What do you think?
Rate this book
Mr. Men #26
Mr. Strong
Mr. Strong may be a bit too strong for his own good. But if you need a helping hand--he's your man!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
7 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Roger Hargreaves
1,331 books368 followersRoger 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
May 6, 2018
Mr. Strong loves eggs. He eats them all day long. That is why he is so strong. The poor guy has a hard time with the small stuff. He breaks toothbrushes and toothpaste goes everywhere. He breaks his front door even.
But Mr. Strong is a good soul and when he meets a farmer that had a field on fire, Mr Strong was at the rescue. He picked up the barn and filled it at the river and put out the fire. Good ol’ Mr. Strong. I think this original stories are the best.
My nephew still enjoys these stories and I am looking for a way to get the set since our library doesn’t carry but one. How is that possible? I depend on the library and it should have this classic literature. Le Sigh.
But Mr. Strong is a good soul and when he meets a farmer that had a field on fire, Mr Strong was at the rescue. He picked up the barn and filled it at the river and put out the fire. Good ol’ Mr. Strong. I think this original stories are the best.
My nephew still enjoys these stories and I am looking for a way to get the set since our library doesn’t carry but one. How is that possible? I depend on the library and it should have this classic literature. Le Sigh.
December 24, 2025
Mr books were a thing when i was probably 3-5 years old, maybe they still are? I honestly don’t remember anything beyond the covers. But 5 stars for showing up out of the blue in my poor battered brain after all these years.
April 29, 2024
Mr. Strong was (I think; it was a long time ago) my very first Mr. Man book. I can vividly remember reading this book as a child, which is saying a lot as I can’t remember what socks I wore today, and I loved every page.
You know, I’m even wondering, having re-read this four decades later, whether this book is the root of my lifelong love of eggs. What can I say? Kids are impressionable.
You know, I’m even wondering, having re-read this four decades later, whether this book is the root of my lifelong love of eggs. What can I say? Kids are impressionable.
February 10, 2018
You need to eat eggs all the time to become stronger,
BUT there is always some space for an ice cream.
My son's favourite Mr. Men book - although he really hates eggs. Not even Mr. Strong convinced him to eat them.
BUT there is always some space for an ice cream.
My son's favourite Mr. Men book - although he really hates eggs. Not even Mr. Strong convinced him to eat them.
September 8, 2021
The secret to Mr Strong's strength is a diet of eggs, he likes to eat them pretty much all day.
His so strapping that he is able to help the local farmer who's cornfield is ablaze, which of course then gets rewarded with more eggs!
This is such a fun tale which really focuses on the importance of eating a healthy balance diet to it's young readers.
Once of the nice aspects of this story is Mr. Strong then rewards himself with a treat for pudding, after all it's all about moderation.
Definitely one of the standouts in the series.
His so strapping that he is able to help the local farmer who's cornfield is ablaze, which of course then gets rewarded with more eggs!
This is such a fun tale which really focuses on the importance of eating a healthy balance diet to it's young readers.
Once of the nice aspects of this story is Mr. Strong then rewards himself with a treat for pudding, after all it's all about moderation.
Definitely one of the standouts in the series.
February 14, 2024
I like the way Roger Hargreaves shows the downside to being the strongest man ever. After all, Mr Strong is essentially a brick house with arms and legs, so clumsiness is inevitable. His strength seems to be natural, which makes it all the more impressive. Yes, Mr Strong eats massive feasts of eggs to boost his strength, but there's no evidence of steroid taking, blood doping or other ethically questionable performance-enhancing activities. Mr Strong's frenzied egg-eating did cause me to worry about his cholesterol levels, but then I decided that the man's intense exercise routine (such as lifting barns full of water) will keep him healthy. He's a good man, Mr Strong, happy to use his strength to help others in need. And the book's ending contains a twist of M Night Shyamalan proportions!
February 22, 2025
Mon copain = Monsieur costaud.
(surtout pour le dentifrice et les œufs 🍳)
(surtout pour le dentifrice et les œufs 🍳)
July 16, 2017
Just finished, review to come
November 27, 2009
I loved the sense of freedom inherrent in this tale.
Mr Strong has superhuman strength, although little common sense it would seem, walking into trees and even a bus. Not really a good advert for children, but impressive all the same.
Despite wrecking the environment and causing chaos for public transport planners, Mr Strong does have a good heart (despite his diet!)
His source of strength is the humble egg, although in unheard of quantities. Quite what his doctor will make of his next cholestrol check could be the basis of his next adventure.
In this story his heroic deed is extinguishing a rampant fire in a field, for which he is justly rewarded.
