A Bear Called Paddington (Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc. 1967)
*First published in 1958
Author: Michael Bond (1926-2017)
Illustrator: Peggy Fortnum (1919-2016)
Translator: Kyoko Matsuoka (1935-2022)
The Paddington series are the books that I devoured in the middle grades of elementary school.
I started reading from the second book in the series, “Paddington’s Christmas,” which we had at home (at that time, it was a book with a red cover). At the time, I did not have the concept of “cute/kawaii”, but the illustrations were so charming for me.
I had a strong impression of London, the English tea culture, Paddington’s favorite marmalade and marmalade sandwiches, and so on. I remember making and eating marmalade sandwiches many times and wanting the duffle coat and hat Paddington wore.
I even made a cartoon version of Paddington with my friend at elementary school, creating what we would now call a derivative story.
I read “Paddington the Bear,” “Paddington’s Christmas,” and “Paddington’s First Anniversary,” and then I couldn’t find the rest in bookstores, so my reading stopped there. Decades aｆter, Paddington was made into a movie（Paddington（2014））. I was surprised and convinced that Paddington is still very popular worldwide.
(Finish reading: 25/12/2023)
