Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Paddington and Michael Bond

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  On Christmas Eve in 1956, Thomas Michael Bond, a camera operator for the BBC, was on his way home from work when he spotted a stuffed bear in the window of Selfridge's department store. He thought the bear looked rather forlorn, so he bought him and took him home as a Christmas present for his wife, Brenda.


Ten days later, he'd completed a novel detailing the bear's adventures, which he sold to William Collins and Sons for 75 pounds. Bond lived in the Maida Vale area of London, near Paddington Station, so he called the small brown bear "Paddington." The original Paddington arrived in London from darkest Peru with a small leather suitcase, a tag reading, "Please look after this bear. Thank you," and wearing only a "dirty-colored" hat. It was Mr. and Mrs. Brown, of 32 Windsor Gardens, Notting Hill, who first bought Paddington his distinctive blue duffel coat.

Paddington, the disaster-prone, lovable bear with the predilection for marmalade sandwiches, did not become a hit in the U.S. until the 70s, when the animated series based on the character began appearing on PBS.

Having been brought up on Winnie the Pooh (I still have my 1950s first editions!) you can imagine that Paddington holds a special place in my heart. My daughter grew up on Paddington stories, and for many years, the first thing I did when arriving in London through Paddington Station was visit the Paddington Bear kiosk in the main floor of the terminus. But the Paddington kiosk has now been moved upstairs and is a proper shop--good for merchandising but less welcoming for visitors arriving at Paddington!



Paddington has had many changes of costume over the years, depending on the illustrator and the company making the stuffed toys. Nowadays, Paddington is usually portrayed wearing a red hat, a blue duffel coat, and red Wellington boots. My daughter's Paddington had a yellow rain hat. Mine, bought quite a few years ago (an anniversary--although I'm not now sure now which one--special) has Paddington in his original "dirty-colored" hat. My Paddington has place of honor on the chaise in my office, which I'm sure he quite appreciates. And, so far, anyway, he's managed to stay out of trouble!



I adore the 2014 movie, PADDINGTON, with himself voiced by the marvelous British actor, Ben Wishaw, and starring Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Brown. If you are a Paddington fan and have not seen it, watch it now. If you don't know or care anything about Paddington, watch it anyway, and I promise you will be smitten.

Sadly, Michael Bond died on June 27th. He was 91, so had a good long life, and left a legacy that will live beyond him. Still... such a loss.


Reading this quote, however, made me regret his passing even more. Born in 1926, Michael Bond was much affected by the plight of evacuated children during WWII. In an interview with the Guardian in 2014, he said, “They all had a label round their neck with their name and address on and a little case or package containing all their treasured possessions. So Paddington, in a sense, was a refugee, and I do think that there’s no sadder sight than refugees.”


Here's Paddington, in Paddington Station, immortalized in bronze by artist Marcus Cornish, and I will have to pay special respects when I'm there in September.

REDS and readers, what childhood literary character holds a special place for you?

 


56 comments:

  1. Paddington is such a treasure . . . we read our children his stories, too. Sylvester the donkey [“Sylvester and the Magic Pebble”] and the Velveteen Rabbit were the undisputed favoritew in our house, closely followed by the grouchy ladybug . . . .

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  2. What fun! I have never actually read the Paddington stories--I only really know them from hearing you talk about them, but clearly Paddington ranks up there with Pooh on the list of Outstanding Childhood Bears. I did read the Winnie the Pooh books, and was particularly fond of Eeyore, but maybe my favorite fantasy character as a kid was a strange, wild beastie from Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydian named Gurgi. I liked him from the start because his name was not so different from mine, plus Gurgi was a comic relief character, so he made me laugh. Gurgi was always hungry, and to this day, if you hear me say that my "head is full of air from my empty belly," or that I'm so hungry I'm "fainting and falling into the bushes," I'm quoting Gurgi.

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  3. Thanks for telling us about Mr. Bond, Debs. My sons had a Paddington Bear with the yellow hat. They liked to figure out how to take his jacket off and then just leave him in his birthday suit. Sigh. But I don't think we ever read the book. I'd like to now! Laura Ingalls Wilder had a big impact on my life as a child. I read her books at least three times through and felt like I knew her family as well as my own.

