Roger Hargreaves

Charles Roger Hargreaves (9 May 1935 – 11 September 1988) was an English author and illustrator of children's books. He created the ''Mr. Men'' series, ''Little Miss'' series and ''Timbuctoo'' series, intended for young readers. The simple and humorous stories, with bold, brightly coloured illustrations, have sales of over 85 million copies worldwide in 20 languages. The first title in the series, ''Mr. Tickle'', was published in August 1971.

Birth

Charles Roger Hargreaves was born in a private hospital at 201 Bath Road, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England, on 9 May 1935 to Alfred Reginald Hargreaves and Ethel Mary Hargreaves. He grew up at 703 Halifax Road, Hartshead Moor, Cleckheaton, outside of which there now is a commemorative plaque.

Early life

Hargreaves attended Sowerby Bridge Grammar School (now Trinity Academy Sowerby Bridge). He then spent a year working in his father's laundry and dry-cleaning business before gaining employment in advertising. By 1968, he was creative director of the Foote, Cone & Belding agency where he wrote slogans such as "Emigrate to Canada Dry (for the sake of your Scotch)". Originally wanting to become a cartoonist, in 1971, he created a successful series of characters used to promote Askit Powders on television (these were used from 1971 to 1994).

Also, in 1971 while working as the creative director at a London firm, he wrote the first Mr. Men book, ''Mr. Tickle''. Initially, he had difficulty finding a publisher, but once he did, the books became an instant success, selling over one million copies within three years. In 1974, the books spawned a BBC
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