For the bear’s 50th anniversary, Bond attempted a contemporary book, Paddington Here and Now, in which the bear was arrested (he is, after all, an illegal immigrant) when his trolley was clamped, and then doorstepped by the tabloids. His most recent Paddington story, Paddington’s Finest Hour, was published in April. Paddington Takes the Biscuit" – Paddington and the Browns celebrate Halloween. Mr Gruber is unimpressed. The last Paddington TV shows were financed by the American Home Box Office channel in the 1980s: in Paddington Bear Goes to the Movies, the bear ploshed through Singin’ in the Rain with the amused permission of Gene Kelly himself. A Visit to the Cinema" – The Browns go to see a cowboy film. When the special attraction is cancelled, Paddington comes to the rescue.

Paddington Cleans Up" – Paddington encounters a vacuum cleaner salesman, whose offer proves too good to be true. Volodymyr Zelensky: Ukraine's president was the voice of Paddington". The Independent. 28 February 2022 . Retrieved 5 October 2022. The bear inspired Bond to write a story and in ten days, he had written the first book. He named the bear Paddington as he lived near the station at the time and thought it would be a good name for the character. [10] Bond's daughter Karen states, "Had he lived in another part of the country or not travelled by train, he might never have come up with the idea for a bear being found on Paddington station." [10] The book was given to his agent, Harvey Unna. A Bear Called Paddington was first published on 13 October 1958 by William Collins & Sons. [11] [12] Paddington Bear [ edit ] Paddington Bear merchandise, including the stuffed toy, on sale at Paddington station Paddington's Blue Peter Story Book (sometimes titled as Paddington Takes to TV). London: Collins. ISBN 0-563-12356-7Getting the right voice for Paddington wasn’t easy (a problem that resurfaced nearly 40 years later when Colin Firth, who was initially engaged to voice Paddington in the feature film, was replaced at short notice by the younger Whishaw). “A lot of very well-known people came and did their bear voices and it wasn’t totally right – you have a picture in your mind of what it’s like but it doesn’t exist really. Michael Horden came in and said ‘I don’t do voices but I’ll read the script’. So he read the script and he did what turned out to be the Paddington voice. As I wrote the scripts I could hear his voice saying the dialogue.” The first Paddington Bear stuffed toy to be manufactured was created in 1972 by Gabrielle Designs, a small family business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson, with the prototype made as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy Clarkson, a now well-known British TV presenter, writer and farmer. [13] Michael Bond had awarded the Clarksons the licensing of the toy rights throughout the world. [14] A Birthday Treat" – The Browns visit the seaside resort of Brightsea to celebrate Paddington's birthday. Whilst there, Paddington takes an interest in a new leisure activity.

Nicholas Lezard (19 January 2005). "Classic of the month: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 15 October 2008. This was the start of Bond's series of books recounting the tales of Paddington Bear, a bear from "darkest Peru," whose Aunt Lucy sends him to England, carrying a jar of marmalade. In the first book the Brown family find the bear at Paddington Station, and adopt him, naming the bear after the station. [7] By 1965 Bond was able to give up his BBC job to work full time as a writer. [9] a b Smith, Angela. "Paddington Bear: A Case Study of Immigration and Otherness." Children's Literature in Education 37, no. 1 (2006): 35-50. doi:10.1007/s10583-005-9453-3. Cover Stories: Paddington's birthday; Rebecca Miller; Jewish Book Week". The Independent. 18 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022 . Retrieved 3 July 2019. All About Paddington". Paddington.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015 . Retrieved 13 January 2015.Shouldn't we read Paddington aloud again to our current politicians, who seem to have forgotten that empathy is the start of a good life, and that giving is the road to receiving joy? Bond began writing in 1945, when he was stationed with the Army in Cairo, and sold his first short story to the magazine London Opinion. He was paid seven guineas and thought that he "wouldn't mind being a writer". [2] After he'd produced several plays and short stories, and had become a BBC television cameraman (he worked on Blue Peter for a time), his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published by Collins in 1958. Barbara Ker Wilson had read his draft at one sitting and she then phoned Bond at the number given. She was put through to Lime Grove Studios. Bond had to tell her that he wasn't supposed to take calls at work. [8] A Picnic on the River" – Paddington gets more than he bargained for when the Browns hire a boat for a day on the river. You made me love you. I didn't want to do it. No. I didn't want to do it. You made me love you, and all the time you knew it. I'm fairly sure you knew it. You made me happy, sometimes you made me glad. But there were times, sir, you made me feel so mad. Bradshaw, Peter (27 November 2014). " Paddington review – charming and cheeky". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 April 2023.