A Bear Called Paddington

After his Aunt Lucy moves into a home for retired bears, a small and rather sticky bear emigrates from darkest Peru with only a suitcase full of marmalade. The Brown family discover him at Paddington station and adopt him, and the bear (now rejoicing in the impressive name of Paddington) has lots

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of adventures across London which generally involve leaving sticky paw-prints all over the place, knocking things over, getting lost, and getting into trouble.

It's not hard to see why this is a classic, beloved of generations of children. I spotted this book on sale for a minuscule sum while I was doing some Christmas shopping, and (being without children to buy it for) decided to indulge myself and revisit my childhood. I was very fond of my stuffed Paddington Bear - complete with blue duffel coat, red wellies and floppy hat - when I was about 4, and re-reading the stories was a nostalgic treat.

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Charming classic about a peruvian bear who turns up in Paddington station wearing a tag that says "Please take care of this bear". He enters the Brown family and proceeds to wreak havoc in every imaginable way through actions as simple as taking a bath. A bear with a sharp eye for a bargain, he

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also has an enormous heart, but nevertheless always gets in over his head, just as children do. And he invariably gets in trouble with his neighbor, like a furry but well-intentioned Dennis the Menace. Essentially timeless. The first volume in the series and the best.

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I picked this up to read because my twenty-one year old daughter told me she still loves them and recently reread them. After reading it, I can see why. So warm and personable. I love the Brown family and their reception of Paddington, I love Paddington and his reception of life's experiences. I

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shall be reading more of these, books that make you laugh out loud should be read often.

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This is a fun little book about a bear who is more like a little person. He's silly in his serious explorations of England, adopted by a kind family with two delighted children.

“A Bear Called Paddington” is our first introduction to Paddington Bear. The book opens with the Brown family discovering Paddington in the lost luggage department at Paddington Station. He’s looking lost, clutching a battered suitcase and has a “please look after this bear” label stuck

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around his neck. You can’t help but love him. Luckily Mrs Brown talks her husband into taking him home with them. As
Mr Brown points out, there are surely laws against that sort of thing but as this is the magical world of children’s literature we won’t worry about little things like that. We also immediately accept that Paddington is a talking bear, after all we are dealing with a very special bear.

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Part A/Classic
Bond, M. (1958). A bear called Paddington. New York: Bantum Doubleday Dell.

Paddington, a stowaway bear from Darkest Peru, is taken in by a family when they find him sitting alone at the Paddington Station, wearing a sign that states, “Please look after this bear. Thank you.”

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Adjusting to his new life in England, Paddington frequently finds himself in interesting predicaments. The sketched illustrations add to the reader’s visualizations of Paddington’s small disasters.

Readers are bound to love the endearing character of Paddington Bear, and will equally love the innocent predicaments he stumbles upon.

Another book from this decade is Little Bear by Else Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

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When I was a girl, I owned a stuffed Paddington Bear, complete with hat and blue duffle coat. He and Curious George went everywhere with me. When the Bishop visited our small town church, my grandpa even arranged for them to meet and be blessed by the Bishop. That adventure reminds me of the many

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adventures of Paddington described in this book.

This book is one of the [1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up]. I found a lovely 50th anniversary edition at my library (great drawings) and quickly found myself laughing at the antics of Paddington. As he states matter-of-factly in the beginning of the book, "Things are always happening to me. I'm that sort of bear."

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When I was a kid, we watched the Paddington tv show, but I'd never read the book. This classic story is sweet and funny and Stephen Fry is an excellent reader. This would be a great car-listening choice for families with young children.

Paddington, a bear from "Darkest Peru" has arrived in London, but he has no where to go, and no one to take care of him. The Brown family takes him in, but they have no idea what they are in for. Paddington is not used to civilized life, and he tends to get himself (and sometimes the rest of the

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family) into trouble. However, the family grows to love Paddington and think, "it's nice having a bear about the house."

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This could have been more entertaining but the writing style and illustrations did not move me. I love teddy bears but I felt to emotional attachment to the bear character and thus I found the story to be simply boring.

Classic children's book. Now I understand why Padington bears are sold in toy stores. Very human bear, quirky characters. I calculate I was 7 years old when it was written and can understand why he slipped under my radar.

Very cute; I can see why I loved these books as a kid. It's quite a rare (modern) kids' book that is essentially plotless, though; you could exchange the second half of this book with any other Paddington installment and no one would be any the wiser. The little bear's adventures are incredibly

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episodic! He has a child's logic, though, which is very engaging, and it's probably one of the rare examples of a proper book series built around the familiarity of "hooks," like a sitcom (Paddington's literal approach and love of marmalade, visits to Mr. Gruber, Mr. Curry's stinginess, etc.) - the sort of thing you often encounter in early children's storybooks, but rarely otherwise. That explains both the appeal, I think, as well as the age range of the readership; there's few books (the Winnie-the-Pooh books, perhaps) that are perfectly pitched at 6-year-olds: no longer the realm of picture books, but not yet the complicated realm of the children's novel. "Paddington" still holds up, even if the age of one-and-sixpence pocket money is now long gone.

