31 Mr. Men Facts: Things You Must Know About The Series

'Mr. Men' is a series of children's books started in 1971.

It is a series of 52 books, created by Roger Hargreaves. Roger also created another series called 'Little Miss', which has 39 books.

The second series was started in 1981 and contained female characters. After Roger Hargreaves died in 1988, Adam Hargreaves took over creating the stories. He began illustrating and writing new stories based on 'Little Miss' and 'Mr. Men' characters.

He is Roger's son. Adam created ten characters of his own. Four characters were based on work that his father produced before he died.

Some popular books in both series include 'Little Miss Sunshine and the Wicked Witch', 'Mr. Bump And The Knight', 'Little Miss Trouble And The Mermaid', 'Mr. Funny And The Magic Lamp', 'Little Miss Sunshine And The Three Bears', 'Mr. Tickle And The Dragon', and many more.

Characters

Here are some facts about the characters in the series.

Mr. Tickle was the first character of 'Mr. Men'. Roger Hargreaves was talking to his son when he asked what a tickle looked like. Hargreaves thought about it and said that a tickle looked like an orange, round guy having long squiggly arms. There have been over 100 million books sold ever since.

A six-year-old child's curious question turned into a full-blown book series.

Mr. Small is shown staying under a daisy in the garden of Mr. Robinson. On a fine day, he meets a friend of Mr. Robinson who writes and illustrates children's books. It was none other than Roger Hargreaves. Little Miss Star wanted to be famous.

She meets a man while traveling. However, we don't see much of the man except his long legs. The book later describes the man as Roger Hargreaves. He writes a book about Little Miss Star and makes her famous as she wants to be.

All the characters from the original books come from different towns. Little Miss Contrary comes from Muddleland, Mr. Happy lives in Happyland, and Little Miss Dotty stays in Nonsenseland with Mr. Nonsense and Mr. Silly. The Mr. Men Show put all these Little Misses and Mr. Men characters to Dillydale, a single township.

Some characters in the books are seen changing to someone good. Mr. Snooty becomes generous and polite, Mr. Grumpy becomes happy, and Mr. Greedy stops consuming too much food.

The characters of Little Miss Twins were dedicated to Sophie and Amelia, Roger's daughters.

There was a global name change for two characters. Mr. Snooty was earlier called Mr. Uppity, while Little Miss Greedy was dubbed Little Miss Plump earlier.

Paul McCartney's daughter, Stella McCartney, is the only person to have a book in the 'Little Miss' series written about her. Paul is known as one of the Beatles. It is the only character to be based on a real person.

Mr. Cheeky was made by Gemma Almond (an eight-year-old) in 2001. She beat everyone in the competition. Some of the funding went to a charity that helps children with leukemia.

The United States sees some of the Mr. Men characters having different names. Mr. Jelly is called Mr. Nervous, while Mr. Mean is called Mr. Stingy.

Mr. Fussy vs. Mr. Persnickety is famous in the US. Little Miss Dotty is called Little Miss Ditzy in the US.

Novels

Here are some lesser-known facts about the novels.

The most famous 'Mr. Men' book is 'Mr. Tickle'. 'Little Miss Naughty' is the most famous 'Little Miss' book.

Roger died of a stroke in 1988. It was a sudden death, and Adam took over both series after the unfortunate demise. Adam wrote and illustrated his first book in 2003. It was named 'Mr. Cool'.

Adam Hargreaves wrote 'Little Miss Stella' as an invitation to one of Stella McCartney's fashion shows. There are only 1000 copies of these novels.

A contest was created in 2001 for children to make their character for 'Mr. Men'.

Gemma Almond made 'Mr. Cheeky'. The book was sold in WH Smith stores.

The series was first known as the 'Mister' series. The initial books sold for only 15p.

'Mr. Silly' is Roger Hargreaves' favorite book. He liked it for its silly behavior.

Adam Hargreaves likes 'Mr. Bump' the best.

'Mr. Tickle' was rejected a lot initially by publishers. However, in 1971, the book went into production along with 'Mr. Happy', 'Mr. Greedy', 'Mr. Nosey', 'Mr. Bump', and 'Mr. Sneeze'.

In three years, the books managed to sell one million copies. It was a massive number for those times.

Every 2.5 seconds, a 'Mr. Men' book is bought by a reader.

The 'Little Miss' series started in 1981. Little Miss Bossy was the first character in the series. The series became an instant success, and 'Little Miss' characters are very popular today.

The font used in the books is Optima, Univers, or Helvetica. It depends on which book you are reading.

Adaptation And TV Series

Learn about the TV series and adaptations based on the book series.

Little Miss Daredevil, Little Miss Calamity, Mr. Stubborn, and Mr. Scatterbrain are not part of the books. They were only made for 'The Mr. Men Show'.

Two 'Mr. Men' shows - 'Mr. Men' and 'Mr. Men And Little Misses' were produced by Terry Ward.

The characters from 'Mr. Men' have been made into TV shows four different times. The first time was in 1975, just after the books were first seen on bookshelves. The second came in 1983, and it had Little Miss characters too.

The third, 'Mr. Men And Little Miss' came between 1995 and 1997. The last, 'The Mr. Men Show', began in 2008 and can still be enjoyed on Cartoon Network.

As Arthur Lowe died in 1982, he could not narrate 'Mr. Men And Little Misses'.

The first characters to be voted into the series are Little Miss Brave and Mr. Calm.

There is one 'Mr. Men' series is still in development.

Four of them have already been released.

Christine, Roger's wife, sold the rights to the series for 146 million in 2004. It was after his death.

The series garnered a lot of fame all over the world. People have loved every character in both series. The four children of Hargreaves influenced the series and its characters greatly.

FAQs

Who is the most famous Mr. Man?
The most famous characters are Mr. Happy, Mr. Bump, and Mr. Noisy.

What age range are Mr. Men books for?
The books are suitable for readers aged 3+.

What was the last Mr. Men's book?
'Cheerful' was the final book by Roger in the 'Mr. Men' series.

Is Mr. men a TV show?
There are TV shows based on these books.

Who played Mr. Menken on mad men?
Allan Miller played the character.

What made the writer write 'Mr. Men'?
Roger's son asked him a question. It raised his curiosity, and he first created the character and book.

When did the first book get released?
It was released in 1971.

Who is the most famous character in the series?
Mr. Happy is probably the most famous character.

From which publication did the book get published?
Roger wrote and illustrated the first book himself.