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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Summer reading includes books I haven’t read for years that I am considering to read to my students. This one is on the list for a first grade read aloud coming soon to a classroom near you for the 2023-2024 school year.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Ah, I can't believe it's taken me so long to read about Paddington Bear's adventures. I loved this! Such a lovely little story. Can't wait to read the next 14!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My spouse was throwing out the books we had for our kids quite some time ago. I guess she figured we'd never get the chance to read them to our grandson. Perhaps not. Whatever, I snagged a few before I took the rest to church to be sold at the annual church "Faire". Ordinarily, I don't read dead-tree books anymore, but now and again, I can make exceptions, right?
Anyway, this is the first in the Paddington Bear series. It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Brown are at the train station with their daughter, Judy. They see a small bear in a corner, and he seems to be lost. He is very polite and he tells them that he's come from "darkest Peru". The Browns take him home to live with them. They name him Paddington, after the train station where they found him. [For a few months, I lived in a place in London that was only a couple of blocks from Paddington Station. My daughter was born at St. Mary's Hospital, also just a block or two from Paddington Station. Obviously, we have "family" connections there. 😉 ]
So, Paddington becomes a fixture in the Brown household, a household that also has a son, Jonathan, and a housekeeper, Mrs. Bird. The problem with Paddington is that he is unschooled in the ways of the world. So he always finds a way to make a mess of things. But always an adorable mess, and always a mess that can be turned into something nice. So, we get lots of chuckles at his antics, and re-experience, for a short time, the joys of being 8-years old again.
Anyway, this is the first in the Paddington Bear series. It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Brown are at the train station with their daughter, Judy. They see a small bear in a corner, and he seems to be lost. He is very polite and he tells them that he's come from "darkest Peru". The Browns take him home to live with them. They name him Paddington, after the train station where they found him. [For a few months, I lived in a place in London that was only a couple of blocks from Paddington Station. My daughter was born at St. Mary's Hospital, also just a block or two from Paddington Station. Obviously, we have "family" connections there. 😉 ]
So, Paddington becomes a fixture in the Brown household, a household that also has a son, Jonathan, and a housekeeper, Mrs. Bird. The problem with Paddington is that he is unschooled in the ways of the world. So he always finds a way to make a mess of things. But always an adorable mess, and always a mess that can be turned into something nice. So, we get lots of chuckles at his antics, and re-experience, for a short time, the joys of being 8-years old again.
It's been a very long time since I read this book but it was as good as I remembered. Paddington plods along, naively charming people, usually after causing some sort of commotion. I will always love marmalade as much as this little bear from darkest peru
5 stars from both my 3-year-old and my 6-year-old
Paddington is, admittedly, a piece of work, and reading of his exploits often prompted me to go, "Oh no!", "Oh dear", or "You daft klutz!".
But in the end, these are lovely, heartfelt stories, and Paddington is a great character, whose overeagerness is part of what makes him so enchanting. He's a friend you stick with, even when he ruins your painting or accidentally drops a marmalade sandwich into a theatre audience.
If you happen to have the 2002/2003 Harper Collins edition, be sure to read Michael Bond's wonderful and moving "Postscript".
But in the end, these are lovely, heartfelt stories, and Paddington is a great character, whose overeagerness is part of what makes him so enchanting. He's a friend you stick with, even when he ruins your painting or accidentally drops a marmalade sandwich into a theatre audience.
If you happen to have the 2002/2003 Harper Collins edition, be sure to read Michael Bond's wonderful and moving "Postscript".
I feel like there was a furry, pleasant hole in my childhood since I never got to hear this story properly until now.
Please pass the marmalade...
Please pass the marmalade...