Why Do You Have to Stand Up Straight?

Overview[]

Why Do You Have to Stand Up Straight? (Pourquoi faut-il se tenir droit ? in French) is a short story about keeping clean, healthy and well in the I Grow Up with the Mr. Men and Little Miss series.

It was released in March 1999, and then re-released in 2000.

Summary[]

Little Miss Somersault answers the titular question, saying "In your back, there's your spine, which supports your entire body. It's made up of 24 bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae must remain properly aligned with each other. If you don't stand up straight, your spine becomes curved. Sometimes, vertebrae shift. You don't notice it right away, but after a while... AY! AY! AY! Back pain! It's very annoying. You become less flexible. And you know the result? You can't do acrobatics anymore!" while sympathizing with the reader.

List of Characters[]

Little Miss Somersault
Girl with blonde hair tied in curls with red ribbons in a purple jacket, blue jeans and brown shoes

Site navigation

I Grow Up with the Mr. Men & Little Miss (6)
Issue 51	Mr. Fussy's Spider Web\|Why Do Grown-Ups Wear Perfume?\|Do Grown-Ups All Wear the Same Perfume?\|Why Shouldn't You Rock Back and Forth on Your Chair?\|Why Shouldn't You Climb on the Back of the Sofa?\|The Bonhomme Finger Puppets\|Why Do We Wear Glasses?\|Do We Wear Glasses for Life?\|Little Miss Neat's Potatoes in Foil\|A Nursery Rhyme from Little Miss Splendid\|Mr. Cheerful's Riddles\|Why Do Flowers Grow in Spring?\|Is It Spring Everywhere in the World?\|The Funny Noises of Mr. Noisy\|Little Miss Greedy's Diet
Issue 52	Little Miss Pretty's Colours\|Why Do Grown-Ups Wear Watches?\|Why is it Annoying to be Late?\|Why Shouldn't We Leave Little Cars Lying Around?\|Why Shouldn't You Run Up the Stairs?\|Little Miss Splendid's "Bonhomme" Badges\|Why Do You Have to Stand Up Straight?\|What Does it Mean to be Flexible?\|Mr. Funny Introduces Mr. Pear\|A Wacky Game from Mr. Wrong\|Little Miss Splendid Teaches You to Conjugate\|Why Are There Wars?\|Why Are There Poor People?\|Little Miss Chatterbox's Charades\|Don't Worry, Mr. Worry!
Issue 53	Mr. Muddle's Easter Eggs\|Is It the Children's Fault When Their Parents Argue?\|What Should You Do When Your Parents Fight?\|Why Can't You Play Football Inside the House?\|Why Don't We Keep Our Shoes Inside?\|Mr. Quiet's Aquarium\|Why Do We Sneeze?\|Mr. Mischief's Surprise Brioche\|Mr. Strong's Song\|Little Miss Giggles' Discoveries\|Why is Easter a Holiday?\|Why Do We Eat Chocolate at Easter?\|Little Miss Helpful Decorates Eggs\|Mr. Skinny Has a Good Idea
Issue 54	Little Miss Loud Has Breath\|Why Isn't the Teacher at Day Camp?\|Why Do We Go Back to Class After the Holidays?\|What is a Bad Habit?\|What is a Good Habit?\|Little Miss Giggles' Feathers\|What is the Nose For?\|Why Are There Smells We Love and Smells We Hate?\|Mr. Nonsense's Tagliatelle\|Little Miss Show-Off's Proverbs\|Little Miss Stubborn's Riddles\|Why Do Cows Have Horns?\|Where Does the Cow Put Her Milk?\|Happy Birthday, Mr. Quiet!\|A Laughing Contest
