Mr. Skinny

Mr. Men #35

by Roger Hargreaves

Mr. Skinny is tall and thin, like a long sausage. For supper he will sometimes eat the world's smallest sausage. He's desperate to put on some weight, but his appetite is just too small! Can his friend Mr. Greedy help him?

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 1981

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 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to make of this story. I know it was written in the 70s. I can't decide if it's making fun of being fat or what it's doing. Mr. Skinny has no appetite (Dx: Stomach Fire is out) and he is very skinny. He lives in Fatland, yes, you read that correctly where everything including the animals are fat. Dr. Plump tries to help him have an appetite and that doesn't work. He should try acupuncture. Mr. Greedy is the man to help him in the story.

The nephew thought this was funny and I'm not sure that's good, but he did. The niece didn't want to read this. He gave this 4 stars. At first he didn't want to read it and then once he got going with the story, he was into it.

I kind of think this is a terrible story of the era it’s written. I have about 15 more to read for Mr. Men before completing this series. This left me feeling icky.

[Sophia Triad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure about this one. The illustrations are cute, but all the people in Fatland (including Mr. Skinny) seem to suffer from eating disorder.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly one of the Mr. Men books that hasn't aged well...

The story itself retreats a similar plot to some of the other titles in the series.
Our main titular character being completely different to everyone else around him.

The whole notion of 'fattening up' seems outdated and completely sending the wrong message to impressionable young readers.
Especially as Doctor Plum offers doughnuts and currant buns as a solution.

Be yourself Mr. Skinny, you actually look happy both on the front cover and eating that small sausage.
Don't try and feel as if you have to fit in with everyone around you.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had all these when I was a kid. I used to love them... I especially remember Mr. Bump, Mr. Messy, and Mr. Rush. Eleanor just got Mr. Skinny from her Aunt Mary. I had forgotten how completely awesome they really are.

And how completely awesome are they?

Completely.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may well have been associated during my life and career with a number of Mr Men characters - Mr Silly, Mr Noisy, Mr Chatterbox, Mr Busy, Mr Cool, Mr Funny and Mr Happy spring to mind, oh, and, of course Mr Perfect, well perhaps not the latter as I am sure Linda would have said, as would some of my friends! - but never have I been thought of as Mr Skinny!

Mr Skinny was extraordinarily thin, almost painfully so, and, amazingly he lived in a place called Fatland, where everything was as fat as could be. The dogs, the worms, the birds were all exceedingly fat and the elephants, well, you should see a Fatland elephant.

In amongst all that fat lived Mr Skinny in the thinnest house ever seen. He didn't like being different from everyone else but he was. And he could not help himself for he had practically no appetite whatsoever, eating just one cornflake for breakfast, one baked bean for lunch, nothing for tea and the smallest sausage for supper.

Lying one night in his long thin bed in his long thin bedroom he decided that he had to do something about his condition so the following morning he visited Doctor Plump. He told the doctor that he wanted to eat more so the doctor prescribed an eat-all treatment and he decided to start it immediately, He, therefore, took an enormous cream cake, six doughnuts and 12 currant buns out of his desk drawers. 'Elevenses,' he told Mr Skinny, even though it was only 10 o'clock.

Mr Skinny ate a dab of cream, a doughnut crumb and a single currant as Doctor Plump ate the rest! And the doctor realised what Mr Skinny's problem was. He therefor made a telephone call to one of his friends, Mr Greedy, and arranged for his patient to go and stay with him. Mr Skinny did so and, after a month, he had developed a tummy. He was so pleased he rushed to see Doctor Plump and told him his good news.

Doctor Plump congratulated him and then said … can you guess? Well, it was, 'This calls for a celebration.' And he opened his desk drawer ...!

[Maggie Hesseling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm having a hard time not finding this book disturbing. It's still got the fun drawings, and the Fatland Elephant has to be the cutest thing ever, but everyone in this book seems to have an eating disorder... this one is obviously not for me.

[Godzilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely tale of feeling alone and living outside the norm. Questionable in terms of the content in this new healthy living age - my kids were concerned as to the doctor's behaviour!

The illustrations are wonderful, engaging my children rapidly and underlining the scale of Fatland.

