Paddington Bear becomes a celebrity when he takes portraits of the Brown family with a very old camera. Thanks to the unique results, a local shop puts the photos on display. And that's just the first adventure this extraordinary bear finds himself in. From wallpapering to mystery-solving, Paddington does it all with the sense of wonder and playful charm that readers have come to love.
First published in 1959, More about Paddington is the second novel by Michael Bond chronicling the adventures of this classic character. Paddington has warmed the hearts of generations of readers with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures. This brand-new paper-over-board edition of the classic novel contains the original text by Michael Bond and illustrations by Peggy Fortnum.
My Review:
Paddington Brown, the bear from Darkest Peru has settled into life in London. He writes his adventures into his scrapbook each day and sends frequent postcards to Aunt Lucy back in Peru so that she knows he is doing fine. The highlights of his day include shopping for the family on Portobello Road where he has an eye for a bargain in the stalls followed by sharing morning buns with his friend Mr Gruber who sells antiques. Naturally, having paws instead of hands makes even simple tasks much more complicated for a bear and mayhem usually follows where Paddington goes.
Paddington has developed an interest in photography and decides that his first priority is to use his old camera to take a photo of the Brown family in the garden. Chaos is assured when Paddington struggles with his paws to get it set up and of course with a curtain attached to this antique device, matters go from bad to worse. Being near Paddington when he gets one of his bright ideas is bad, but risking going out for the day and leaving him unattended is even worse. With Mr Brown dragging his feet over decorating Paddington's room, the bear sees an opportunity to help out by doing the task himself. How difficult can it be to do a bit of wallpaper and some painting and whitewashing? A lot harder than he thinks! Personally I blame Mr Brown for the following disaster for being so lazy!
When Mr Brown's prize marrow goes missing, Paddington decides to use his detective skills to find the culprit, causing chaos for the police investigation. He becomes interested in the idea of Bonfire Night and the burning of the guy after collecting pennies for it and then gets his first look at winter snow, which gives the reader a few worrying moments as poor Paddington is in real trouble. His first attempt at Christmas shopping causes havoc for a busy department store but everyone is determined that the beloved bear should have a great first Christmas-and he does!
Paddington is endearing and funny, with an innocent desire to help other people and be useful. My favourite chapter was his attempt at decorating which had me laughing out loud and the story is made even better by the wonderful illustrations. I love his friendship with Mr Gruber, and the telling of his adventures over shared morning buns. I like the way that Mr Gruber calls him Mr Brown and has real respect for his furry friend. I think he feels sympathy for Paddington as they are both immigrants to the country and both had to find their own path in life in a new environment. The snow adventure was really the one unsettling moment in the book for me with that poor bear's health at risk.
Overall, another fun adventure to enjoy. These books are keeping me entertained and giving me some well needed laughs.
Read July 2020
4 stars.
