The lovable Paddington Bear turns sixty this month. A Bear Called Paddington written by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum was first published October 1958 by William Collins & Sons.
Michael Bond based Paddington Bear on a teddy bear that caught his attention on a shelf in a London store near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve 1956. He purchased the bear as a present for his wife. That teddy bear inspired Bond to write the first Paddington Bear story which only took ten days to write.
As of today, A Bear Called Paddington and has been featured in more than twenty books.
The Paddington books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
The Paddington Bear franchise is now owned by Vivendi’s StudioCanal. The original author Michael Bond continued to own the publishing rights to his series until his death in 2017 and are now licensed to Harper Collins for the next six years. There have been several television and film adaptations over the years including the recent smash hit sequel, titled Paddington 2 released on 10 November 2017.
Vincent Salera
Founder @ World's Best Story™ amplifier of creativity & fun!
