Adam Hargreaves signs with Pavilion Children’s

Adam Hargreaves, the son of Mr Men creator Roger Hargreaves, has signed a publishing deal with Pavilion Children’s for his first series that does not involve the Mr Men characters.

Publisher Neil Dunnicliffe acquired world rights in all languages to a series of three books, about a character called Molly Mischief, from David Riley Consulting Limited.

The first book, Molly Mischief... Wants a Pet, is about Molly’s quest to find the perfect pet after a visit to a wildlife park. It is scheduled for release in paperback in August 2017, followed by a second untitled book in spring 2018. Hargreaves said it was “exciting” to be working on a series of his own, adding: “I strongly believe that there’s an opportunity for an adventurous and strong girl character. Molly is just this, but the stories are also packed with silliness, humour and fanciful events that will amuse and entertain. I hope that children and their parents will love these stories.”

Adam Hargreaves took over the multi-million selling Mr Men series after his father’s death in 1988. He recently created several new characters, including Mr Marvellous and Little Miss Sparkle. Egmont, the Mr Men publishers in the UK, declined to publish in the UK but the books were picked up by Penguin Random House for North American, Australia, South Africa and various markets in Asia, Hachette Jeunesse in France and Children’s Fun in China.

Dunnicliffe said it was a privilege to publish Hargreave’s first children’s book since the Mr Men series. “Molly is a sparky, fun character with lots of stories to tell, and I’m sure that she will become a modern, mischievous classic.”