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  4. Debs, this is the sweetest essay and I love the quote! I have not read Paddington--going to share bear and books with my granddaughter. I adored Winnie the Pooh--still do. And The Wind in the Willows. I wonder if there are animals made from those stories? Should be!

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    1. There are definitely stuffed animals from Winnie the Pooh--both the original E. H. Shepard version and the later Disney characters--and there are probably ones from Wind in the Willows as well. I'd start looking at Barnes and Noble. Good luck!

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    2. Lucy/Roberta ~~ Any classic that has been 'Disneyfied' also has character animals. Both Pooh and Toad belong to Walt. You can find the animals online esp on ebay.

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    3. But wait! Disney may have a trademark on them now, but the original Pooh and friends live in the NYC Public Library in a glass case. As I recall, back during the Clinton/Blair years there was a Labour MP who wanted them rescued and brought back to England--I believe she even compared them to the Elgin Marbles, which could have been a tactical error. In any case, I've always loved A.A. Milne, who also wrote one of my favorite mystery novels.

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  5. I think Edith and I must be twins from a parallel universe. Or something. I was trying to think who or what my favorite character was and although I truly loved Pooh, for me it was Laura Ingalls Wilder!

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  6. Oh gosh... raising a glass to Michael Bond and Paddington. I have one of Sendak's "wild things" sitting in my office... it was a favorite story to read to my kids. And growing up I loved Stuart Little, that decorous little rat. And E. B. White's other masterful character, Wilbur the pig. And I would have loved to have had an Eloise doll. Instead I got Poor Pitiful Pearl. Anyone else remember her?

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    1. I am a tad older than you, but I do remember Poor Pitiful Pearl. I think she was misunderstood.

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    2. Hallie, I loved Wilbur, too. Charlotte's Web was my generation. Sendak was Kayti's, and I think I still have her books. (I have my Charlotte's Web, too.) Our favorite Sendak was In the Night Kitchen. Wonderful and, of course, a little weird.

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    3. I'm pretty sure I also had a Poor Pitiful Pearl. What were our parents thinking?

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    4. Me too, crazy crazy crazy for Stuart Little and Wilbur!

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  7. I have a Paddington Bear only he is actually a Darlington Bear, made for me by my English sister for Christmas, many many years ago, Pauline Darlington. I lost her three years ago. Usually I bring Darlington out only at Christmas, not being much on stuffed animals on my bed, but this makes me think he should get permanent residence somewhere that I can see him daily. Like on my bed.

    Favorite childhood character? That would be Alice. I have read the book so many times, and don't even start with me on Lewis Carroll's proclivities. I can't deal. Alice and her adventures are part and parcel of my childhood.

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  8. Poor pitiful Pearl! I didn't have one, but my mom called me that all the time when I whined.

    I never read Paddington, which seems so odd! But What a wonderful story. Of course, yes, Pooh, and Tigger and Roo. And Eeyore and Piglet.

    But I was quite devoted to the kids in the Edward Eager books-- my goodness, what were their names? Edward and… Elizabeth? Mark?
    Now I have to look it up.

    Does Nancy Drew count? And Trixie Belden? Donna Parker? And Cherry Ames?

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    1. My mother would call me Poor Pitiful Pearl, too! I had no idea what she was talking about. Also, that wasn't whining, it was righteous indignation. Am I right, Hank?

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    2. Yes! Poor Pitiful Pearl. I had no idea where that came from.

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    3. I have never heard of Poor Pitiful Pearl! She sounds awful!

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    4. Gigi! Absolutely right!

      And yes, Ingrid, I will have to look her up!

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  9. Katherine, Mark, Jane and Martha. Sigh. Hardly even close.

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  10. Edith the Lonely Doll books and doll. I had the doll restrung and cleaned up.

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  11. No one has seen the Paddington film??? Oh my gosh, it is adorable. Only the bear is animated, the human cast is wonderful, and by the end you can't believe the bear isn't real.

