Instructions:  Conduct research about a recent current event using credible sources. Then, compile what you’ve learned to write your own hard or soft news article. Minimum: 250 words. Feel free to do outside research to support your claims.  Remember to: be objective, include a lead that answers the...

Read more
Recently, social media users have been creating viral memes sourced from a children’s

book from half a century ago.

The children’s book characters from the popular Mr. Men and Little Miss books have

made a huge comeback, appearing on prominent social media apps such as Tik Tok

and Instagram. An official series of the “Little Miss [Blank]” has been made, including

memes such as “Little Miss Jealous.”

Giorgio Angeli, who is a filmmaker, sees a similar initial dynamic between the “Pepe the

Frog” meme and the “Little Miss” meme. “She’s no longer just grumpy. She’s reeling

from anxiety and depression because the world is warming, democracies are crumbling

and those in power seem to be more Mr. Greedy than Mr. Actionably Concerned.”

The book series was created by the British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves.

According to the book series website, Hargreaves’s son, Adam, who was 8, asked

“What does a tickle look like?” This resulted in the creation of “Mr. Tickle,” who was the

first in a series of “Mr. Men” characters. They sold millions of copies of the book within

three years.

With the success of Hargreaves’s book series “Mr. Men,” he decided to create a similar

series, “Little Miss,” and built characters who “identify with a multigenerational audience

through self-expression, color, simplicity, and humor,” says the website. Adam

Hargreaves started to create more characters such as “Mr. Calm” and “Little Miss Spice

Girls” after his father’s death in 1988.

Just this month, an Instagram account “LittleMissNotesApp,” which has nearly 2 million

followers has posted Hargreaves’s characters, with captions such as “Little Miss

Lexapro,” “Mr. Vape Cloud,” and many other similar memes.

Share