The Mr. Men Book Timeline begins in 1971, when British author Roger Hargreaves wrote the first Mr. Men book, Mr. Tickle. Hargreaves went on to become one of Britain's best-selling authors, selling more than 100 million books to date. Hargreaves wrote and illustrated 46 Mr. Men books until his death in 1988. His son Adam took over the series, writing and illustrating new books with new characters. In 2004, the Hargreaves family sold the rights of the book series to the Chorion entertainment group for ₤28 million.