A Bear Called Paddington

Summary

A Bear Called Paddington tells, in eight self-contained chapters, how a small bear from Darkest Peru comes to live with an ordinary London family. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are at Paddington station to meet their daughter Judy, home from school for the holidays, when Mr. Brown notices a bear in a battered, wide-brimmed hat sitting on a suitcase marked Wanted on Voyage. Round his neck is a label asking whoever finds him to look after him. The bear explains, with great politeness, that he was brought up by his Aunt Lucy, who taught him English so that he could emigrate when she went to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima, and that he crossed the ocean hidden in a lifeboat, living on a jar of marmalade. The Browns name him after the station. In the station buffet a cream bun and a cup of tea leave him covered in jam and cream, and he arrives at 32 Windsor Gardens by taxi, where the stern but soft-hearted housekeeper Mrs. Bird agrees that he may stay. The later chapters are each a separate adventure in which Paddington's good intentions produce chaos. His first bath ends with water pouring through the ceiling. On his first ride on the Underground he is baffled by tickets and the escalator. A shopping expedition to buy him new clothes ends with Paddington lost in a department store and tangled in a shop-window display. In the Portobello Road he makes his first real friend outside the family, the antique dealer Mr. Gruber, who shares elevenses with him; inspired by talk of painting, Paddington works on Mr. Brown's entry for an art competition, with surprising results. A visit to the theatre goes wrong when he takes the play for real life and calls out from his box, and a day at the seaside brings a sandcastle competition. For his birthday party at the end of the book he puts on a magic show, and the Browns' grumpy, mean-spirited neighbour Mr. Curry makes his first appearance as a reluctant volunteer. In every episode Paddington's sincerity, hard stares and good manners carry him through, and by his birthday he is one of the family, with Judy and her brother Jonathan as his firm allies. William Collins published the book in London on 13 October 1958, with line drawings by Peggy Fortnum, and Bond went on to write many further Paddington books.

Plot or Argument

• Chapter 1: Please Look After This Bear

  The Browns find Paddington at the station, hear his story of Darkest Peru and Aunt Lucy, survive the cream bun in the buffet, and take him home to Mrs. Bird.

• Chapter 2: A Bear in Hot Water

  Paddington's first bath floods the bathroom and the room below; he meets Jonathan.

• Chapter 3: Paddington Goes Underground

  A first trip on the London Underground, with its tickets, crowds and escalators, leaves the station staff exasperated.

• Chapter 4: A Shopping Expedition

  Buying new clothes, Paddington wanders off in a large department store and ends up in the middle of a window display.

• Chapter 5: Paddington and the 'Old Master'

  Paddington meets Mr. Gruber in the Portobello Road and tries his paw at painting, with consequences for Mr. Brown's competition entry.

• Chapter 6: A Visit to the Theatre

  Paddington takes the play for real and interrupts the performance from the family's box.

• Chapter 7: Adventure at the Seaside

  A day by the sea and a sandcastle competition bring more trouble and a happy ending.

• Chapter 8: A Disappearing Trick

  Paddington's birthday magic show, in which the neighbour Mr. Curry is an unwilling part of the act.

Characters

• Paddington, protagonist

  Polite, earnest young bear from Darkest Peru with a hat, a suitcase and a love of marmalade.

• Mr. Henry Brown, head of the family

  Kindly, slightly anxious father who first spots Paddington at the station.

• Mrs. Mary Brown, Paddington's adoptive mother

  Warm-hearted woman who decides at once that the bear must come home with them.

• Judy Brown, daughter

  The Browns' daughter, home from school for the holidays, who takes Paddington's side.

• Jonathan Brown, son

  Judy's younger brother, who delights in Paddington's adventures.

• Mrs. Bird, housekeeper

  Stern-seeming housekeeper who runs the household and secretly dotes on the bear.

• Mr. Gruber, antique dealer

  Gentle Portobello Road shopkeeper who becomes Paddington's friend and adviser.

• Mr. Curry, neighbour

  Bad-tempered, stingy man next door who appears at the birthday magic show.

• Aunt Lucy, Paddington's guardian (offstage)

  The aunt in Peru who raised him and now lives in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima.

Lessons

• Welcoming the stranger

  Paddington arrives alone with a label round his neck and nothing but a suitcase and some marmalade. The Browns could have walked past him; instead Mrs. Brown decides within minutes that he will come home with them. The book makes taking in a stranger seem as natural as meeting a train.

  • Why do you think Mrs. Brown decided so quickly that Paddington should come home with them?
  • What does Mrs. Bird do that shows she cares about Paddington, even when she sounds stern?
  • Who might feel like a stranger in your school or neighbourhood, and how could you help?

• Good manners and good intentions

  Paddington always raises his hat, says please and thank you, and means well, yet he causes floods, crowds and ruined plans. Bond shows that politeness and kindness win him friends even when his efforts go wrong, and that saying sorry and trying again matter more than never making a mess.

  • In the bath chapter, was Paddington being naughty or just not knowing what to do?
  • Which of Paddington's mistakes made you laugh the most, and why?
  • How do people react when Paddington is polite to them, even after something has gone wrong?

• Seeing ordinary things new

  Because Paddington has never seen a bath, an escalator or a theatre, he looks at London as if it were a strange country. Much of the comedy comes from his taking things literally, as when he thinks the actors on stage are really in danger. Reading through his eyes makes everyday life feel surprising.

  • What everyday thing in London seemed strangest to Paddington?
  • Why did Paddington shout at the actors in the theatre?
  • If a visitor from far away came to your town, what might puzzle them?

Context

The book is set in the London of the 1950s, with steam-age railway stations, the Underground, department stores and the street market of the Portobello Road. Paddington's luggage label recalls the labels pinned to children evacuated from London during the Second World War, which Bond remembered from newsreels.

