A Bear Called Paddington

Where it came from

On Christmas Eve 1956 Michael Bond spotted a small bear glove-puppet sitting alone on a shelf in Selfridges. He felt so sorry for it that he bought it and took it home as a present for his wife. He called the bear Paddington because he’d always wanted to use the name. Soon after he began writing stories about a bear called Paddington.

Where it went next

Paddington Bear  became a much-loved character across the world. Michael Bond went on to write over twenty more Paddington stories. In 2000 a bronze sculpture was placed in Paddington Station, marking the spot where the bear was found by the Browns.

There have been three hugely successful Warner Bros. films featuring Paddington Bear, Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) and Paddington in Peru (2024).

Associated stories

Michael Bond went on to write many other children’s books. Two other charming children’s series are Olga da Polga, which features a guinea pig who likes telling tall tales, and A Mouse Called Thursday about a family of mice who live in an organ loft cupboard.