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    1. Looks like there's a Paddington 2 due out sometime this year, with Peter Capaldi!

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    2. I saw the movie because my son bought it for me as a Christmas present. I love it. We walked to Paddington Station this year to get the train to Windsor on our trip. I wish we had enough time to really explore the place, but I have seen the statue. I loved Jo from Little Women. I would read and reread that book and cry every time. I read Wind in the Willows and The Peter Rabbit stories to my sons. Also Winnie the Pooh. They were indoctrinated with my Anglophilism. (Not sure if that is a word😉.

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  12. I wasn't familiar with the Paddington books till my sister gave our boys a stuffed toy. It became known at our house as "Pad Bear," which suggests that #2 son, at least, was quite young at the time.

    My own early favorites were characters from the Narnia stories, including Reepicheep, Trumpkin, and Puddleglum, and Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown and his bodyguard Sally--I used to really look forward to getting the Scholastic Book Services flyer at school and getting my parents to buy me books from it, including Make Way for Ducklings and Emil and the Detectives.

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    1. I loved the Narnia books, too, but didn't read them until I was in my teens. I think I might actually have read Lewis's adult sci-fi books first.

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  13. What a lovely piece, Debs. I've always had a soft spot for Paddington and visited the Store at the station a few days ago. I enjoyed children's books that were innocent and live able. So many today are full of sassy kids!
    Rhyd

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  14. My mother was British so I was a big Paddington fan. Also Winnie the Pooh and Pippi Longstocking. And yes, Hank. Trixie Belden definitely counts!

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  15. I first heard of Paddington in law school. My roommate had a Christmas tree ornament of him. I'd never heard of most of those until I was grown up. Feeling deprived. I had a book when I was about six years ago about a little blind boy who grew strawberries and one day a princess came by and he gave her the biggest, most perfect strawberry. She ate it and then she kissed him and then he could see. I don't recall the title but it stuck with me all these years.

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  16. It will always be Reepicheep from the Narnia books. He was so honorable and true.

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  17. I've just ordered myself the first Paddington novel, A Bear Called Paddington, and a Paddington board book for Wren. When she's a little bit older I will bring her her very own Paddington straight from Paddington Station.

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  18. Oh, I love Paddington. And I love the original Pooh illustrations so much that they were the decor in both kids' bedrooms as infants. My girl still has a fondness for Pooh.

    For myself? Oh gosh. The Pevensie children from Narnia?

    Mary/Liz

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  19. My mom read some of the Paddington books aloud to the family when I was a kid. I loved them, and I can remember all of us laughing at some of his antics. I really should track down some of those books and reread them.

    And yes, I still need to see that Paddington movie, too. So many movies I've missed in the last few years.

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  20. So glad I stopped by today! I had a Paddington bear when I was little. I still have my Paddington Bear. I remember the Paddington Bear and Winnie the Pooh bears. I remember when Princess Diana bought a Paddington Bear for Prince William when he was a baby. I remember the sad news that Michael Bond passed away. He had a long life.

    Thank you for the beautiful words about Paddington Bear and Michael Bond.

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  21. My favorite storybook characters were the older of the Bobbsey Twins, Nan and Ned, and Heidi. There was something so tragic about her, wasn't there? And she had a cute outfit.

    Although we only read Paddington a couple of times when the kids were small, I did make a Paddington Bear for someone. It had a blue coat and a yellow hat, and was adorable. I also made all the Winnie the Pooh animals except Eeyore, for some reason. Probably because I couldn't find the right fabric, or possibly because I ran out of gas on the project. It was 1971, and we still have Winnie, believe it or not.

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    1. Oh Karen, I wonder if it is an Ohio think? Heidi was my absolute favorite, too. And I read all the Bobbsey Twin books, though I don't remember that much about them now. I also loved the Marsh girls in Little Women, which I read approximately a thousand times over the years. I also loved Charlotte's Web, but many of the other good titles named here I didn't discover until I was older.

