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Olga da Polga Written by Michael Bond Illustrated by Catherine Rayner Kane Miller    10/01/2015 978-1-61067-433-1 176 pages    Ages 6+ “With a head full of stories and a nose for adventure, Olga da Polga is also quite a handful. And when she moves into the Sawdust family’s garden, life for Noel the cat, Fangio …

Paul King has signed on for a Paddington movie sequel. King will serve as both the director and one of the screenwriters.

King had previously taken on both of these roles for the first Paddington film adaptation. At this point in time, no announcements have been made as to whether or not the original cast members will also return for this project.

Here’s more from Deadline: “Based on Brit author Michael Bond’s much-loved series of books, Paddington the film was, by some margin, StudioCanal’s most ambitious project ever with the pan-European giant fully financing the $55 million budget. That bet paid off handsomely, with strong grosses worldwide — including $76 million domestically for the Weinstein Co — as well as strong ancillary revenues and ubiquitous merchandising opportunities.” (via IGN.com)

Note: Join us this Thursday, August 27, at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing for an author event with Christopher Moore. Describe your latest book. Secondhand Souls is the sequel to my bestselling novel A Dirty Job, which was about a single dad in San Francisco who gets the job of being Death and runs [...]

We’ve collected the books debuting on Indiebound’s Indie Bestseller List for the week ending January 18, 2015–a sneak peek at the books everybody will be talking about next month.

(Debuted at #3 in Hardcover Fiction) The First Bad Man by Miranda July: “When Cheryl’s bosses ask if their twenty-one-year-old daughter, Clee, can move into her house for a little while, Cheryl’s eccentrically ordered world explodes. And yet it is Clee—the selfish, cruel blond bombshell—who bullies Cheryl into reality and, unexpectedly, provides her the love of a lifetime.” (January 2015)

(Debuted at #1 in Children’s Interest) Looking for Alaska (Special 10th Anniversary Edition) by John Green: “Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called \"The Great Perhaps.\" Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles inter her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.” (January 2015)

(Debuted at #13 in Children’s Illustrated) Paddington written by Michael Bond & illustrated by R.W. Alley: “Nearly fifty years ago, a small bear from Darkest Peru set out on an adventure of a lifetime. With nothing but a suitcase, several jars of marmalade, and a label around his neck that read, “Please Look After This Bear,” he stowed away on a ship headed for faraway England. When the little bear arrived at London’s busy Paddington Station, he was discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Brown. As luck would have it, the Browns were just the sort of people to welcome a lost bear into their family.” (June 2007)

Hot New Releases & Popular Kids Stories This month is all about middle grade mania; plus a bonus young adult novel! Here are our picks for five kids books that we feel represent some of the best new kids stories releasing this month.

Based on Michael Bond’s 1958 children’s book "A Bear Called Paddington," the live-action/CG hybrid "Paddington" tells the story of a Peruvian bear who finds himself living in London. The film will be released on November 28, 2014 in the Uk, followed by a Christmas Day release in the United States by the Weinstein Company/ Dimension Films. Based on Michael Bond’s 1958 children’s book A Bear Called Paddington, the live-action/CG hybrid Paddington tells the story of a Peruvian bear who finds himself living in London. The film will be released on November 28, 2014 in the Uk, followed by a Christmas Day release in the United States by the Weinstein Company/ Dimension Films.

Michael Bond is bringing back the children’s book character Paddington Bear in a new collection of letters written from the bear to his Aunt Lucy.

Love from Paddington is slated for publication by HarperCollins in November. In the book, the Peruvian bear will recount his world travels and tell how he arrived at Paddington Station in London. In the book, he will also reveal how he met the Brown family and came to live with them.

The new book comes as a film adaptation of the book is also in the works. The film, directed by Paul King and starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, is slated for release in December.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

"Things are always happening to me. I'm that sort of bear." ~ Paddington Brown, Gentleman Bear



The resident Paddingtons are all in a tizzy because today is Michael Bond's 85th birthday!

