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With the sad passing of Michael Bond , there is no time like the present to revisit some of the adventures of his most iconic creation; Paddington. As the character has proved so timeless regular re-issues of the books have appeared and ''Best-loved Paddington Stories'' brings three of these stories together. Does this collection really reflect the best that the bear has to offer or are they just three random tales stuck together with marmalade?
In this omnibus edition of Paddington, our favourite Peruvian has three adventures; ''Paddington at the Circus'', ''Paddington Goes to Hospital'' and ''Paddington Goes for Gold''. Each sees the bashful bear outside of his comfort zone and getting into the type of scrapes that only he can.
The three selected to be called ''best -loved'' are not thematic in any way, but are a good indication of the type of gentle adventure that you have with the character. The great thing about Paddington was that you get a really fun story, but also feel like you are learning something too. Paddington is many things, but foremost he is kind-hearted; this comes across in his actions and how the other characters treat him. As a reader , you also see this and cannot help falling for his effortless charms.
Out of the three stories here, the best is ''Circus'' as it allows the most mischief and also highlights the work of illustrator R W Alley. This A4 size book is full colour and the opportunity to show the big top in all its glory works wonderfully. Alley is able to capture that befuddled look that Paddington has when he is blissfully unaware of all the chaos he is creating.
''Hospital'' and ''Gold'' are not quite as much fun, but instead , offer important life lessons for the main character and the reader. When Paddington fails to win anything at the local sports day he learns that it is the taking part that really counts. His trip to hospital is more of a serious book that would act as a useful tool for any child about to go in for an operation. Paddington is not feeling well and needs to go to hospital, his fears are soon relieved by all the lovely staff.
It is hard to determine if these three tales are truly the best -loved Paddington stories as you would imagine that the first one should always be in that collection. Despite this, this is a nice cross -section of what makes the character so much fun. Bond's writing has a typical British understatement to it and although this book is For Sharing, it also acts as a great bridge book for a child embarking on Emerging Reader status. Alley's illustrations are also given prominence in this bulky A4, full colour, version. Paddington is never going to let you down and he does not here.
Check out the original [[Paddington by Michael Bond]], although it may not have held up. Emerging readers will enjoy [[Amazing Esme by Tamara Macfarlane]].
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