''Mr. Tickle'' is the first book in the ''

Mr. Men ''Mr. Men'' is a British series of children's books and media franchise written and illustrated by English author Roger Hargreaves which began publication in August 1971. From 1981, an accompanying series of Little Miss books by the same aut ...

'' series by

Roger Hargreaves Roger Hargreaves (9 May 1935 – 11 September 1988) was a British cartoonist, illustrator and writer of children's books. He created the ''Mr. Men'' series, ''Mr. Men#"Little Miss" series, Little Miss'' series and ''Timbuctoo'' series, intended ...

which was published on 10 August 1971. The character of the story was originally based on a question by his son

Adam Hargreaves Adam Hargreaves (born 18 June 1963) is an English author and illustrator. The son of the late Roger Hargreaves, he continues his father's successful Mr. Men series of children's books. The younger Hargreaves reputedly served as inspiration for t ...

, who asked him what a

tickle Tickling is the act of touching a part of a person's body in a way that causes involuntary twitching movements or laughter. The laughter effect is inherently predicated upon the element of surprise, therefore normally does not contain consent ...

would look like; the claim of which is currently being disputed. Adam Hargreaves said that it was one of his most impossible questions as said in the TV special ''50 Years of Mr. Men''. Mr. Tickle is an orange Mr. Man who has long, bendy arms and a small, blue hat.

Plot

Mr. Tickle's story begins while he is in bed, getting himself a biscuit without getting up, because of his "extraordinary long arms". He then decides that it is a

tickling Tickling is the act of Haptic perception, touching a part of a person's body in a way that causes involuntary twitching movements or laughter. The laughter effect is inherently predicated upon the element of surprise, therefore normally does no ...

sort of day, thus he journeys into town to tickle people: a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, a

policeman A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

, a

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily produce, fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the ...

, a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

guard, a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

, a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

, and a

postman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

. The book ends with Mr. Tickle thinking about all the people he tickled that day and the author warning the reader that Mr. Tickle could be seen at the reader's door, wanting to tickle them. It is a relatively unusual ''Mr. Men'' book where the main character is amoral, tickling everyone, yet there is no corrective action taken to mend his ways. Because of this, Mr. Tickle is left free to tickle the next day, learning nothing from the previous day.

Translations

Mr. Tickle appears under the titles:

''The Mr. Men Show''

In the 2008 TV series '' The Mr. Men Show'', Mr. Tickle remains relatively the same in looks, though his hat is aqua with a stripe on it and his arms have a normal size, but can stretch out when needed. However, he tickles other Mr. Men and Little Misses due to the absence of the humans of Dillydale. He is still determined to tickle everyone he interacts with as far as some character traits go, but, instead of doing it for mischief, he does it to make people happy, and will stop when nobody wants him to tickle them—save for when the opportunity knocks with Mr. Grumpy, who is his favourite target. He speaks with a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

accent in the US dub and a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

accent in the UK Dub. He has a catchphrase: "I think somebody needs a tickle!" In both of the US and UK dubs, he is voiced by Jeff Stewart and

Rob Rackstraw Robert Rackstraw (born 31 October 1965) is an English voice actor who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games. Early life Rackstraw grew up in the Sunderland suburb of New Silksworth, and attended Southmoor C ...

, respectively.

Criticism

The Mr. Tickle character has been invoked in discussions over whether tickling children may violate their

bodily integrity Bodily integrity is the inviolability of the physical body and emphasizes the importance of personal autonomy, self-ownership, and self-determination of human beings over their own bodies. In the field of human rights, violation of the bodily int ...

. Critiquing the unequally applied justice in the realm of ''Mr. Men'',

Charlie Brooker Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...

decries the fact that Mr. Tickle goes unpunished despite being a "1970s children's entertainer with wandering hands who runs around town touching strangers inappropriately from dawn till dusk". Journalist Eleanor Mills compared Mr. Tickle to sex offender

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...

in a discussion of

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

in the ''Mr. Men'' books.

References

{{Roger Hargreaves Mr. Men series Tickling Literary characters introduced in 1971 1971 children's books British children's books British picture books Male characters in literature Male characters in animation Obscenity_controversies_in_literature

Plot

Translations

''The Mr. Men Show''

Criticism

See also

References