Puffin announces Mr Men-style Doctor Who series

Puffin Books will next year release a series of Dr Who books written and illustrated in the style of Mr Men.

The series will comprise of 12 titles, one for each doctor, and will be written and illustrated by Adam Hargreaves, the son of the late Mr Men creator Roger Hargreaves. The first four books, based on Doctors played by William Hartnell, Tom Baker, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, will be available in spring 2017.

The publishing agreement was signed by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House Children’s Books UK, BBC Worldwide and Sanrio Global, which owns the rights to the Mr Men books.

Jan Paterson, head of book and audio publishing at BBC Worldwide, said: “We are thrilled to be teaming up with Sanrio on this fantastic project and think that fans will love these creative incarnations of the Doctor reimagined in the ‘Hargreaves’ style. We’re always looking for innovative ways to engage our fans so this is the perfect partnership for us.”

PRH Children’s already published Doctor Who children’s books and Francesca Dow, m.d. of the division, said: “We are delighted to be publishing such unique and fun stories. We're confident and excited they will appeal to the thousands of Doctor Who and Mr Men fans around the world.”

Adam Hargreaves took over the Mr Men brand following the death of his father in 1988. This year he created a new set of characters and self-published a new set of stories on Amazon. He has also signed a deal to publish an original series with Pavilion Children’s.