From arriving in London and winning the hearts of the Brown family, to sharing elevenses with Mr Gruber and lending a paw around the neighbourhood, he always tries to do his very best for others… even if there are a few well-intentioned mishaps along the way! Now you can learn how to be more like the much-loved bear from Darkest Peru in this uplifting collection of inspiring – often hilarious – quotes from the enduringly popular books by Michael Bond, with beautiful illustrations by the original Paddington illustrator, Peggy Fortnum.

Because of that, Michael Bond's description of Paddington as a 'built-in resident guru' is a very apt one.During World War II Michael Bond served in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army. 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. For the last 37 years of his life Michael Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where it all began. I recognised images that clearly accompanied stories from my son's own collection - I do understand why publishers felt the need to modernise.

Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.He served in the Royal Air Force and the British Army before working as a cameraman for BBC TV for 19 years. I have gathered up postcard images of some of my favourite Fortnum illustrations but it is wonderful to finally have them in one place. He takes delight in the small things, he is always grateful, he gives everything his best shot, he is unfailingly polite.

We bought it for a couple of friends for Christmas and I had a flick through to check the content was good enough!You can even imagine him getting in a muddle with the hand sanitiser and the face masks of the pandemic.