Bond, Michael (1926-2017), was a British children’s author who created Paddington Bear, one of the most popular characters in children’s literature. The bear became the lovable hero of children’s novels and picture books, television series, and motion pictures. Bond’s Paddington books have been translated into dozens of languages.
Bond introduced the character in A Bear Called Paddington (1958). An English couple named Mr. and Mrs. Brown see a little bear sitting alone on a suitcase at the Paddington railway station in London. The animal traveled to London from Peru, where he had lived with his aunt until she moved into a home for retired bears. The Browns adopt the bear and name him Paddington. He lives with the Browns and their children, Judy and Jonathan, and their housekeeper, Mrs. Bird. Other characters in the series include the Browns’ grouchy neighbor Mr. Curry, and Mr. Gruber, a Hungarian-born antiques dealer. In his many adventures, Paddington wears a blue coat, floppy felt hat, and boots.
Bond also wrote children’s books about a mouse named Thursday, beginning with Here Comes Thursday (1966), and about a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, beginning with The Tales of Olga da Polga (1971). In addition, Bond wrote adult books featuring a French food inspector named Monsieur Pamplemousse, who specializes in solving mysteries involving food. The series began with Monsieur Pamplemousse (1983).
Thomas Michael Bond was born in Newbury, Berkshire, in southern England on Jan. 13, 1926. He dropped out of school at the age of 14. Bond served in the Royal Air Force in 1943 and 1944 as well as the British Army from 1944 to 1947. He said that Paddington Bear was partly inspired by his memories of the refugee children he saw in England during World War II (1939-1945). Bond worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) both before and after the war. He was working as a television cameraman when he began his first Paddington book. The success of the early Paddington Bear books enabled him to become a full-time writer in 1965. For his services to children’s literature, Bond was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1997 and a commander of the order in 2015. Bond died on June 27, 2017.