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    2. Nan and Ned, Freddie and Flossie. Can't remember anything about the books tho

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  22. Favorites are so hard to choose, I think maybe Tip from the Oz books who was horrified to discover he was a girl in real life (boy did I identify). Next came Stuart Little, who was not a rat! noo was a mouse! I wanted so much to be in New York City and didn't know about Eloise.. or I would still be green from envy. And finally Alec Ramsay who bonded with The Black Stallion.

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    1. Coralee, I wanted to BE Alec Ramsay. I read every single one of the Walter Farley books, over and over.

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  23. Thanks for this post!
    We just had the pleasure of a week's visit from our 5-year-old grandson. I dug out all the old "cuddly friends" from the attic, including two different Paddingtons. One was home-made for our oldest son, so looked a bit different from the commercially purchased one. One morning I introduced our grandson to the lovely concept of "Elevenses" and took his photo with Paddington.
    Here is a big thanks to Michael Bond! His dear story lives on . . . .

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  24. Corduroy was my favorite. He was cute but overlooked, had adventures in the department store at night, and finally, went home with a little girl who loved him. Frog and Toad were also high on the list. I loved how they took care of one another, but gave each other space, and they had wonderful adventures, too. I still get a kick out of those books!

    I realize this isn't a character from a book, but I loved Snuffleupagus from "Sesame Street." My first stuffed animal was an elephant, and I named him that since an elephant was the closet thing I could find to Snuffleupagus in the animal kingdom!

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  25. What a lovely tribute to Paddington your piece is, Debs. Like Hank, I find it odd that the Paddington stories weren't at least a part of what I read to my children when they were growing up. Of course, there was that sweet bear Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends that charmed me so. I did see the Paddington Bear movie, as did the grandgirls, and we loved it.

    In thinking of all the wonderful bears in the stories of my childhood and my children's, I remember the first bear in a story that I ever knew. Randolph, the Bear Who Said No by Faith Nelson was first published in 1946. I didn't come along until 1954, and I'll have to check what edition I have, as I still have it, and it is very old. Randolph would only say no to his mother when she asked something. He decided to run away, and a fairy put a spell on him that prevented him from saying anything but no. So, when people asked if he needed something, all he could say was no. Finally, he had learned his lesson and the fairy lifted the spell. He was able to get back home to his loving mother, and was happy to be there again. I'm curious if anybody else here is familiar with this book.

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  26. Our friends had a chow mix named Paddington. I was a Dr Seuss fan when young, and Curious George. Still love Curious George, probably because he got into so much trouble and reminded me of our son in his youth.

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  27. I never read Paddington Bear stories when I was growing up. Offhand, I remember The Berenstain Bears, Curious George, Clifford The Big Red Dog and Babar for actual books as a young kid. I loved Winnie the Pooh, but that was from the cartoons, not any books.

    I also loved this movie called Dot and the Kangaroo, thought I'm not sure if anyone else would remember that one or another one called The Water Babies. And of course, there was Watership Down.

    A lot of my reading was more centered on juvenile mysteries like Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators and The Hardy Boys.

    Like Jim Collins said in an earlier post, I was a devoted fan to the Scholastic flyer they gave out in school, so I was able to get a book or two here and there out of that.

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    1. I loved Curious George and Babar and George and Martha! Loved that pair, and those books are where I learned not to lie if you don't like your friends pea soup!

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    2. Ingrid, I didn't have that problem. I have never liked pea soup and had no problem saying so.

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  28. The Little Prince,of course and the Velveteen Rabbit! I loved Paddington Bear and have an early boxed set, but I think I read them as a teen. Oddly enough, I don't know where my Paddington is, but I've just missed him. He may be in Maine. I hope he's not still stuck in a box in the attic waiting to be unpacked here in Florida! Of course, that won't hold a candle to his adventures coming from Peru.

    Wonderful tribute, Debs.

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  30. The whole Babar thing was kind of weird though, right?

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  31. Sorry to be a day late, but I really appreciated this special reflection on Paddington. I hadn't made the refugee connection.

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