More Than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear
Contents Author’s Note vii Michael and Paddington’s Map of London xiii 1 Trains Books and Bears 1 2 Mishaps and Mischief 12 3 The World at War 24 4 Unbreakable 38 5 Voyages of Adventure 50 6 A Lonely Bear 61 7 All About Paddington 72 8 Life with Paddington 84 9 Paddington Bear Rescues Mr Bond 97 10 Paddington Lives On 109 Bibliography 120 Index 125
Author’s Note I clearly recall my first introduction to Paddington Bear I was eight years old and my second-grade teacher lent me her only copy of author Michael Bond’s delightful A Bear Called Paddington during silent reading time Immediately I adored the small bumbling bear who tried mightily to fit in with his new family far from home It’s no wonder Bond’s Paddington Bear books have captivated readers for half a century Never wallowing in his rather unfortunate circumstances Paddington has charmed children and adults alike with his amus ing mishaps Even though his first book was published in 1958 Bond’s endearing tales deal with issues we still think about today Like many immigrants looking for a vii
viii Michael Bond and Paddington Bear pose for a picture at the Men zies Hotel Nigel Peter Todd Fairfax Media via Getty Images better life Paddington Bear was seeking a fresh start in a foreign land He arrived in London alone knowing no one but hoping to begin anew The refugees fleeing to safer places were part of Paddington’s story too Even more than his favorite marmalade sandwich AUTHOR’S NOTE
ix Many of the details in the Paddington book series are based on real events The fictional bear’s story emerges from war trauma and remains as relevant today as it was when Bond created him in the 1950s Bond who died at 91 in 2017 was a young teenager in London when World War II broke out Before the fighting began and for months afterward he watched German Jewish children struggle to escape the Nazis Thousands arrived in Eng land leaving their parents behind The British people promised to look after them These children uprooted from their homeland often had nothing but a knapsack full of clothes Like many of them Paddington Bear was an orphan He’d lost both his parents in an earthquake With no family to help Paddington hid on a ship bound for Eng land Arriving in London with only a small suitcase and everything he owned tucked inside the stowaway cub stood alone on Platform 1 in Paddington Station There he waited patiently for a family to adopt him A tag around his neck read Please look after this bear Thank you The tag was a real-life detail Bond remem bered from the war Refugee children and evacuees sent to Britain wore tags displaying their names and ages Though he was just 13 when war broke out Bond had seen news reels about terrible things the Nazis were doing to their own citizens He knew these things were AUTHOR’S NOTE