Mr Strong has superhuman strength, although little common sense it would seem, walking into trees and even a bus. Not really a good advert for children, but impressive all the same.
Despite wrecking the environment and causing chaos for public transport planners, Mr Strong does have a good heart (despite his diet!)
His source of strength is the humble egg, although in unheard of quantities. Quite what his doctor will make of his next cholestrol check could be the basis of his next adventure.
In this story his heroic deed is extinguishing a rampant fire in a field, for which he is justly rewarded.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2022
The Mr Men books are a firm favourite in our house. I always remember the ending of this book from my childhood and my niece now love it too!
September 28, 2015
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.
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.
January 7, 2017
Mr. Strong is one of the best Mr. Mens
He eats a lot of eggs
He eats a lot of eggs
September 20, 2017
The best part of this book was the surprise ending. Mr Strong likes eggs! He eats eggs for breakfast lunch and dinner. So what does he have for dessert? You'll have to read the book to find out!
July 23, 2018
One of my children's favourites and mine too. I loved reading the books by Roger Hargreaves to my children. So inexpensive too and my children loved adding to their collection.
August 29, 2018
More than just a strong man
29 August 2018 - Sydney
I’m sure we have all known somebody who doesn’t actually realise how strong they are. Okay, there are plenty of people who go around thinking that they are strong, but then again that tends to be all show and they simply use this as a form of intimidation. However, it seems that there are people out there that are actually quite strong, but don’t realise it. In fact, there are also people out there that are really strong and do know about it and basically flaunt it for all they can get.
However, this isn’t a story about one of those people, but rather somebody completely different. The thing is Mr Strong sort of knows that he is pretty strong, but it seems that he doesn’t know how to quite control his strength – the fact that he goes through thousands of toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, chairs, and front doors are a testament to that. Also, the reason people in cars, or buses, don’t want to hit Mr Strong is not because he is soft and squishy like your regular person, but rather he is one of those people that are prone to completely destroying the vehicle, and walking away just fine.
Mind you, that reminds me of kangaroos and cows. When I was growing up there was always this myth that if you were driving out in the country you really didn’t want to hit a kangaroo or a cow because not only would they completely wreck your car, but they would also walk away from the incident completely uninjured. Well, after working in insurance for longer than I care to admit, I did discover one thing – they don’t walk away uninjured, but you can pretty much say goodbye to your car. In fact, Australia is probably the only country that I can think of that you’re more likely to write off your car due to the wildlife than due to other idiots on the road. Well, maybe in Southeast Asia you could possibly hit an elephant, though I suspect in Africa there are other things to worry about than elephants suddenly appearing in your path (and most likely you would have plenty of warning that there was an elephant ambling across the road, unless of course you fly around a blind corner and suddenly see it, but then again if you go flying around blind corners then I basically have no sympathy for you.
Once again, this book was rather fun, especially how despite the fact that Mr Strong has the perchance to leave a trail of destruction wherever he goes (well, I’m exaggerating there, but I suspect that he does have some issues), he does end up setting things right, at least for a poor farmer who has discovered that his crop is quickly turning into pop-corn (will that actually happen if a corn field catches on fire?). I guess that is the thing with such books, no matter how clumsy, or annoying, our protagonist is, it always turns out for the best.
29 August 2018 - Sydney
I’m sure we have all known somebody who doesn’t actually realise how strong they are. Okay, there are plenty of people who go around thinking that they are strong, but then again that tends to be all show and they simply use this as a form of intimidation. However, it seems that there are people out there that are actually quite strong, but don’t realise it. In fact, there are also people out there that are really strong and do know about it and basically flaunt it for all they can get.
However, this isn’t a story about one of those people, but rather somebody completely different. The thing is Mr Strong sort of knows that he is pretty strong, but it seems that he doesn’t know how to quite control his strength – the fact that he goes through thousands of toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, chairs, and front doors are a testament to that. Also, the reason people in cars, or buses, don’t want to hit Mr Strong is not because he is soft and squishy like your regular person, but rather he is one of those people that are prone to completely destroying the vehicle, and walking away just fine.
Mind you, that reminds me of kangaroos and cows. When I was growing up there was always this myth that if you were driving out in the country you really didn’t want to hit a kangaroo or a cow because not only would they completely wreck your car, but they would also walk away from the incident completely uninjured. Well, after working in insurance for longer than I care to admit, I did discover one thing – they don’t walk away uninjured, but you can pretty much say goodbye to your car. In fact, Australia is probably the only country that I can think of that you’re more likely to write off your car due to the wildlife than due to other idiots on the road. Well, maybe in Southeast Asia you could possibly hit an elephant, though I suspect in Africa there are other things to worry about than elephants suddenly appearing in your path (and most likely you would have plenty of warning that there was an elephant ambling across the road, unless of course you fly around a blind corner and suddenly see it, but then again if you go flying around blind corners then I basically have no sympathy for you.
