Mr. Forgetful

Mr. Men #14

by Roger Hargreaves

Mr. Forgetful has an important message to deliver if only he could remember what it is!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Fantasy

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

[Spencer Orey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up a handful of these books on a trip, and my kid says this is the best of them. Funny, short, and surprisingly okay about being forgetful.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hands up who else has forgotten about this character in the Mr. Men series?!?

This was actually quite a fun one to revisit as poor Mr. Forgetful struggled to remember anything he was told.
It all comes to ahead when a lost sheep is causing havoc and Mr. Forgetful is asked to relay the message to Farmer Fields.

One of the more humorous titles in the series!

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Forgetful is very similar to Little Miss Scatterbrain. He should not be living by himself, but in a home of some sort. He has dementia or something serious. Very sad. I know Roger did not intend the story this way, but it comes across this way to me.

Still, it was enjoyed in our household and my nephew enjoyed reading it.

Mr. Men and Little Miss are cute little stories.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Mr. Forgetful Roger Hargreaves proves once again he is more than just a run-of-the-mill children's author, delivering a beautiful, thought-provoking tale of a man living with early-onset dementia, probably Alzheimer's but Hargreaves doesn't specify.

Hargreaves shows Mr. Forgetful dealing with his condition from the moment he wakes in the morning, detailing how it impacts on his daily life. We're there for the bad times; we see Forgetful frustrated by his inability to pass on a very simple message; but we're also there for the good times; his friendship with Mr. Fields the farmer, who is very understanding of Mr. Forgetful's condition, is heartwarming.

Really, this book was a precursor to more critically lauded works like Still Alice and it's a travesty that Hargreaves isn't recognised for his work raising awareness of these issues.

My next book: Satiric Verses and Epigrams (Selections From the Blake Notebook)

[Sophia Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There's a goose asleep in the rain!” 

Hahahaha.

Mr Forgetful unsuccessfully tries to remember to say that "There's a sheep loose in the lane.

One of my favourite misters in the series.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic of Memory
17 July 2017 - Adelaide

Well, here I am on my flight back to Melbourne, having just finished reading another one of my Mr Men books. Fortunately the flight is only going to be forty-five minutes because I am seriously squeezed between the window and some guy mansplaining all over the place. Okay, I know that I always take the window seat, and originally it was because I liked looking out, but since I have been on so many planes, and I always land up in the middle, there isn't all that much that I can see anyway (other than an engine, or a wing). I know, I could have paid extra, but the way I figure it, paying extra for a little bit of comfort for a flight that is going to be over before I know it isn't a justifiable expense.

Anyway, as you no doubt have worked out, I have just finished reading another Mr Men book. The first question I asked myself is how old is Mr Forgetful, and the second question is whether he is on drugs. Well, he could suffer from Dementia, but this isn't a laughing matter, particularly when people you have spent your entire life with have basically forgotten who you are. As for Mr Forgetful, he pretty much forgets everything, including the location of his bathroom (though I did that when I was staying at a hotel and suddenly discovered that I had locked myself out of my room).

Many of the other Mr Men books are about how the particular character attempts to find a job that works with their disability. Mr Forgetful is something slightly different in that he is asked to pass on a simple message, and the challenge is for him to remember it. I suspect his problem is not so much drugs because the local police officer asks him to deliver the message, and if Mr Forgetful was a known drug addict then I doubt he would have been asked to pass it on, particularly since drug addicts generally aren't high on the respected scale.

I do wonder about the drug scene at times because the media constantly portrays them as being untrustworthy losers. The problem is that some drugs do have the ability to destroy you in that way. Heroin is a classic example, as is meth (which is a big thing in Australia, but apparently nowhere near as big in Europe). In a sense people's addictions simply overwhelm their rational mind, and moreso certain addicts simply cannot handle their view of the world being challenged. Sure, while Trainspotting may draw out the horrors of heroin addiction, in a way meth is much, much worse. Yet the scary thing is that the users don't actually see it – they actually believe that these drugs are making them better, that is until they come to terms with their addiction, and then decide that it is just too hard and simply give in to the drug.

