Mr. Lazy

Mr. Men #17

by Roger Hargreaves

Life is very sleepy for Mr. Lazy,  until Mr. Bustle and Mr. Busy try to wake him up!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor, 20th Century, Middle Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Roger Hargreaves was a British cartoonist, illustrator and writer of children's books. He created the Mr. Men series, Little Miss series and Timbuctoo series, intended for young readers. The simple and humorous stories, with bold, brightly coloured illustrations, have sales of more than 85 million copies worldwide in 20 languages.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Lazy is just what you think until he has a dream where people force him to be active. Lucky for him he can go back to napping after the dream is over. His favorite place is bed and I have to say, that is a good place.

The nephew enjoyed this book too. He certainly doesn't understand being lazy as he is all movement and going. He thought it was funny.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time seems to work differently in Sleepyland, with everything taking so long means theres only 4 hours in a day.
So why does bread take 3 hours to toast!?!

That aside, this was quite a fun Mr. Men book.
One of the towns residents Mr. Lazy is visited by Mr. Busy and Mr. Bustle who attempt to get him motivated by various jobs around the house then a length walk afterwards.

At first I thought this was going to be a rehash of Mr. Messy, where he was made to tidy up by Mr. Neat and Mr. Tidy. Instead we get a really cool twist ending!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m in two minds about this one. On the one hand, I absolutely love the tripped-out surrealist elements; the fact that they make absolutely no sense at all just adds to their appeal. On the other hand, it’s undeniable that, plot-wise, this is just a mash-up of Mr. Messy and Mr. Daydream.

Anyway, I think it might be time for a nap… N’night, all! Don’t let the bedbugs bite (seriously, don’t; they’re massive and could take your arm off)…

My next book: Power Pack: The Powers That Be

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh, the life
28 April 2018

Ahh, what a life. A place where you can sleep in to whenever, and pretty much lie in bed for as long as you like. Hey, that sounds a bit like university. Well, if you’ve lived the university lifestyle then you will be forgiven thinking that this is what it is all about. To be honest, one thing that I’ve discovered is that when you are at university it isn’t like a full time job, particularly the type where you don’t have to take work home. No, University pretty much dominates your entire life, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing – you still get to sleep in.

However, for some reason I don’t think Mr Lazy is a university student. Rather he is just a person that has the fortune of being able to simply do nothing, lie in the sun, get up when he wants, and simply take his time to do pretty much anything. Actually, this sounds a lot like retirement, especially since when I was in Thailand the one thing that stood out were all the baby boomers lying by the pool and spending their children’s inheritance.

This book isn’t just about Mr Lazy spending all his time sleeping though (or spending his children’s inheritance), because one day he is rudely woken up and made to do an awful lot of work. That I think is a little unfair because it doesn’t come across as if Mr Lazy is bludging off the system. He clearly owns his own house, and he clearly has enough money to buy food to eat, and his house is also pretty clean. Yet, he is being forced to work. That does seem to be a little unfair.

Well, I won’t say any more than that because that will pretty much spoil the whole book. However, I’m sure many of us have gone on leave, gone to sleep and then suddenly found ourselves back at work. It seems to be like that, doesn’t it. Our holidays go so fast, and work just seems to go so slowly. I still remember sitting on that plane as it was flying out over London on its way to Singapore and realising that within the next four days I’d be back at work. Sure enough, I broke down and cried. That holiday went so fast. At least Thailand ended in going back to university, which meant being able to sleep in again.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children and grandchildren loved all the Mr Men books by Roger Hargreaves.
We bought one every week because they loved them so much and where always very affordable.
Great collection of books. Recommended.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
Bustle and busy…

I’ve set my children the challenge of reading a book a day during the school holidays, even if it’s just a mr men or little miss book, but the challenge of having some quiet time and completing one thing a day for a small achievement (if they manage it they can then have a new soft blanket bought each for future reading snuggle moments!). I asked my son to choose a book to read to me on an unusual alarm set holiday morning… I can’t think why he chose Mr Lazy… we’ve all read the sets over and over as a family but this is a perfect story reminder for when you feel the world is moving too fast around you. As Bragg once said ‘just because you’re going forwards, doesn’t mean I’m going backwards!’… ahhh, and relax!





Hold on, is he in the nude?!!?!?

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ultimate slacker tale, although it could be argues that Mr Lazy is a product of his environment: it takes a kettle two hours to boil etc.

Where would your motivation come from? My children loved the repetition, and soon joined in with the story.

A nightmare of 1984 proportions ensues with the arrival of Busy and Bustle, fighting this system reduces Mr Lazy to a shadow of his former self.

Thankfully a la Dallas it's all just a dream

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, Mr Men and Little Miss, how wonderful you are!

These books made up so much of my childhood. No matter what I would go ahead and pick one up. I worked my way through them all a couple of times. Each one has a wonderful story for the child to engage with, each character being fun to read.

Everyone has a bias for their favourite character, yet every book is delightful.

[Gregorito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of my life.

[Dan Boughen · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 year old says... I think it's REALLY funny because he gets words confused because he is just woken up.

