“You were a stowaway! You tucked yourself into a lifeboat where no one would find you.” “You snuck onto the ship when no one was looking,” Michael mused. Paddington must have found a different way to board the ship. The harbormaster would never have sold a ticket to a bear. The toy was small and cuddly, but a real bear would be much larger. “Certainly not! You must have come over on a boat, like many other immigrants.” “Say,” Michael asked, “how did you get from Africa to London? Bears can’t swim that far, can they?” He quickly wrote another page of the story. I understand what a comfort your Aunt Lucy must have been.”
Then he knew that Paddington’s aunt must have taken him in. Michael was lost in thought for a moment. “Were you old enough to take care of yourself?” “How did you manage after your parents died?” he asked Paddington as he tapped on the keys. The ideas spilled from his head to his busy hands. Was that a tear in Paddington’s eye, or sunlight reflecting on its smooth glass surface? “Before you came to England, both your parents died.” But he also looked a little hopeful, as if he might have found a friend who would understand. Sharing it might make you feel a bit better.” Whatever sorrow you have felt, please share it with me. “I have seen quite a bit of it in my life. “The world is filled with grief,” Michael said. He was about to say something important, and he wanted the bear to understand every word. “You might wonder whether I really want to hear your sad story,” Michael said. The stuffed bear looked a little forlorn. “But how did you get to Paddington Station?” “A bear from the wild bushlands of Africa!” He hammered out a few more sentences on his typewriter. After pondering it for a moment, he guessed Paddington was an African bear. “What kind of bear are you?” Michael wondered. And for every question Michael asked, his imagination provided the answer. While he wrote the first Paddington story, he asked questions of his stuffed companion. Michael talked to Paddington Bear who sat perched on the fireplace. Where did bears live? Why would a bear travel to London? Would the bear want to visit museums or would he want to find a new home? Author Rosanne Tolin reveals how world history, Bond’s life, and 1950s immigrant culture were embedded into Paddington’s creation, bringing middle-grade readers a delightful, informative, and engaging book with a timely message of acceptance.Īs Michael pressed the keys of his typewriter, he paused often to look at Paddington. Īn incredible true tale, More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear is the first biography about the writer behind the beloved series. Bond poured his personal feelings about the events of his era-the refugee children his family had hosted in the countryside, a war-torn country in recovery, the bustling immigrant neighborhood where he lived-into the story of a little bear from Peru who tries very, very hard to do things right.
#Paddington bear writer full#
One day, while searching for inspiration at his typewriter, hoping for a big story that would allow him to write full time, a stuffed bear on top of the shelf-a Christmas present for his wife-suddenly caught his eye. He wrote about the war and more, selling stories here and there.
He repaired rooftop radio transmitters during the bombing of Britain in World War II and later joined the army. Though an avid reader, he was by no means a model student and quit school at 14. Michael Bond never intended to be a children’s writer.
Photos courtesy of Rosanne Tolin and design by Kendra Kay Creative. Rosanne Tolin, BA’90, published her debut book, More Than Marmalade, in March 2020 under Chicago Review Press.
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