The Magic of the Mr Men

Mr Greedy’s belly. Mr Tickle’s unfeasibly long and winding arms. Mr Bump’s bandages.

These legendary characters and their stories are what childhood memories are made of – if you’re of a certain vintage.

Roger Hargreaves' Mr Men series was essential reading and must-see TV back in the 70s and 80s for children aged 8 and under. The small, square books with their shiny covers and all the characters lined up on the back were sources of fun stories that got kids reading willingly. Back in the days when there were no screen-shaped distractions.

The reading books for kids were enjoyed in tandem with the excitement of watching the characters on TV (there were just three channels to choose from back in those days). The theme tune is one I can still hum to this day, and I remember the eager anticipation of wondering which Mr Men adventure I was going to see today, while listening to Arthur Lowe’s excellent narration.

They’re all fond memories that are hopefully shared by 21^st Century kids. I know I bought at least twenty of the books for my children when they were 3 to 5 and enjoyed sharing tales of Mr Messy learning to be tidy, and Mr Nosey getting his comeuppance for sticking his nose into other people’s affairs.

It’s good to see that here in the UK at least, nearly every book shop has a Mr Men section or stand. Of course, these days, the characters I knew have been joined by the Little Miss series and new stories involving multiple characters, many penned by the late Roger Hargreaves’ son Adam.

Apparently, Adam was a little embarrassed by his father’s iconic inventions at first, but soon came to love their charm and wit like the rest of us. He even learned how to draw like Roger, enabling him to add a few new faces, smiles and little hands to the stable of characters.

If you’ve never experienced the Mr Men before, I highly recommend giving one or twenty a try, particularly if you’re looking for young kids books to read. It’s almost certain you’ll soon grow to love Mr Topsy-Turvy and his upside down hat, Mr Silly and his inordinately large shoes, and Mr Clumsy’s dodgy moustache.

And if you fancy sampling my 21^st Century series of tales inspired by the Mr Men classics, give the new children’s book series The Appventurers a try. They’re characters who escape from behind their phone screens to sample life in the real world, something most parents would like for their children to do I expect.

With the Appventurers picture books for kids, you’ll meet Rudy, the food app determined to make his son’s school dinners edible.

And Marc, the soccer app, who needs to stop diving and learn how to win fairly.

And Paige, the book app, who tries to tear her school friends away from their phones and introduce them to the magic of reading.

And just for the record, my favourite Mr Men would have to be Mr Bump (who is all blue by the way, the white bandages are add-ons), Mr Muddle for his penchant for getting things mixed up (who doesn’t do that!) and Mr Tickle for those iconic long, long orange arms.