The story invites children to be creative in thinking of other things that might exist in Fatland, and what other ways Mr Skinny could solve his problems.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did I think of the book? I think Mr Skinny is living in the absolutely wrong place, as he lives in Fatland. Also, I think Mr Skinny is anorexic, as he severely limits his food intake. I was quite proud of Mr Skinny for reaching out for help, however quite shocked at the unorthodox treatment his Dr prescribed. At the end of the book Mr Skinny has what appears to be a beer belly. When choosing the lesser of two evils, I’m not sure which is worse - alcoholism or anorexia...

[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.

[Derek Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despairing of being the only skinny individual in Fatland Mr Skinny is sent on the orders of his gluttonous doctor to a kind of reverse-detox holiday chez Mr Greedy. A good laugh, and especially fine with a white wine sauce.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tummmy at the end of this story is so ridiculous 5 stars is required.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feet look like Mr Skinny. Also I did not realise until I looked this up on Goodreads that he lives in Fatland (in French it's called Enormandie) and that makes me slightly more uncomfortable than I already was, but in the end, you can't read a Monsieur Madame book and not like it.

[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.

[Anne Lys Perrotin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book to my little one in French and was sure the author was French as well. He wasn't though. He was English. He wrote and illustrated a series of children's books that in French is known as 'collection monsieur madame ', translated in many languages. I could not find any edition in Portuguese yet. Is there any? This collection is fantastic in my point of view. My one-year-old daughter loves it. She first was caught by the illustrations, which she loves, and now she seems to start to enjoy the story itself, which is simple and funny. Perfect to young mind who do not have bias.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here's the skinny on the Mr Men Marathon. It started on a Friday evening and now with this one we close Saturday, with still several to be read.but Sunday is ahead my friend and there is a chance to read more.
What a day hey 50 books read and the marathon in full swing, that is the skinny, so what is this book now- of course Mr Skinny - I know how droll but this is not about an informant - thought that would be a cool reworking of the book but about a very skinny man. Silly like this review really but great fun and entertaining unlike this review probably - good stuff Mr Men.

[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.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over and over and over again.... I read these stories to my first daughter and then to my second daughter.

They loved them... they laughed... i love my daughters... i laughed with them....that was more than enough for me.

[Gavin]

Mr. Skinny's thinner than the proverbial rake, but not for long.

[Georgia Perry]

MR SKINNY KNOWS ALL THE TOP TIPS TO A FLAT STOMACH!

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not like being skinny. I also did not like this book because Mr. Skinny was very skinny.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very funny and its about a skinny man.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really do think the potential this story had was wasted. Instead of Mr. Skinny trying and needing to fit into a fat world, I would have preferred to see him accepting himself for the person he was.

[Overlady · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most books for children are fun and have some life lesson. However in this one it's a bit hard to say what the point was.

It's a story about mr skinny living in a fatland where everything and everyone was fat. He had an extremly tiny appetite. Eating one cornflake for breakfast, one bean for Lunch, nothing for tea, and for supper a tiny sausage. Which sounds borderline anorexic and worrisome. He went to a doctor, and he was sent away to get fattened up. At the end he showed off his full bulging stomach.

Was it directed at picky eater kids that barely eat anything and are severly underweight? No clue.

[Dan Boughen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six year old says "Not the best but was still very brilliant and I really like it"

Eleven year old twins say "IT IS THE BEST"

Forty year old says "this book brings back such happy memories for me, I love it. Dr Plump is one of my favourite characters in The MrVerse, and the special cameo appearance from another classic character makes this book one of the best"

[Dan Boughen · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 year old says... I don't know why Mr skinny goes into mr greedys house takes some food and eats it until he gets a small tummy and also Mr greedy shares some food with him.

40 year old says... I love this book. Probably the second best of all the Mr men (Mr Bump is clearly the best), Mr skinny doesn't like being skinny so goes on a mission

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Mr. Skinny! Not only does he have a weight problem. The poor guy "lived in a place called Fatland."

This man didn't like being different from everyone else. First he consulted his doctor. Then that doctor brought in an expert consultant, Mr. Greedy.

A happy ending was had by all, though no spoilers from me, no no!

I'll just add FIVE STARS of recognition for a most satisfying tale.

[Slow Man · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dedicate this title to all the skinny supermodels of the world. You all need to be fed. And there will not be anymore sexy ads in the magazines, billboards and commercials. Just products. Oh and the market will collapse. The economy will suffer.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Skinny tries to increase his appetite.

[Shahrun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think they were struggling a bit for an idea here, the build up was funny but the punch line was a let down. The illustrations were funny.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great too thank you so much thanks again too for thanks for nonsense ha-ha-ya