There are seven brand new Paddington stories in this lovely collection and the little bear is the same lovable character he’s ever been - well meaning, inquisitive, innocent, responsible for comical misunderstandings and mishaps wherever he goes. Paddington appears in a TV cookery show and the settings for the new stories are right up to date but the language is of another age - ‘I should cocoa’ says Mr Brown – and gives the stories a particular charm. At a time when we need these values more than ever, Michael Bond continues to champion tolerance and openness – we’re reminded that Paddington is an immigrant on the second page of the first story. ‘Bears may come and bears may go, but there’s only one Paddington’ says Judy. Hear, hear. Readers looking for modern day stories in the same vein should look at Clara Vulliamy and Polly Faber’s Mango and Bambang series or The Bolds by Julian Clary and David Roberts.
Hurrying forward, he held out a welcoming hand. Sir Percival Rushmoor, he said. I'm invigilating. I'm sorry to hear that, Sir Percival, said Paddington. I hope you feel better very soon.
Paddington always finds himself in unusual situations so it is no surprise when he has a run-in with the police, appears in a TV cookery show, and gives one of his hard stares to a hypnotist!
Paddington’s profile sky-rocketed when the Paddington movie hit cinemas in 2014 (StudioCanal, director Paul King and producer David Heyman). The film starred Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Waters and Peter Capaldi, with Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, and hit Number 1 in the UK Box Office, and was also nominated for two BAFTAs.
...a jolly ride through the best of the Paddington tales The Times
...a delightful collection... Sunday Express
Praise for the Paddington series: 'I've always had great respect for Paddington...He is a British institution. Stephen Fry
'Paddington has joined Pooh as one of the great bears of English children's literature.' The Teacher
'Michael Bond's accident-prone bear...has become one of the most enduring of children's characters.' The Bookseller
Author
About Michael Bond
Michael Bond 13 Jan 1926 - 28 June 2017. Born in Newbury, Berkshire, England he was educated at Presentation College, Reading. During World War II Michael Bond served in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army. He began writing in 1945 and sold his first short story to a magazine called London Opinion. This experience helped him decide that he wanted to be a writer.
Michael Bond never thought of writing for children but, after producing a number of short stories and radio plays, his agent suggested that he adapt a television play for children. His first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published in 1958 by William Collins & Sons (now HarperCollins Publishers). At the time, Michael Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC.
After the first Paddington book was accepted, Michael Bond went on to write a whole series and by 1967 his books were so successful that that he was able to give up his job with the BBC in order to become a full-time writer.
In 2015, Michael was awarded a CBE for his services to children’s literature, to add to the OBE he received in 1997.
In 1997 Michael Bond was awarded an OBE for services to children’s literature and this was followed by a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2015.
For the last 37 years of his life Michael Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where it all began. He continued to write until shortly before he died on 27th June 2017, aged 91.
