Paddington Treasury

Parents will want to use this as read-aloud material: it provides a thick treasury of Paddington Bear stories, accompanied by Peggy Fortnum's line drawings watercolored by her step-granddaughter. Paddington Bear is always in trouble, and this provides an excellent, whimsical set of adventures for newcomers and prior Paddington fans in a fine keepsake edition.

Children's Literature

The little bear from Darkest Peru is back in full glory with its original illustrations hand-colored in watercolors by Fortnum's step granddaughter, Caroline Nuttall-Smith. Bond has compiled all his Paddington stories with an added Introduction in which he explains the evolution of the original story idea which resulted in the publication of "A Bear Called Paddington" in 1958 (although Bond himself, perhaps having told the tale so many times, calls it 1965). At any rate, the edition is a handsome one, with lovely thick paper, and type big enough for reading to, or being read by a new generation of youngsters. It should surely cause a surge in the marmalade market.

Michael Bond purchased the original Paddington bear as a Christmas gift for his wife in 1956. A Bear Called Paddington was published two years later. At the time one reviewer said, "It should be compulsory reading for any child from six to sixty. Paddington is the funniest character in children's books for many years." Mr. Bond now lives in London.