The Story of the Mr. Men and Little Miss Books
An Advertiser Turned Author Created a Charming World
Oct 17, 2008
Roger Hargreaves did not set out to write over one hundred children's books, much less create a world that would be inhabited by cartoons, 3-D books, stuffed animals, games, and slip-n-slides. In 1970, Mr. Hargreaves was working as an British advertiser and doodling cartoons, and he wrote a literally small book - about the size of a slice of bread. The literary world was, in a word, tickled.
Mr. Tickle
Creating Mr. Tickle started Mr. Hargreaves on a path away from advertising and back into his passion for cartooning. In the story, Mr. Tickle has a problem: he has the urge to tickle excessively. After initial difficulties getting the book published, Mr. Hargreaves found success with young English readers. The small book became a small, clever book to for parents to bring children as a souvenir from England. Travelers picked them up at airport bookshops, and soon Mr. Tickle was making people laugh all over the world.
Introduction of Little Men Books
After his success with Mr. Tickle, Mr Hargreaves introduced other Mr. Men characters, and the books enjoyed intense success. Mr. Hargreaves left his advertising job in the mid 1970s and concentrated solely on writing, illustrating, and marketing the Mr. Men books, as well as devising other children's series.
Introduction of Little Miss Books
Ten years after Mr. Tickle appeared, Little Miss Bossy came on the scene, and ushered in a new life for the series: The Little Miss Books. Shortly after the books, the BBC ran a cartoon of The Mr. Men and Little Miss series.
Merchandising
Even the London Times took notice of Mr. Hargreaves and his book phenomenon. In February, 1980, the London Times wrote an article about "The Art of Merchandising", which focused on Mr. Hargreaves ability to turn small characters into millions of pounds. Dolls, games, coloring books, pencils and other toys and items of interest began to appear. In the United States, Arby's gave away Mr. Men characters with children's meals. Some items became highly collectible.
The Mr. Men and Little Miss series continue, even though their creator died in 1988. Mr. Hargreaves son, Adam, continued writing the books, until the family sold the rights to the characters for over $50 million U.S. dollars in 2004. Since then merchandising has exploded, and new books have appeared with different twists, such as glittery covers or 3-D shapes. American retailer JC Penneys started a line of packaged books and Mr. Men and Little Miss dolls in 2008, with some of the profits aiding an after-school program.
 |