Composition

Bond bought a small toy bear left alone on a shop shelf in London on Christmas Eve 1956 as a present for his wife, named it after Paddington station near their home, and began writing stories about it. He first meant the bear to come from Darkest Africa, but changed it to Peru when told there were no bears in Africa. William Collins published A Bear Called Paddington on 13 October 1958 with drawings by Peggy Fortnum.

Reception

The book began a long series that includes More About Paddington (1959) and many later titles, and Paddington became one of the best-known characters in British children's literature. The stories were adapted for television, beginning with a stop-motion series narrated by Michael Hordern in 1975, and for the films Paddington (2014), Paddington 2 (2017) and Paddington in Peru (2024).

Comparisons

• winnie-the-pooh

  Both are English books about a well-meaning bear whose literal-minded logic leads to comic disasters, but Pooh lives in an enclosed wood while Paddington is let loose in the real streets of London.

• stuart-little

  Both place a small animal inside an ordinary human family in a great city, New York or London, and draw comedy from his size and his dignity.

• the-borrowers

  Both English books of the early 1950s see a familiar house from the point of view of a small outsider, so that baths, rooms and household objects become an adventure.

• mr-poppers-penguins

  In both, an animal from a far country moves into a modest family home, and the household's patience with the resulting chaos is the heart of the humour.

• little-lord-fauntleroy

  Paddington and Cedric Errol both arrive in a strange English world as small newcomers and win over doubtful adults, Mrs. Bird and Mr. Curry or the old Earl, by their courtesy and trust.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• The label round Paddington's neck and the suitcase marked Wanted on Voyage in Chapter 1, and what they tell you about how he travelled.
• Each time Paddington raises his hat or says thank you, even in the middle of a disaster.
• Mrs. Bird, who sounds strict but keeps finding ways to look after Paddington.
• How Paddington misunderstands something new in every chapter: a bath, an escalator, a play.
• Mr. Gruber's shop in the Portobello Road, and how he treats Paddington as a grown-up friend.

Key terms and names

Darkest Peru

The far-off land where Paddington grew up with Aunt Lucy. He says it proudly when the Browns ask where he comes from.

Paddington station

A large railway station in London where the Browns find the bear. They name him after it because his Peruvian name is too hard for them to say.

Marmalade

A jam made from oranges, Paddington's favourite food. He lived on a jar of it in the lifeboat on his way to England.

Home for Retired Bears

The home in Lima, Peru, where Aunt Lucy went to live, which is why Paddington set out on his own.

Portobello Road

A London street famous for its market stalls and antique shops, where Paddington meets Mr. Gruber.

Housekeeper

A person who runs the cooking and cleaning of a home. Mrs. Bird is the Browns' housekeeper and the one Paddington most wants to please.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension Where do the Browns find Paddington, and why were they at that place?
2. Comprehension How did Paddington get all the way from Peru to England, and what did he eat on the way?
3. Comprehension Who is Mr. Gruber, and what do he and Paddington like to do together?
4. Interpretation Paddington makes a big mess in the bath. Why is the family not angry with him for long?
5. Interpretation Why do you think Aunt Lucy taught Paddington English and good manners before sending him away?
6. Interpretation Mr. Curry is grumpy and mean. How is he different from the Browns and Mrs. Bird, and why might the story need someone like him?
7. Big Question The Browns took in a bear they had never met. What does it mean to make someone part of your family?

Faith Connections

• Matthew 25:35 (Scripture)

  Jesus says, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. The Browns welcome a lost stranger at a railway station without asking what they will get in return.

• Hebrews 13:2 (Scripture)

  The letter to the Hebrews tells Christians not to forget to show hospitality to strangers. Mrs. Brown's quick decision and Mrs. Bird's care for the bear are a picture of that kind of welcome.

• Leviticus 19:34 (Scripture)

  God told Israel to love the stranger who lives among them as one of their own. Paddington, from a far country, is treated as one of the Brown children rather than as a guest.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: A newcomer who knows nothing of London will make mistakes in every ordinary situation. But if he is honest, polite and willing to try, and if the people around him are patient and kind, the mistakes become comedy rather than disaster. Therefore the Browns' welcome and Paddington's good manners together make a stranger into a member of the family.

Rhetorical device: running gag (comic repetition). In each chapter Paddington meets something new, from the bath in Chapter 2 to the magic set in Chapter 8, misunderstands it, causes chaos and comes out well; readers learn to expect the pattern and enjoy watching it unfold.

Debate: Resolved: Paddington causes more good than trouble for the Brown family.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Choose two of Paddington's adventures, such as the bath and the theatre, and explain how his misunderstanding causes the trouble and how his good manners help to fix it.

Comparison with Winnie-the-Pooh: Compare Paddington and Winnie-the-Pooh as two famous bears who mean well and get into scrapes. Which bear thinks more carefully, and which has better friends to help him?

Creative Prompts

• Fiction

  Write a new chapter in which Paddington tries something ordinary for the first time, such as a school lunch line or a library, and gets it gloriously wrong while meaning well.

• Classroom

  Make a luggage label for Paddington's suitcase and a second label for yourself: what would you want a stranger to know about you if you arrived alone in a new country?

• Dialogue

  Write a letter from Paddington to Aunt Lucy in Lima telling her about his first week with the Browns, in his own polite voice.

• Adaptation

  Act out the station buffet scene from Chapter 1, with the cream bun, the tea and Judy's arrival, using only a table, a cup and a hat.

Further Reading

• More About Paddington, Michael Bond

  The second Paddington book (1959).

• Paddington Helps Out, Michael Bond

• Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne