A Bear Called Paddington

By Michael Bond

Copyright 1958

If you’ve never read A Bear Called Paddington, I suggest you find a copy at your local library, make a pot of tea or cocoa, a plate of marmalade sandwiches, and sit down to enjoy a delightful story.

Paddington is the name given to this friendly, naive bear upon his adoption by Mr. and Mrs. Brown.  As he is from darkest Peru, his real name is too difficult to pronounce, so he is renamed after the train platform on which he is found.  Paddington unwittingly finds himself in all types of trouble, yet his good nature and friendly disposition always pulls him through.  We discover quickly that Paddington’s favorite treat is marmalade and he likes to carry a few extra marmalade sandwiches in his suitcase, but he thoroughly enjoys all his food as we see when Mr. Brown buys him his first treat of tea and sticky cakes.  It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t realize climbing onto the table and digging in with both paws may not be polite.  He really didn’t mean to get cream and jam all over the taxi and driver.  And when he took his first bath in a tub, bailing the water out onto the floor with his hat seemed like a perfectly reasonable solution.

The whole family, even the housekeeper, finds life more exciting and fulfilling with a bear in the house, as does most of the neighborhood.  Paddington develops a close friendship with a local antique shop owner, Mr. Gruber, who always offers Paddington elevenses.   Elevenses is a wonderful British tradition of enjoying tea and biscuits around eleven o’clock in the morning.  Mr. Gruber usually had a bun and cup of cocoa around that time, and Paddington agreed with him that there was nothing like a nice chat over a bun and cocoa.  If I take anything away from this book, it’s that there is nothing like elevenses.  In fact, I’ve decided to make it my own personal tradition!  After all, I am 1/16^th British.

I’m looking forward to seeing this adventurous, mischievous bear on the big screen.  Later in 2014, a movie is being released based on Michael Bond’s Paddington books.  Colin Firth will voice the Computer Generated Paddington, with Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins as Mr. and Mrs. Brown.  Until the movie’s release, I’ll have to be content with the classic books, my cup of cocoa, and some delicious marmalade sandwiches.