But I'm not talking about drugs, well, I am, but this is not what the book is about, it is about a guy that has a lot of difficulty remembering things, and how he overcomes it (or not, because he then completely forgets his entire day). Mind you, losing one's memory is something that many of us fear, namely because it is our memories that give us our identity. Not only is our memory a factor in the skills we possesses, but it also defines us through our past and our present. This is why I find it quite weird when people get so drunk that they cannot remember the night before, and in those situations claim that they must have had a huge amount of fun. Honestly, I've never forgotten the night before, which is better because at least I know what I have done. Mind you, sometimes one's behaviour makes you want to forget, but the problem is that while you have forgotten, everybody else around you hasn't (and no doubt will remind you). It is even worse in these days of social media where your drunken antics can be posted for the entire world to see.

Anyway, at least Mr Mansplain has woken up now, which makes me wonder whether there is any room for adult Mr Men books in much the same way that Bruno Vincent has written a series of adult themed Famous Five books.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the Mr Men books (and we have them all) this is our favourite. Mr Forgetful has to give a message to the farmer that there's a sheep loose in the lane. He keeps remembering it wrong (there's a goose asleep in the rain). Just so funny!

[Josh Caporale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Forgetful was quite a lovable character from the Mr. Men series, but his forgetfulness was in a way hysterical. A major thing about his character, though, is that he did not really change. Instead, circumstances happened to slant in his favor and it made for a memorable story (maybe not to Mr. Forgetful, though).

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds a bit like me as I am always forgetting things. The Grandchildren wouldn't let me forget reading time and the Mr Men stories though. These are much loved books at our house. Really wonderful stories for children. Recommended.

[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.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure Mr Forgetful should be left alone on his own, it appears he has dementia. I would volunteer to spend time with him if I got to sit in his fabulous favorite arm chair and spend time at forget-me-not cottage

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a goose asleep in the rain!

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never tell your parents that you "accidentally forgot" after you've been given and read this book.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was going to do an in-depth review, but I forgot

[Bustagroovy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost forgot to rate it!

[Elliot Watson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can never remember the book title

[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.

[Yalın · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yılın ilk çocuk kitabı her şeyi unutan Bay Unutkan’ı öğle uykusu öncesi okuyup bitirdik. Oğlum, Bay Unutkan’a kikir kikir güldükten sonra onu unutmadı ve gece uykusu öncesi yine istedi. Anneme kitabın sevildiğini anlattığımda ise konuyu ciddiye alıp Bay Unutkan’ın Alzheimer mı olduğunu sordu. ‘İnsan’ kelimesinin nisyandan türediğini ve ‘unutan’ demek olduğunu okumuştum. Hayatımızı dengede tutan da aslında ne kadar unutup ne kadar hatırlayacağımızı düzgün ayarlayabilmek değil mi? Her şeyi unutuyor olmak yaşamla bağımızı koparıyor belki, ama her şeyi hatırlıyor olmak, hiçbir şeyi unutamamak da başka türlü bir sadistik acı. Bay Unutkan, bu açıdan, yaşam boyu çektiği ızdırapları birer birer unutup yakasından döktüğü için çok şanslı.

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple tale of someone who may well be struggling with early onset Alzheimers. As my mother suffered a stroke earlier this year I could relate to this easily, and it helped me to explain to my children why Grandma was struggling to remember things.

Mr Forgetful is lucky to have such a supportive community around him, although I'm slightly suspicious of the policeman giving him an important mesaage to remember: is it a gross miscalculation or an effort to show faith in his abilities.

Thankfully Mr Forgetful gets through the ordeal and would have ended up feeling good about himself, if only he could remember!

[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.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Men Marathon continues and fortunately I did not forget to read this one - ho ho chortle chortle titter titter guffaw guffaw see what I did there, yes that is the Mr Men humour. Perhaps Mr Men exists in a universe known as Dad Joke Land and subsequently perhaps that is why I like them so much. Long live Mr Men and its cornball humour - don't forget that!

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not want to forget everything. I also did not like this book because Mr. Forgetful forget everything. I also did not like this book because he forgot to brush his teeth.

[Patrick\ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read-aloud series - with a moral.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An aide memoire of some kind would be of use to Mr. Forgetful. Or, perhaps it wouldn't. One of the more engaging Mr. Men books.

[τλιϓλ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I can do something to help Mr. Forgetful to remember things but won't that change his adorable personality which we like?
Nice story.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how "a sheep loose in the lane" turns into "a goose asleep in the rain".

[Chris Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I'd read this before, but just couldn't remember the story.

[Katy W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way the title has to droop down to fit on the cover ... like Mr Hargreaves forgot how long the word would be.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Mr Forgetful” - What was it he was supposed to be doing?

[Pipa Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the Mr Men books as a child and now I'm reliving them with my son. Beautiful books, well written and engaging.