Over ten years ago, the then education secretary, Michael Gove, criticised schools for using the Mr Men books as a tool for learning about the rise of Hitler. It was not a joke. Active History, an online teaching resource, suggested that Roger Hargreaves, the author of the Mr Men series, is an ideal way of getting GCSE students to think about the Second World War.

"Brainstorm the key events that took place (Backstairs Intrigue, Reichstag Fire, Night of the Long Knives, Army’s oath of loyalty), it says. “Discuss how these could be turned into analogies that would fit into a Mr Man format. At this point, it is a good idea to watch one of the original Mr Men cartoons."

Gove, who at the time faced criticism from academics and even one of his own advisers over his plans to reform the history curriculum, said; "I may be unfamiliar with all of Roger Hargreaves' work, but I am not sure if he ever got round to producing Mr Antisemitic Dictator, Mr Junker General or Mr Dutch Communist Scapegoat.

"But I am familiar with the superb historical account Richard J Evans gives of the rise, rule and ruin of the Third Reich and I cannot believe he could possibly be happy with reducing the history of Germany's darkest years to a falling out between Mr Tickle and Mr Topsy-Turvy."

Fast-forward to the present day and not to be out done when it comes to addressing all manner of topics, our Library ambassadors had an entertaining panel discussion with guests from The RGS Gazette for their latest podcast.

Not only did they discuss the merits of astrophysics versus circuits, they were also asked the following question left by the previous guest, Mr Rowe-Elliott: "If you could take any character from one story and put them in another, who would you pick and why?"

Notable mentions go to Macbeth, Biff & Chip and Mr Tickle.

Chat without the boring bits, enjoy!

 
 @RGSHW_Library

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