Once again, this book was rather fun, especially how despite the fact that Mr Strong has the perchance to leave a trail of destruction wherever he goes (well, I’m exaggerating there, but I suspect that he does have some issues), he does end up setting things right, at least for a poor farmer who has discovered that his crop is quickly turning into pop-corn (will that actually happen if a corn field catches on fire?). I guess that is the thing with such books, no matter how clumsy, or annoying, our protagonist is, it always turns out for the best.
September 17, 2012
I am incorporating the entire Mr. and Mrs. collection in this review as it would take too long to review all of them! These collection of books are great for promoting children to read lots of different stories rather than one big one. Each character is envolved in a moral lesson and betters himself/herself by the end of the book.
The books were originally only written with the Mr. Men collection but now with the recent addition of the Mrs. books both genders can enter a word with recurring characters, funny anecdotes and a lesson to be learnt. Only about ten to twelve pages long the stories are ideal for story time and a ten minute quiet reading period.
The books allow children to keep reading and collecting all the books. A perfect way to promote reading amoungst young children. They can explain to their friends that they have read that book and also have a favourite character. Perfect books for year 2 to year 4.
The books were originally only written with the Mr. Men collection but now with the recent addition of the Mrs. books both genders can enter a word with recurring characters, funny anecdotes and a lesson to be learnt. Only about ten to twelve pages long the stories are ideal for story time and a ten minute quiet reading period.
The books allow children to keep reading and collecting all the books. A perfect way to promote reading amoungst young children. They can explain to their friends that they have read that book and also have a favourite character. Perfect books for year 2 to year 4.
March 30, 2015
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.
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.
October 15, 2015
A darkly comic explication of the dangers of too much power, Roger Hargreaves' masterwork points us to a nihilistic acceptance of absurdity, banality, and the inevitability of our own eventual deaths. To be powerful in such a world is, ultimately, ultimate evil: the only power a man can have is harm. And to be weak is ultimately just as futile. The choice is not whether or not to die but how to die. To struggle against fate or to slump weakly into it. The solution, in the end, is merely care.
Bravo, Hargreaves. Bravo. An existentialist tour de force that must be encountered bravely.
Bravo, Hargreaves. Bravo. An existentialist tour de force that must be encountered bravely.
August 18, 2013
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.
Read
February 28, 2015Mr. Strong is so strong. He could tap in screws with his finger. He put 100 eggs on the plate and he was going to eat them all. When he came out the door he pushed it and it broke. He didn't see where he was going. He bumped into a tree and he broke it. And he didn't watch where he was going. He bumped into a bus and the wheel was flat. And the farmer said help help my corn in on fire. He picked up the barn and put water in it and put out the fire. And when he got him he broke his chair - age 4
April 29, 2019
Mr Strong rocks... my daughter loved this book... and for a while... she called me Mr Strong....
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.
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.
May 14, 2015
Synopsis: "Mr. Strong may be a bit too strong for his own good. But if you need a helping hand--he's your man!"
My Review: This was an entertaining Mr. Men book and actually kept Munchkin's attention. He loved 'eating' eggs with Mr. Strong so he could be strong too. He also giggled at the antics throughout Mr. Strong's day. It was a fun and entertaining story to read.
My Review: This was an entertaining Mr. Men book and actually kept Munchkin's attention. He loved 'eating' eggs with Mr. Strong so he could be strong too. He also giggled at the antics throughout Mr. Strong's day. It was a fun and entertaining story to read.
June 16, 2008
Sean's favourite Mr. Man book. Mr. Strong is, unsurprisingly, very strong. With that strength he douses a farmer's field on fire using an overturned barn filled with water. And the secret of his strength is ...
October 30, 2007
warning: this review contains spoilers. eggs are the secret to his strength.
September 4, 2008
All of the Mr. Men books are fantastic.
The secret of his strength... well, read it.
The secret of his strength... well, read it.
January 16, 2010
MR Strong can pick up lots of stuff and he can hammer in a nail just bu tapping it with his finger.
February 17, 2013
Forty medals on his chest; big chest.
July 7, 2013
Strong and really kindhearted, so wonderful character, I like this story ^_^
February 23, 2014
Mr Strong is very strong sometimes too strong but yet modest. He'll always be happy to help lend a hand and you if you must you can repay him with....eggs!
July 27, 2018
One of the Mr Men stories I remember from childhood. I still think holding a basket of eggs with one finger should have been one of the tasks on the World's Strongest man TV shows.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews