Part of Series
Egmont and the Mr Men and Little Miss brand owner, Sanrio, have introduced an “ingenious” new character to the universe, Little Miss Inventor. The character will be launched as a book in the range on 8th March to coincide with International Woman’s Day and British Science Week, aimed at children aged two and upwards, with an r.r.p. of £3.99. Egmont described the Little Miss Inventor as “intelligent, ingenious and inventive”. In the book she is tasked with her “greatest challenge yet”, an invention for Mr Rude. Creator Adam Hargeaves revealed he enjoyed "challenging a stereotype". “Her brain is full of ideas, which she turns into extraordinary inventions in a shed at the bottom of her garden,” a spokesperson for the publisher said. “As well as inventing things for herself, she also invents things for her friends, whether it’s a chatter-natter hat for Little Miss Chatterbox or a back-pack-snack-attack fridge for Mr. Greedy.” Little Miss Inventor is the 38th Little Miss character to join the classic Mr. Men Little Miss library, which was started by Roger Hargreaves and is now continued by his son Adam. Adam Hargreaves said: “I always enjoy creating a brand new character for the series and it was fun coming up with lots of crazy inventions for Little Miss Inventor's home and silly ones for all her friends. It's also been nice to write a story that promotes a positive role model and to challenge a stereotype, if only in a small way.”
Author
Charles Roger Hargreaves was an English author and illustrator of children's books, notably the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, intended for very young readers. He is Britain's third best-selling author, having sold more than 100 million books. Hargreaves was born in a private hospital at 201 Bath Road, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England, to Alfred Reginald and Ethel Mary Hargreaves, and grew up in High Lees, 703 Halifax Road, also in Cleckheaton, outside of which there now is a commemorative plaque. He spent a year working in his father's laundry and dry-cleaning business before starting out in advertising. But his original ambition was to be a cartoonist; and, in 1971, while he was working as the creative director at a London firm, he wrote the first Mr. Men book, Mr. Tickle. He initially had difficulty finding a publisher; but, once he did, the books became an instant success, selling over one million copies within three years and spawning a BBC animated television series, narrated and voiced by Arthur Lowe. By 1976, Hargreaves had quit his day job. In 1981, the Little Miss series of books began to appear. It, too, was made into a television series in 1983, which was narrated by John Alderton, who, with Pauline Collins, voiced the Men and Misses, respectively. Although Hargreaves wrote many other children's stories, including the Timbuctoo series of twenty-five books, John Mouse, and the Roundy and Squary books, he is best known for his 46 Mr. Men books and 33 Little Miss books. With his wife, Christine, Hargreaves had four children: Adam, Giles, and twins Sophie and Amelia. The first of the Mr. Men characters is reported to have been created when Adam asked his father what a tickle looked like: Hargreaves drew a figure with a round orange body and long, rubbery arms, which became Mr. Tickle. After Hargreaves died of a sudden stroke in 1988, Adam continued writing and drawing the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters in new stories. However, in April 2004, Christine sold the rights to the Mr. Men characters to the UK entertainment group Chorion, for £28 million.
