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Tuesday 6 October 2015

M stands for The Mr Men and Little Miss's stories.

Roger Hargreaves author and illustrator of The Mister Men and Little Miss stories. (1935-1988). Roger worked as an advertising copy-writer. He died unexpectedly, after a series of strokes. His son Adam, said of him, "Dad had always been this huge man in every way, he was 6ft 5' and he always seemed larger - than - life and healthy". Adam recalls, when he was aged 8, that one day, whilst playing at the breakfast table with his Father, he asked him, "Dad what does a tickle look like, my dad looked at me and laughed, he then went away and drew a yellowy-orange man with long arms, sketched in an appealingly bold style, in basic colour---------- Mr Tickle was born.  

 

 Abridged version from Mr Tickle.

 Mr Tickle was walking along looking for anybody to tickle, eventually he came to a school, he peeped into a classroom; there were children sitting at their desks and a teacher writing on a blackboard.

 Mr Tickle's extraordinary long arm went right up to the teacher, paused, and then- tickled! The teacher jumped in the air and turned round very quickly to see who was there. But there was nobody there! Tickle kept on tickling until the teacher was laughing out loud. 

 All the children were laughing too at such a funny sight. There was a terrible pandemonium.

 Eventually Mr Tickle thought he'd had enough fun, so he gave the teacher one more tickle for luck, and then, very quietly brought his arm back through the open window, leaving the poor teacher to explain what that was all about!



Mr Tickle became the first character in what would be the stratospherically Mr Men and Little Miss series. "

 It was the day that changed our lives", says Adam, age 48,  Roger Hargreaves's  son.  Adam is also a painter and cartoonist. It was 1971 and Roger was trying to find a way to escape his daily commute into London to work. Then Adam helped change all that by asking a quirky question about tickles!

 His father went on to write some 46 Mr Men and 33Little Miss books, which illustrated a simple humorous tale about the trait in each character's name. They were pocket size and originally 15p, Each was an instant collectible and made Hargreaves the UK's best selling author after J. K. Rowling and Dan Brown. Sales exceeded more than 85 million copies worldwide. The stories have been made into animated movies, achieving worldwide acclaim. All thanks to a young boy asking 'that question' ! 


I intended to write about one of the LITTLE MISS books but ran out of time... maybe another day!
 
My sincere thanks to the MARVELLOUS Denise for devising ABCW and the equally METICULOUS Roger for keeping us all MESMERISED in our search for a suitable subject to write about. Not forgetting the team of helpers too!
Cheers Di. .ABCW team.

 


 

30 comments:

  1. Some people create historie in their lifetime... so wonderful !
    We should always honour people like that and stay thankfull for what they've given to us.

    Lovely entry !!

    Have a nice day!

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  2. Oh! That Mr. Tickles...What a fun guy he was. Have a great day!

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  3. looks like MARVELOUS fun!
    ROG, ABCW

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  4. Interestingly put together.

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  5. Delightful.
    A great way to learn concepts.

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  6. Thank you for the lovely and funny stories. Your posts are always a joy to read.
    Wil, ABCW Team.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Born and raised in another world; I never knew who these characters are.

    My ABC WEDNESDAY

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  8. Mischievous Mr. Tickle sounds like a marvelous read. Happy ABC Wednesday, my friend!

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  9. New characters to me, but what fun for children to read.

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  10. I came to know a writer and his work herewith ..thanks a lot for sharing.

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  11. Hi Melody,
    I so agree with your comments, it was such a shame that Mr Hargreaves died an such an early .
    His family run a most profitable worldwide company dedicated to his works, and bi-products of The Mister Men and The little Miss stories.
    So sad he didn't live to receive the acclaim his work has achieved.
    Have a good week end,

    Best wishes,
    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Gigi, nothing like a good tickle to make one giggle!

    best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Roger,
    If you feel like being tickled read the stories they are MAGICAL
    and some of his characters are someone you can identify with!

    Best wishes,

    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Dee Dee,
    good to hear from you,
    glad you liked it!
    Best wishes,

    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rajesh,
    Thank you, I try.
    Thanks for stopping by,

    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Photo Cache, thanks for stopping by and your comments,
    if you like children's books, it's well worth a google to
    read all about the funny Mr Men !

    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hello Dear Arnoldo,
    Always lovely to hear from you,
    You would enjoy reading the Mr Men and the Little Miss stories,
    they are so funny, my girls' just loved them,
    I always avoided reading Mr TICKLE AT BEDTIME for obvious reasons,
    they all had to be tickled and got too excited to go asleep!
    Golden memories of our three little girls who are all Mama's now
    with their own children,

    Best wishes and Blessings,
    to you my friend.

    Di.
    ABCW team,
    D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello Hildred,
    Thanks for stopping by and your comments.
    If you like reading childrens literature,
    you really must google The Mr Men and Little Miss Books.

    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  19. KVVS Murphy:
    Good to hear from you and thanks for your comments.
    Glad you enjoyed!
    Best wishes,

    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I read all those books as a kid. What fun!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Mr. Tickle and Little Miss. They are adorable and delicious to the imagination. I must go look for more. Thanks for the introduction, Di.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Freedamans:
    Thanks for stopping by and your comments.
    My girls' loved them.
    My three daughters now read the Mr Men and Little Miss books
    to their children, they are timeless.
    Glad you got to read them as a child.
    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team,

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Su-sieee,
    Now how did I know you would love these stories,
    I can often identify some of the characters to
    people I know, can't say who, though!
    have a good weekend,
    Best wishes,
    Di,
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ann Chen,
    thanks for stopping by and your comments.
    He was a brilliant man, you're quite right.
    It was lovely to learn that his family
    carried on his legacy.

    Best wishes,
    Di.
    ABCW team.

    ReplyDelete
  25. My kids loved the Mr Men series. I enjoyed reading with them. thanks for bringing back memories.

    ReplyDelete
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I usually like to reply to your comments but for some reason when i do post a reply it just diappears, any advice would be most welcome,Thanks Di x

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