Sunday, 15 November 2020

Book Review: Paddington Races Ahead by Michael Bond (Paddington Bear #13)

“My legs are a bit short for the pole vault!” repeated Paddington hotly. “But they’ve always been that way.”

Somehow Paddington Bear always manages to find himself in unusual situations. So it is no surprise when he gets into a spot of bother with some shaving cream, causes a London bus to be evacuated, and is mistaken for a famous Peruvian hurdler by a film crew. There’s never a dull moment when a certain bear is around!
 
My Review:
Paddington has no idea of what it takes to get around London on your own and when he is told he should buy an Oyster, his first instinct is to head to a fishmonger rather than a transport hub, which leads to a lot of mess and confusion for the bus driver! The chaos continues when Paddington is instructed to clean up his bedroom and the results are not what anyone in the household was expecting. Honestly, they should know better than to give vague directions to the easily confused bear. He needs to be told exactly what you want him to do and EXPLAIN what is obvious to everyone else as a bear from Darkest Peru can't be expected to know everything that people in the UK take for granted as basic knowledge.
 
Exercise fever has hit the town and Paddington is no exception. Confusion reigns when he is mistaken for a Peruvian athlete who is in London for the Olympics. Of course that is any easy mistake for anyone to make! (NOT!) I mean, just look at the poor little bear! Does he look like an Olympic athlete??? Paddington is able to secure a free gym pass which Mr Curry starts plotting to get away from him, like the mean idiot that he has always been. Paddington is in the park when he stumbles across a performance of Hamlet, and of course he can't resist getting involved in a way that causes more havoc! Things get more exciting when Paddington is asked to star in a short film that is going to be sent to the Home for Retired Bears in Lima, where Aunt Lucy resides.
 
I was very amused by the confusion that poor Paddington suffered after being told that the best way to travel around London with an Oyster! Why did his loved ones not tell him the difference between an Oyster travel card and oysters from a fishmongers! How is poor Paddington expected to know what Oyster travel means if nobody explains it to him! It was a funny story though. I like that Paddington stories are always entertaining and funny, and the illustrations throughout just add to that. Another fun adventure to enjoy!
 
Read August 2020
4 stars. 

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