* text taken from the official site of Paddington Bear
Creator
Michael Bond
Why Paddington?
"I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956.
I saw it left on a shelf in a London store and
felt sorry for it.
I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and
named it Paddington as
we were living near Paddington Station at the time.”
Then
“After ten days I found that
I had a book on my hands.
It wasn’t written specifically for children,
but I think I put into it
the kind things I liked reading about when I was young."
Michael Bond sent the book to
his agent, Harvey Unna,
who liked it and
after sending to to several publishers
it was eventually accepted by
William Collins & Sons (now Harper Collins).
Publication
The publishers commissioned
an illustrator, Peggy Fortnum, and
the very first Paddington book
"A Bear Called Paddington" was published on
13th October 1958.
Paddington’s Look
duffle coat X Wellington boots x P.B. suitcase
(I used to call them Paddington coat & rain boots)
Origins
he originally came from Darkest Peru where
he was brought up by his Aunt Lucy after
he was orphaned following an earthquake when
he was just a few weeks old.
Aunt Lucy went to live in the Home for Retired Bears
Eventually, Paddington arrived on
Paddington Station in London which is
where the very first story begins with the words:
Paddington Station
Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on
a railway platform.
In fact, that was how he came to
have such an unusual name for
a bear for Paddington was the name of the station.
The Browns were at the station to
meet their daughter Judy when
Mr. Brown spotted a bear sitting all alone on a suitcase,
behind a pile of mail bags,
close to the lost property office.
Please Look After This Bear
The bear was wearing nothing but
a hat and he had a label round his neck
bearing the words Please Look After This Bear.
Thank You.
Adoption
Unable to resist such a simple request,
Mr. and Mrs. Brown took Paddington home to
live with them at 32 Windsor Gardens
with
their two children, Jonathan and Judy and
their housekeeper, Mrs. Bird.
The Browns decided to name
their new member of the family Paddington,
after the place where he was found,
although we later learn that
in Peru his name was Pastuso.
Birthday
When he was found,
Paddington wasn’t too sure
how old he was so the Browns decided to
start again at one.
They also decided that he should have
two birthdays a year (just like the Queen!) and
so he celebrates these on
25th June and 25th December.
Favourite Food
Paddington’s favourite food is marmalade.
He always carries a jar in his suitcase and
he often has a marmalade sandwich
tucked under his hat 'in case of emergencies'.
Treasured Possession
One of Paddington’s most important possessions is
his scrapbook where
he likes to write about all his adventures.
It is also full of mementoes and
the regular postcards which
he receives from his Aunt Lucy in Peru.
Different Looks for Paddington
1958 – A Bear Called Paddington – novel
illustration by Peggy Fortnum
1972 – series for younger reader
illustration by Fred Banbery
1975 – appearance on TV
by FilmFair
1970’s - comic in newspaper
by Ivor Wood
1980’s – another series of picture books for young one
illustration by David McKee
1990’s
by R.W. Alley
for some prints and older production
by Barry Macey, in-house artist with Paddington & Co
1997 – TV animation
by Cinar, a Canadian production
Merchandise bear
The books
the very first Paddington book was
"A Bear Called Paddington"
There are eleven further titles in this series:
- A Bear Called Paddington
- More About Paddington 1959
- Paddington Helps Out 1960
- Paddington Abroad 1961
- Paddington at Large 1962
- Paddington Marches On 1964
- Paddington at Work 1966
- Paddington Goes to Town 1968
- Paddington Takes the Air 1970
- Paddington on Top 1974
- Paddington Takes the Test 1979
- Paddington: Here and Now 2008
- Paddington Races Ahead 2012
* text taken from the official site of Paddington Bear