Bears & forebears: A life so far

by Michael Bond

Since the day in 1957 when Michael Bond came up with an idea for a children's story, his life has been dominated by a small, duffle-coat-wearing bear. Nevertheless for Bond, Paddington is just one in a whole range of characters who have had a bearing on his life. Born in 1926, Bond was brought up in Reading. He left school at 14 and became a BBC employee. After serving in both the RAF and the Army in the war he returned to the BBC, as a cameraman, as it took on a new lease of life as a television company. Bond was also the writer of "The Herb Garden" and a close associate of the makers of "The Wombles" and "The Magic Roundabout".

Genres: Biography

275 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1996

About the author

Michael Bond, CBE was an English children's author. He was the creator of Paddington Bear and wrote about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs. Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobiography of the writer who created the Paddington Bear books (and Monsieur Pamplemousse books, among others). Somewhat disjointed, and I wanted a bit more reflection (not just a recital of events), but still interesting. Bond was a BBC camera man for many years, and had some interesting experiences during WWII. Fun to read how he created Paddington, and to hear about how the Paddington TV series was created.

[Nicole Wolverton]

Wow...that was...wow. Dull.