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This paperback copy sat in the middle of the 'free' shelf at the local library branch, and so I took it to read to Purlewe. After reading aloud the first chapter to her, I read the rest of it silently - I couldn't put it down, it was like eating some of my favorite comfort food. I remember reading

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Paddington while stretched out on the warm floor under one of my parents' guest room beds.

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Classic discussion assignment

This book is a cute book and such a classic. I loved these books growing up. I feel that there is not much of a strong plot though. The illustrations are cute as well but nothing that is all the special. I think that these books are mostly just a fun short read and they don't relate much to other

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subjects.

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One of my best friends. Principled, curious and proud. Who wouldn't want to hang with a bear called Paddington?

Paddington Bear travels all the way from Peru to find a family to live with in London. In the Paddington Train Station, Paddington meets the Brown family that takes him in to stay with them just for the night. With some crazy events, some humorous endeavors, and some change of heart, Paddington

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finds the family that he is meant to live with for the rest of his life. This is a heart-warming story to read with young children and teach acceptance and love. A great family read.

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Paddington, a bear from Darkest Peru arrives in a British train station completely lost and alone. That is until Mr. and Mrs. Brown find him and take him home. The rest of the story shares the funny, yet troublesome mishaps Paddington gets himself into.

Paddington is found by the Brown family in Paddington Station, London, England. He's emmigrated from Peru. Paddington is new to England and has a way of getting into trouble everywhere he goes, though he doesn't quite mean to. His charming qualities and the loving Brown family help him with his

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"close calls" with trouble.

A charming set of mischievous adventures in which each chapter is a new story. Therefore, I think it would be great for children who struggle with comprehending across chapters but have a higher reading level. I love Paddington and can't wait to get back to London to get my own bear in Paddington Station! (Oh yes, there's a cart selling them as soon as you get off the trains arriving in the station.)

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My review is based on the audio-cd edition of this story. Young Paddington bear finds himself in Britain after emigrating from South America - Darkest Peru!
He soon finds himself being cared for and looked after by the Brown family.

If you enjoy light-hearted family fun and amusement, you'll

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probably love this entertaining story. The fun starts when Paddington bear decides to take a bath! When Mr Brown and Judy discover some drops of water coming through the ceiling, it becomes apparent that Paddington's in some kind of difficulty! Thankfully, with a little help from Judy and Jonathan, it all ends well. You can look forward to more amusement when Paddington goes shopping. When he travels on the underground, he encounters some trouble with an escalator. It's not long before an inspector needs to have a word with him!

I really liked his adventure at the seaside. Unfortunately for Paddington, not all goes to plan. He decides to take part in a sandcastle competition - but it's not long before he's goes missing! The Brown family are frantic with worry, until they notice a huge crowd gathering around the pier. Mr Brown's suspicions are correct. They eventually find Paddington talking to reporters. With some carefully selected words, everyone is fascinated with Paddington's tales! Mr Brown decides to intervene before Paddington gets carried away!

The final chapter finds Paddington enjoying his birthday party! The highlight being when he experiments with his new magic-set! His guests are in for a belly-full of laughs, until one of his tricks goes wrong! Nevertheless, no harms done! Mr Brown can't help but chuckle about the final outcome!

There are four highly entertaining stories to enjoy. I found that the enthusiastic narration by Stephen Fry, really added another dimension to the story telling. I'm looking forward to more stories about Paddington bear!

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Maybe I should try this again some time. But I recall being bored, and a little annoyed. Maybe the toddler I had in the house at the time was enough?

It has been a long time since I read this but I still remember the little bear who loved marmalade. Think it is time to re-read it!

Such fun to make the close acquaintance of Paddington, a bear to whom things happen with somewhat alarming frequency. From the moment the Brown family takes him on, they never know quite what marmalade-enhanced upheaval they will be facing next. It all generally works out well enough in the end.

I listened to this on Hoopla for two reasons: First, it is narrated by Stephen Fry, so you know that part will be great. Second, my daughter is going to school in London now and I have been to Paddington Station on several occasions, so this quick introduction to a character I have heard about but

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never read seemed worthwhile. And it was. Paddington is nothing like his chief bear competition, Winnie the Pooh, nor is the like the Berenstain Bears. Paddington is from Darkest Peru, but his aunt, who is now in a home for retired bears in Lima, has taught him English and recommended he emigrate. There is no word about what happened to Paddington's parents. I suspect either Spanish Conquistadors or the Shining Path had something to do with their disappearance. In any case, Paddington is quickly adopted by the Brown family--a perfect family with a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, and a housekeeper. He is well clothed and fed (especially marmalade) and treated like one of the children. Modern readers may be aghast at how much freedom the Browns give their kids at places like the seaside, where Paddington has one of his adventures, which always seem to turn out okay. There's nothing as quirky or endearing here as Winnie the Pooh and his friends, however. Paddington is a bear, but no one takes too much notice of it, which attests to the diversity of London, even in the 1950s when this was first published. Paddington, the Browns, and Stephen Fry are pleasant companions, so you and your children may enjoy them. There are other volumes that follow, with Fry again providing the narration. Nice for a car trip with small children or if you are hoarse from reading yourself.

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