The son of the late Roger Hargreaves, he continues his father's successful Mr. Men series of children's books.
[2] Hargreaves took over the Mr Men and Little Miss cartoon empire after his father's death in 1988, despite initially thinking the series "embarrassing" and "a bit clichéd" and contemplating a life as a farmer.
[3] At the time he had worked on an arable and beef farm in Sussex and, after taking a course at Plumpton Agricultural College in 1984, as a dairyman.
When his father died following a series of strokes in 1988, Hargreaves took up the self-run business as his brother Giles pursued a career in advertising and his twin sisters Sophie and Amelia were yet too young.
[3] In 2004, the family sold the rights to the Mr. Men to entertainment group Chorion for £28 million, but Hargreaves remains the public face of the franchise and continues to invent new characters.