A Bear Called Paddington

Michael Bond's A Bear Called Paddington is a warm, funny story for 7 year olds about a small bear found sitting on his suitcase at a busy London station.

What happens

Mr and Mrs Brown spot him in a dark corner near the Lost Property Office. He's wearing a battered old hat and there's a label round his neck asking someone to look after him. He's come all the way from Darkest Peru, hiding in a lifeboat and living on marmalade.

How could anyone walk away from that? Mrs Brown certainly can't. So he's named after the station and taken home to Windsor Gardens.

Then the trouble starts. Within the hour he's covered in cream and jam from one very sticky bun (and has stepped in Mr Brown's tea). By bedtime he's flooded the bathroom drawing a map of South America in shaving cream.

The next few chapters each make a little adventure of their own. A trip on the Underground ends with Paddington stopping the escalator with his suitcase. A shopping trip leaves a snooty assistant mopping his brow after one of Paddington's very hard stares.

What makes it such a treat is that Paddington always means well. He's terribly polite and raises his hat to everyone, and things just keep going wrong around him. You'll probably find yourself laughing at the grown-ups as much as the bear. Mr Brown staring out of the café window, pretending he has tea with a bear every day, is a lovely moment.

It's a super one for reading aloud, with lots of voices to try. The grumpy taxi driver who says sticky bears cost twice as much is a gift.

It's worth knowing that this is a very old-fashioned London. Mr Brown smokes a pipe, the family has a housekeeper called Mrs Bird and the shop assistant calls Mrs Brown "Modom". None of it gets in the way of the jokes, but your reader might have a few questions.

If you've got a reader who loves a character causing chaos without ever meaning to, they'll probably adore him.

What to read next

If they want more of the Browns, More About Paddington is in the library too. Paddington buys a very old camera at the market to take a family photograph, and it goes about as well as you'd expect.