The alphabet soup kitchen is full of furry creatures in duffle coats, bush hats and Wellingtons, busy eating making eating marmalade sandwiches, sipping tea and burying their snouts in little cups of cocoa. They've also been reading a few of Mr. Bond's charming stories aloud. Like all good bears, they never tire of hearing about themselves.



I've been reading a little more about Michael Bond, who received an OBE (Officer, Order of the British Empire), for his services to children's literature. He's definitely a man after my own heart, for not only did he rescue a teddy bear left behind on a Selfridge's shelf (the inspiration for Paddington), but he's also a diehard Francophile and lover of fine cuisines and wine.

Besides his books about Paddington Bear, Bond has also published a series about Olga da Polga (a guinea pig with a big imagination), and he continues to add new installments to his adult culinary mystery series starring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound Pommes Frites.  



I'm assuming Mr. Bond likes marmalade. It would seem terribly un-British not to. Sir Winston Churchill was quite passionate about it, considering it to be an essential part of a proper English breakfast along with bacon and eggs. Paddington's friend Mr. Gruber speculates that marmalade helped Churchill win the war, and we tend to agree. We always stock marmalade in the alphabet soup kitchen in order to avoid any riots, baker strikes, untoward growling, or the terribly unsettling hard stare. Besides, you never know when you might accidentally saw a dining table in half, and need a little marmalade to glue the pieces back together.




Did you know that it took Bond just a little over a week to complete the first book, A Bear Called Paddington (1958)? There are twelve full-length novels in the series, the most recent of which, Paddington Here and Now, was published in 2008 to commemorate Paddington's 50th Anniversary. After Bond completed his first draft of A Bear Called Paddington, he sent his agent Harvey Unna this letter:

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9. A Bear Called Paddington

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By: Amanda, on 11/13/2008
Blog: A Patchwork of Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I can remember being in either third or fourth grade and being taken to a production of Paddington Bear on the "big stage" in Syracuse, NY. An actor in a huge bear suit and rollerskates portrayed Paddington and though I can only imagine how terribly acted that play probably was to an adult, it was that day that I fell in love with Paddington Bear. I read the books about him like they were going to disappear any moment, I had a stuffed Paddington, and I always made my parents talk to the bear as if he were real.

Now, Paddington is 50 years old, having been created in 1958, and thus 8 wonderful Paddington stories have been put into this beautiful anniversary edition book A Bear Called Paddington. Michael Bond's adorable and lovable character comes alive with illustrations done by Peggy Fortnum. My favorite story will probably always be the first, "Please Look After This Bear," but all of the other stories included will delight as well.

Paddington Bear is a character from your past that you can share and enjoy with your own children. He doesn't age, as toys do, nor does he ever go out of style. Paddington will always be a winner in my house and this book now has a prominent place on my shelf. It will be well worn in just a few years, I can guarantee that!

If you're interested in learning more about my beloved Paddington or to purchase this book, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

4 Comments on A Bear Called Paddington, last added: 11/14/2008

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Lindsay said, on 11/13/2008 9:35:00 PM

I have a stuffed Paddington too! He always makes me think of marmalade. :)

Anna said, on 11/14/2008 6:33:00 AM

I'm going to have to get this book. Paddington always was one of my faves. I wasn't lucky enough to have a stuffed Paddington though. :(

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Tina's Blog said, on 11/14/2008 9:22:00 AM

Just last year I dug out my copy of A Bear Called Paddington that I read to my girls. It was the first chapter book my mom read to me in kindergarten (I was lucky enough that my mom was my kindergarten teacher! :) )My copy is looking very worn out, but it still brings back good memories. I also purchased the new Paddington book that came out this summer, but haven't read it yet.

Amanda said, on 11/14/2008 10:03:00 AM

I'm so glad all of you can reminisce with me! I love Paddington...

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