In a move in no way influenced by the massive sales of the Ladybird books for grown-ups (featuring The Hangover, The Mid-Life Crisis and The Nerd) which have been piling their way into stockings for the past couple of Christmases, another major book franchise is leaping into the ‘adult’ trend.
But before you worry that Mr. Tickle - already the subject of a harrassment case - will be making blue movies with Little Miss Naughty, don’t worry - they’re merely bringing out some new books featuring more grown-up themes.
The Hargreaves estate and brand owner Sanrio are releasing a new set of firmly tongue-in-cheek books for adults, seeing the characters tackling such issues as getting #lean, having to endure small talk at office Christmas parties and navigating Tinder.
There are four stories in the Mr. Men for Grown-Ups series: Mr. Greedy Eats Clean to Get Lean, Mr. Happy and the Office Party, Little Miss Busy Surviving Motherhood, and Little Miss Shy Goes Online Dating.
Little Miss Shy likes being single but finds herself pressured by others into finding a partner via online dating. Meanwhile, Mr. Greedy loves eating but starts feeling shamed by the constant juicing and exercising of others and embarks on a new lifestyle plan. Little Miss Busy is, well, busy living up to her name trying to cope with the demands of motherhood while appearing to be the perfect parent at all times, while Mr. Happy is trying hard to look on the bright side of enduring hours of small talk and socialising with difficult colleagues at the office party.
Published by Egmont and available to pre-order from 2 November, the books will be £5.99 each from various retailers.
We look forward to the second series with Little Miss Stubborn engaged in a series of Twitter beefs about virtue signalling, Mr Clumsy suing various local authorities in no-win, no-fee lawsuits and Little Miss Princess becoming a social media influencer and launching a disastrous high-end festival in Barbados.
(Images: Hargreaves/Sanrio)
