If you enter the room of any Aussie child, you're likely to find an iconic Mr. Men and Little Misses book somewhere on their bookshelf.
About the size of a napkin and no more than 36 pages, the books featuring the iconic illustrative style of Roger Hargreaves have transported kids to Happyland and Nonsenseland since the early 70s.
Mr. Tickle, Mr. Bump, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Scatterbrain are a handful of names many Australians have come to recognise from reading these books as children, or passing them down to their kids.
However, few people would come close to the collection accumulated by Canberran and Big W employee Michael Ubrihien. Spending just over $1000 on his collection, Michael has collected over 880 pieces of merchandise including the books, toys, DVDs, all kinds of apparel and more. He has even been given the name 'Mr Collector'.
Back in 2004, Michael entered a 'create your own character' competition, where the winner was to be published in a new Mr. Men or Little Misses book. He was excited about the idea of helping a series that impacted him so much as a child.
"The books really first engaged my imagination, which is something I have taken from childhood to adulthood," he said.
"The world of Mr. Men Little Miss is so charming, it's easy to be transported to Happyland or Nonsenseland. The books really helped with my passion for reading."
Despite placing as runner up, Michael says the competition ignited a desire to collect more books and merchandise from a series he always loved, which he continues almost 20 years on.
With so much in his collection Michael struggled to pick a favourite, but his copy of 'Little Miss Jealous', which was born out of the competition he entered, was definitely the most meaningful.
50 years on, the Mr. Men and Little Misses series hasn't stopped being popular. Michael's workplace Big W has restarted their Free Books for Kids program, with Mr. Men and Little Misses books being front and centre.
Big W is giving away 2.4 million free copies of Mr. Men Little Miss books out the front of stores, to encourage children to read and fall in love with the stories just as Michael did. 38,000 copies are also being donated to Good360, assisting families and schools in flood affected areas around Australia.