Issue 55	Little Miss Busy-Body Footrace\|What is a First Name?\|What is a Last Name?\|Why Shouldn't You Put Just Anything in the Washing Machine?\|Why Shouldn't You Touch the Washing Machine Buttons?\|Mr. Slow's Snails\|Why Do We Have Rumbling Sounds in Our Stomachs?\|Why Do We Burp?\|Mr. Crosspatch's Scrambled Eggs \|Mr. Messy is Dancing the Salsa\|Little Miss Fun Knows Music\|Where Does the Train Go When We Arrive?\|Do Trains Go Everywhere?\|A Surprise for Mr. Brave!\|Little Miss Bossy's Picnic
Issue 56	Little Miss Naughty's "ca" Words\|Mr. Mischief's Day Without Pranks\|What's the Eldest?\|What Is an Only Child?\|Why Shouldn't You Cross the Street Alone?\|Why Shouldn't You Run While Crossing the Street?\|Articulated Mr. Tickle\|How Many Hairs Do You Have on Your Head?\|Why Are There People Without Hair?\|Little Miss Scatterbrain's Fake Cherry Pie\|A Round of Little Miss Lucky\|Mr. Bump is Unlucky\|What Tools Do You Use for Gardening?\|Why Do We Need to Water the Garden?\|What Do You Want, Miss Shy?\|A Pyramid of Ladies
Issue 57	Nothing is Going Well for Little Miss Carefree\|Why Do We Look Like Our Parents?\|When We Grow Up, Will We Be Exactly Like Our Mom or Dad?\|Why Can't We Take Back What We Gave?\|Why Do You Have to Say "Thank You" When You Receive a Gift?\|Mr. Bump's Tumbler\|Why Do We Have Tears When We Cry?\|Why Shouldn't We Rub Our Eyes?\|Little Miss Magic's Enchanted Carousel\|Little Miss Pretty Makes Comparisons\|Mr. Clever and the Seven Words\|What Is a Wedding?\|What Is a Communion?\|Mr. Muddle Mixes Up the Hats\|Little Miss Fickle's Vacation
Issue 58	Little Miss Bossy in Inversonia\|Why Don't Moms Have Leg Hair?\|Why Do Dads Have Chest Hair?\|Why Shouldn't You Touch the Bathtub Faucets?\|Why Shouldn't You Put Things in the Bathtub Drain?\|Mr. Funny's Hat\|How Deep Does the Earhole Go?\|Why Shouldn't You Listen to Music Too Loudly?\|Mr. Busy's Bacon Muffins\|Mr. Tickle's Riddles\|What Do You Say, Mr. Topsy-Turvy?\|Why Are All Police Officers Dressed the Same?\|Who Wears a Uniform?\|A Prank Competition\|Little Miss Stubborn is Wrongly Stubborn
Issue 59	Mr. Mean's Coins\|Were We Babies Before?\|Were Grown-Ups Once Little Ones?\|Why Shouldn't We Swear?\|Why Do Grown-Ups Sometimes Swear?\|Little Miss Tidy's Figurine Pouch\|Why Shouldn't You Swallow Toothpaste?\|Why Do You Have to Brush Your Teeth for a Long Time?\|Mr. Daydream's Candy Sausages\|A Song by Little Miss Careful\|Mr. Greedy's Words\|Why Do We Advertise?\|Do Advertisements Tell the Truth?\|Little Miss Contrary Says the Complete Opposite\|A Sunday with Mr. Forgetful
Issue 60	Little Miss Stubborn Wants a Bath\|Why Are There People We Prefer?\|Why Are There People We Don't Like?\|Why Shouldn't You Scribble in Books?\|Why Shouldn't We Tear Pages Out of Books?\|Little Miss Magic's Butterflies\|Why Do We Get Hiccups?\|Why Do We Scare People to Stop Hiccups?\|Little Miss Pretty's Colourful Sandwiches\|A Nursery Rhyme by Little Miss Pretty\|Mr. Fussy's Morning\|Why Aren't There Any Zebras in France?\|What Other Animals Live in Africa?\|A Dream of Mr. Daydream\|The Ladies' Picnic

Why Do You Have to Stand Up Straight?

Contents

Overview[]

Summary[]

List of Characters[]

See Also[]

Site navigation