11 year old says... Mozzarella

40 year old says... Right, so we have the laziest Mr man of them all and his bedroom is still tidy which goes to show that my children are lazier. Not that it's a competition or anything, I'm just saying... Oh, hang on... He might be too lazy to make his bedroom messy, so that must mean the boys are *not* lazy. Oh that's confusing. Judging from the state of the room they must be the most energetic children ever.... Oh, right, the book. It's good, Jay enjoyed it, I still enjoy it after reading for the millionth time. It's worth a look.

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one from Roger. I’m really enjoying sharing this series with my granddaughter Lucy.truly love them both.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the illustrations, I think this should be re-titled "Mr Jellybean". Mr Lazy is quite inactive, sleeping away the vast majority of his days. I assume he is either severely depressed or has narcolepsy. He also appears to have a physical deformity called a dowagers hump, as he very bent over/hunch backed. For an unknown reason, two big brother type agents arrive at Mr Lazys house unannounced to "encourage" him to be more active. (They had probably been secretly monitoring him in this apparent police state of sleepy land). Although I believe Mr Lazy should indeed be more active and become a contributing member of society instead of sleeping his life away, that is ultimately his decision and no one else's. And if he did decide to become more active, he would need it on a much more gradual scale than the action packed course he was thrown upon by Mr Busy and Mr Bustle!

[Phil Syphe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think I’m right in stating that as a boy I had all the pre-1990 Mr Men books with the possible exception of “Mr Snow”. Looking at all the covers apart from the latter jogged my memory.

Sadly I remember little about the stories now, despite reading them numerous times during my boyhood, plus watching the Mr Men cartoons more than once.

Reckon the last time I would’ve read these was 1983, though may have returned to them as late as 1985. Although I’ve forgotten almost everything about this title and all the others I feel that owing to the amount of times I read each publication that they all deserve to be rated five stars.

I’m grateful to Roger Hargreaves for brightening up my childhood with both his Mr Men and the Timbuctoo series of books.

[Alannah Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved these Mr Men and Little Miss books. I remember getting them from my granny every week. There was so much from these simple characters, I remember filling my little bookshelf with all these books making sure I had got them all in right order. I wish I still had these books but somehow most of them got lost with many house moves or my mum gave the rest away. If I ever have kids, I will make sure they get the chance to experience these wonderful, colourful books.

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 'Mr Men' and 'Little Miss' books are so simple yet so effective. I love the way that all the characters are linked and how characters pop up in other stories!

The books are great for encouraging young children to read because they are interesting, have a variety of simple language and are short enough that young children don't get bored! Children love collecting all the characters too.

[Graywaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which we meet Mr. Lazy and follow him through his various activities of the day. A favorite of all sleepyheads most likely.

I really need to own the whole set of Mr. Men! They make me so very happy. I loved them as a kid, though I think I only ever read a few of them. The whole series is like a warm cup of children's tea on a snow day.

[Mathew Walls · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read or thought about any of these books since I was a child, but I happened to read this one and Little Miss Helpful today and they're just incredibly good. The writing and illustrations are perfect. There being only time for four hours a day in Sleepyland is particularly great.

[Callum Daquarius · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually sobbed at the end of this book. It wasn’t because of the plot, but rather the fact that I knew I could never read this for the first time ever again.
Truly a book that will stay with me forever.
Inshallah

[Patrick\ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read-aloud series - with a moral.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Lazy has dreams about being active, but they don't last long.

[Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is always lazy.

[τλιϓλ · Rating 5 out of 5]

How lazy this Mr and what a laziness! Still, after that hard day I'm sure he will try to learn moving and playing to get rid off his lazy nature.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Mr Lazy” - In Sleepyland everything takes sooo long

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like being lazy. I also enjoyed this book because Mr. Lazy was lazy.

[Holli · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bit confusing and didn't really go anywhere, even for a kid's book.

[Pipa Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, was it a dream?

[Slow Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sitting on my favourite arm chair holding a copy of Mr. Lazy, dreaming about doing nothing except hearing myself breathing but of course I can hear the sound of cars moving outside. Mr Lazy is feeling guilty of being too lazy for all the dreams he had are always about waking up doing something. I will very much like to visit sleepy town where things move slower and people just don’t care. Even better the plants and the trees don’t care as well. No responsibilities. No one to order me around. Just me and my books and some TV and movies and music.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Lazy’s slow sleepy life is interrupted by a visit from Mr. Busy and Mr. Bustle.

Mr. Lazy lives in Sleepyland where everything is lazy, sleepy, and in slow motion. One afternoon he takes a nap in his backyard while waiting for his breakfast to be ready, and he is awoken by two busybodies, Mr. Busy and Mr. Bustle.

Mr. Busy and Mr. Bustle put Mr. Lazy to work doing chores. Then they force him to take a walk after which he has to run a race. Just then Mr. Lazy is awakened by the tea kettle whistling. It was all a terrible dream.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst Mr Lazy slumbers we have been working very hard and breached another gap and now the first nineteen books are done in Misterland (offical name for the Mr Men world I have discovered) Mr Lazy is what you would expect from the series which does not diminish it, but you really do know what to expect, and if you don't then perhaps you have never read these books before.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man after my own heart! His lifestyle utterly delighted me, and is now among my #LifeGoals. But he does need some help with dream therapy to deal with those nightmares.

This would be fun to read with a book-savvy kid, since there is a lot of text for each picture. It would be especially good for a pre-school reader -- the size is right and the story is simple but not basic.