fiction favorites…A Bear Called Paddington

A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond, with drawings by Peggy Fortnum

Paddington removed his hat and laid it carefully on the table while Mr. Brown poured out the tea.  He looked hungrily at the cakes, in particular at a large cream-and-jam one which Mr. Brown placed on a plate in front of him…
It was a very large bun, the biggest and stickiest Mr. Brown had been able to find, and in a matter of moments most of the inside found its way on to Paddington’s whiskers.  People started to nudge each other and begin staring in their direction.  Mr. Brown wished he had chosen a plain, ordinary bun, but he wasn’t very experienced in the ways of bears.  He stirred his tea and looked out of the window, pretending he had tea with a bear on Paddington station every day of his life…
[Paddington] looked up to see that Mrs. Brown had been joined by a little girl…He jumped up, meaning to raise his hat, and in his haste slipped on a patch of strawberry jam which somehow or other had found its way on to the glass table-top.  For a brief moment he had a dizzy impression of everything and everyone being upside down.  He waved his paws wildly in the air and then, before anyone could catch him, he somersaulted backwards and landed with a splash in his saucer of tea.  He jumped up even quicker than he had sat down, because the tea was still very hot, and promptly stepped into Mr. Brown’s cup…
Paddintgon… stood for a moment with one foot on the table and the other in Mr. Brown’s tea.  There were large patches of white cream all over his face, and on his left ear there was a lump of strawberry jam…
“You wouldn’t think,” said Mrs. Brown, “that anyone could get in such a state with just one bun.”

With his penchant for creating disasters and great fondness for marmalade, Paddington Bear careens onto the scene from page 1, endearing himself to us as effortlessly as he splodgers himself in jam-and-cream.  He is a whirling dervish in a lumpy, oversized hat; a darling furry mischief-maker with a smear of butter in his whiskers, a very polite fellow with a battered, brown suitcase.

In chapter after chapter, Paddington innocently wreaks havoc and tickles our funny bones.  From his first Very Watery bath, to an uproarious shopping expedition in London, to his very own slightly-out-of-control magic show, Paddington relentlessly entertains us with his bungling mishaps.

First appearing in 1958, this dear bear, mysterious immigrant from Darkest Peru, has become a classic figure in children’s literature.  A Bear Called Paddington is a read-aloud treasure.  Gather the kids, from 5 on up, and enjoy laughing together over this utterly charming bear.  Not to be missed.