemia.

Related Topics:
Sunday Times - W H Smith - Leukemia

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In April 2004, Hargreaves' widow, Christine, sold the rights to the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters to the UK entertainment group, Chorion.

Related Topics:
April - 2004 - Chorion

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