- Title: Paddington Marches On
- Author: Michael Bond, with drawings by Peggy Fortnum
- Year Published: 1964 (Houghton Mifflin)
- Year Purchased: 1978
- Source: According to the inscription in my mother’s hand, this entered my collection on Christmas Day (courtesy of Mommy + Daddy).
- About: I’m sure you know all about Paddington Bear. If you don’t, I have no idea what is wrong with you. He is one of the most visible children’s fictional characters of the last 50+ years. I loved his fetching coat and hat ensemble, and related to his greedy love of marmalade sandwiches. My favourite part from this book was always Paddington and the Cold Snap. I read it so many times that I knew it by heart. (If pressed, I could probably recite a line or two even now.) I still think he’s a pretty charming fellow. I hope my hypothetical future kids do, too.
- Motivation: Judging by the surviving books from my early childhood, I really loved bears. Or my family thought I did, which as a tiny tot amounted to the same thing. I still own volumes of Little Bear, Pooh Bear, and, of course, Paddington Bear.
- Times Read: Likely hundreds of times in the first year alone. This was one of the first ‘real’ (i.e. chapter) books I was given, and I couldn’t get enough of the fact that it contains far more text than illustrations.
- Random Excerpt/Page 9: “All the same, Paddington wasn’t the sort of bear to waste a good opportunity and a moment or so later he closed the door behind him and made his way down the side of the house as quickly as he could in order to investigate the matter. Apart from the prospect of playing snowballs he was particularly anxious to test his new Wellingtons which had been standing in his bedroom waiting for just such a moment ever since Mrs. Brown had given them to him at Christmas.”
- Happiness Scale: 9
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.
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A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
I love this choice! And I agree that Paddington did indeed have the best hat and coat ensemble.
I think some of the first chapter books I read were young readers’ editions of Black Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. These had lots of black & white illustrations, and 18-point font. But what a thrill to read a chapter book! I’d forgotten about those books… Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
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He was quite the stylish bear!
I had an edition of Black Beauty, as well. Yours sound truly beautiful, though. This Paddington book made me feel quite important. It has 12-point font, full chapters, and very few illustrations. I was one immensely happy five-year-old!
I’m glad that I could bring back a childhood reading memory or two. 🙂
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I’ve got an original bear, with the Wellies and all.
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Lucky! Paddington would not be Paddington without his Wellies.
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He’s grubby, my bear, now looks more like a Ralph Steadman sketch than the bright red and blue bear on those freshly printed book covers. But that sort of suits me.
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Be warned: I’m about to sound like A.A. Milne for a bit. Toys in perfect condition are sad things. A pristine Paddington would mean that he was never loved. What is the point of a toy if not to be played with and made grubby?
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Funnily enough, I loved him less when I was a child than I do now. It’s now that I speak to him. Stuff along the lines of, “you grubby old bear, have you no self respect. Don’t worry, I’ll pour your a drink and light you a cigarette.”
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Ha, I can picture that. Paddington is probably all the happier for it, too. Especially is you offer him a whisky.
I’ve had a stuffed musical bear since I was a few months old. He’s no Paddington (or Pooh) but I love him all the same (and it well shows). His musical mechanism was installed incorrectly, so his wind-up song plays backwards.
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If there’s anything I regret, it’s giving up my children’s books. There’s nothing more comforting than picking up an old favorite.
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It is a magical feeling to be able to pick up some of the same books that made you a reader (and writer) in the first place. I only have a fraction of my childhood books, but I love them all. I’m much more careful of their well-being these days than when I was a careless kid.
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