The Mr. Mr. series is absolutely splendid works for kids! Especially small ones. They are hilarious and cute and have wonderful little morals! Mr Happy was one of our favourites!

A refreshing children’s book which is also a delight for adult. The book is about a happy person whose happiness is contagious. A joy.

Turning that frown upside down
6 December 2017 - Sydney

tNow I happen to be sitting in the Virgin Australia lounge waiting for my plane to depart (and also bashing on the 'm' key that is being incredibly stubborn). As such I thought it might be an opportunity to read another one of my Mr Men books, and the one that jumped out just happened to be Mr Happy (well, I had been intending on reading this one for a while, but I really started getting sick of lugging my laptop around Sydney). However while I have power (and a power cord), as well as free wifi, I doubt that I am going to get around to actually posting it until I get to Adelaide.

tSo, I have also noted that this is the third of the series written, and it does show considering that the only other character in the book is Mr Miserable, who pretty much looks like Mr Happy except that he wears a perpetual smile. Actually, Mr Happy meets him while wandering through the forest on one of his daily walks and just happens upon a strange door in a tree. Well, since this is a Mr Men book, and not something written by H.P. Lovecraft, we can safely assume that Mr Happy is not going to be putting his life (or his sanity) in danger by investigating the door. Mind you, there is a bit of an issue with people just wandering into mysterious doors because it could be somebody's home. Then again, this whole idea of privacy is more of a Western thing, and in some parts of the world it is perfectly acceptable to simply wander into people's homes, and it is considered rude to then kick them out – then again these parts of the world do happen to be small villages where everybody knows everybody else and if you are a stranger then you are treated with suspicion.

tSo then we come to Mr Miserable. I guess, like all of us, he just wants to be happy. Well, being stuck in a room deep in the ground is going to make somebody pretty miserable, especially if you are there by yourself. However, Mr Miserable is quite fortunate, because it seems that he doesn't suffer from clinical depression, but rather situational depression. I suggest this because all it takes to cure him of his perpetual melancholy was to take him back to the surface, which happens to be Happy Land. Sooner, rather than later, that smile becomes incredibly contagious, and suddenly Mr Miserable finds himself doing something he never thought possible – laugh.

tI have to admit that Mr Happy was quite fortunate as well, but then again this is a Mr Men book, which means that everything is going to work out all right. However there are people out there that just seem to have this ability to ruin everybody's day in that all the talk about are their problems. Mind you, some people have serious problems, and some people simply do not have the social skills not to create a faux pas. Some people try to solve their problems, while others just seem to be comfortable wallowing in their misery. However, some times all it takes is a friendly smile, and a warm welcome to really brighten up somebody's day. For others, there just seems to only be comfort in wallowing in their sorrows.

Everyone should read the entire collection

Okay, I know this is kind of cheating, but I couldn't resist when I saw these books a Borders. The Mr. Men and Little Miss books are making a comeback - and have tapped into the T-shirt market, too, I've noticed. There's tons of these little books, and I think we read nearly all of them when my kids were little. They are very cute, very quick reads for story time with little ones. I highly recommend them!

These books also make great gifts for little kids, they're just their size, like 5"x5". I'm thinking that a few of my friends may be seeing these in their baby shower baskets... 8-)

If you ever feel as miserable as Mr. Miserable used to, you know exactly what to do, don't you?

Just turn your mouth up at the corners.

Buku #35 di tahun 2017.

Saya main curang! :-)
Untuk mengejar target membaca 46 buku di tahun ini, tanpa tahu malu saya baca buku anak saya ini. Buku ini adalah hadiah yang diperoleh jika anda membeli paket Happy Meal di McDonald's Indonesia di bulan November 2017.

Kisahnya tentang Mr. Happy yg hidup di Happyland yang kemudian bertemu dengan Mr. Miserable yang tinggal di bawah tanah dalam sebuah pohon, sehingga anda perlu menuruni anak tangga putar yang begitu banyak sebelum sampai ke pintu rumahnya yang berwarna merah.
Ketika mengetahui Mr. Miserable yg selalu bersedih ini ingin merasakan kebahagiaan, Mr. Happy mengajaknya ke Happyland, dimana akhirnya Mr. Miserable yang selalu merengut ini akhirnya bisa tersenyum dan akhirnya tertawa terbahak-bahak.

Di halaman terakhir pengarang buku ini menginformasikan ke adik-adik pembaca, bahwa jika mereka merasa sedih seperti Mr. Miserable dulu, yang mereka harus lakukan adalah melengkungkan sudut bibir mereka ke atas.
Yang tentu saja informasi yang salah.
Seperti kita lihat Mr. Miserable menjadi gembira setelah dia keluar rumah untuk bersenang-senang ke tempat lain.
Jadi adik-adik, jika kamu merasa sedih, segeralah minta ke ayah ibumu untuk pergi jalan-jalan, ke luar kota, menginap di rumah hotel, atau ya paling tidak pergi ke mall atau taman kota. Dan kamu akan segera tersenyum lebar dan tertawa terbahak-bahak seperti Mr. Miserable.

Ituh!
:-)

The book Mr Happy written by Roger Hargreaves tells the story of a character called Mr Happy, who lives in Happyland, a place where even the animals and flowers are happy. One day whilst walking in a wood Mr Happy spots a small door. Inside, Mr Happy meets someone who looks exactly like him but instead of smiling this person is miserable. The character introduces himself as Mr Miserable. Mr Happy tells Mr Miserable to come and stay with him in Happyland. Whilst staying in Happyland, Mr Miserable slowly but surely stops being miserable and begins to smile. The story ends with Mr Happy and Mr Miserable laughing happily together.

Mr Happy is a simple but entertaining story. Like in the other Mr Men books, the personality and appearance of the characters are reflected in the character’s name. The stories often have a moral message or message from the author for example in Mr Happy, Hargreaves finishes the book with ‘if you ever feel as miserable as Mr Miserable used to you know exactly what to do, don’t you? Just turn your mouth up at the corners. Go on!’ The books illustrations are bold and brightly coloured and the characters are recognisable, for example Mr Happy is round and yellow. The simple stories and recognisable characters make this book and the other Mr Men and Little Miss books appropriate for use in reception and Key stage 1. In Key Stage 1, an activity could be to create their own Mr and/or Little Miss book.

ευχαριστο και διδακτικο για τα παιδακια

k

Reading the Doctor Who/Mr. Men mashup books made me nostalgic for the Mr. Men of my childhood. I remember poring over the back cover contemplating which Mr.s (and Little Misses) I'd read and hoping my library would get the ones I hadn't. Pretty sure Mr. Happy was one of my favorites then, and I certainly found it to stand the test of time to still be pretty delightful now. Hee! I love the guys rolling around laughing at the end; such infectious happiness makes me smile every time.

I never liked Mr. Happy as a child. I'm not sure why; I think he might have seemed overwhelmingly smug to me back then... or perhaps I just didn't trust people who seemed to be happy for no reason.

Returning to this book as an adult I'm more inclined to like him but I do still have some slight issues with the story. Mr. Happy seems to cheer up Mr. Miserable just by taking him outdoors. There's no conversation about why it's better to be happy or any reasons given to be happy... he just takes him outdoors and the pair of them just start rolling around on the floor, laughing like loons, for no reason. I can only conclude they took some illicit substance 'off-panel' as it were.

I love the Mr. Men but this is a weird little book. There is, of course, a good chance I'm overthinking this.

My next book: The First Book of Urizen