A new Mr. Man named Mr.Fib has been added to the beloved picture book series.The new character is joined by a new Little Miss – Little Miss Surprise – with the new stories being published on September 12 more than 50 years after the very first Mr Men book, Mr. Tickle, was published.
Author Adam Hargreaves – whose father Roger invented the books – played a part in their beginning when as a young boy he asked what a tickle looked like and his father drew a small orange man with extraordinarily long arms that could reach anywhere and tickle anyone.
He said: “It’s always fun creating new characters to add to the series, although I’ve got a way to go to catch up with my dad.
“A Mr Fib has been rattling around in my imagination for a long while and Little Miss Surprise, of course, popped into my head right out of the blue.”
The initial story of Mr Tickle was soon followed by other characters including Mr Greedy, Mr Happy, Mr Nosey, Mr Sneeze and Mr Bump.
The books were such a success and were followed by a TV version that he was able to quit his job in advertising and write and illustrate full time.
They have sold more than 250 million books in 17 different languages and when Roger Hargreaves died in 1988, his son took over.
Emily Campan, of Farshire Publishers, said: ‘We are so delighted to be welcoming two new additions to the Mr. Men Little Miss line up in 2024.
“We really wanted our two new characters to reflect the world and personality traits children might encounter in real life, and I think our two new friends meet that brief completely. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to meet them!”
