Paddington Races Ahead

Michael Bond's Paddington Races Ahead is a gently chaotic, funny read for 7 year olds that begins with Mr Curry dropping a birthday wish list over the garden fence.

What happens

Paddington is out checking the seeds he planted in his patch (a free gift from one of Mrs Brown's magazines). Nothing has come up yet. Then the Browns' neighbour peers over the fence and just happens to mention it's his birthday.

Mrs Bird can't believe she's forgotten and starts icing a cake. Paddington is sent off to the market for a giant tube of shaving cream, sold by a trader who's VERY keen to get rid of it. Back in his bedroom, Paddington decides to test the tube with a gentle squeeze. You can imagine how that goes. Mr Brown's shaving mirror certainly can.

The best mix-up is probably on the buses. A gloomy bus driver tells Paddington that if he's going to travel about London he needs an Oyster. So off he goes to the fishmonger's. Mrs Bird's fishmonger, as it happens, who puts two oysters on her account. And then Paddington tries one on the card reader by the driver's cab...

This is Paddington in a London of Oyster cards and bus doors that announce themselves. He's been a well-known face in the Portobello market for years by now. But he still gets hold of the wrong end of the stick, and that's where the fun comes from.

Mr Gruber is there to untangle things over cocoa and buns, explaining the difference between can't and a road with a nasty cant. Then there's a spring-clean of Paddington's very messy bedroom, which turns up an old recipe under the carpet. It's for a cake he used to get as a treat at the Home for Retired Bears.

The opening chapters each wrap up neatly, so it's easy to read one at bedtime. And Mr Curry gets exactly what he deserves. Isn't that always the best bit?

What to read next

If your reader likes the gardening side of Paddington, Paddington at Large opens with his very own patch of the Browns' garden doing rather well. And yes, Mr Curry is taking an interest there too.