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Michael Bond

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For other people named Michael Bond, see Michael Bond (disambiguation).

Michael Bond
CBE
Born
Thomas Michael Bond

(1926-01-13) 13 January 1926 (age 98)
Newbury, Berkshire
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipBritish
EducationPresentation College, Reading
OccupationAuthor
Years active1945-present
Known forAuthor of the Paddington Bear series
Children2 children

Thomas Michael Bond, CBE (born 13 January 1926) is an English author, best known for his Paddington Bear series of books. Bond was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2015.[1]

Early life

Michael Bond, Saint Mary's Square, Paddington

Bond was born in Newbury and raised in Reading, Berkshire, where his visits to Reading Station to watch the Cornish Riviera Express go steaming through started a love of trains. His father was a manager for the post office.[2] He was educated at Presentation College, a school in Reading, Berkshire. His time there was unhappy. He told UK newspaper The Guardian in November 2014 that his parents had chosen the school "for the simple reason my mother liked the colour of the blazers. She didn’t make many mistakes in life but that was one of them". Consequently, he left education aged fourteen, despite his parents’ wishes for him to go to university.[2] World War II was under way and he went to work in a solicitor's office for a year and then as an engineer's assistant for the BBC.

In February 1943, Michael Bond survived an air raid in Reading. The building in which he was working collapsed under him, killing 41 people and injuring many more.[3][4] Shortly afterwards he volunteered for aircrew service in the Royal Air Force as a 17-year-old but he was discharged after suffering from acute air sickness.[5] He then served in the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army until 1947.[6]

Author

Bond began writing in 1945 whilst stationed with the army in Cairo and sold his first short story to the magazine London Opinion. He was paid seven guineas, and thought he "wouldn't mind being a writer".[2] In 1958, after producing a number of plays and short stories and while working as a BBC television cameraman (where he worked on Blue Peter for a time), his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published. This was the start of Bond's series of books recounting tales of a bear from "Darkest Peru", whose Aunt Lucy sends him to the United Kingdom, carrying a jar of marmalade; the Brown family found the bear at Paddington Station, and adopted him, naming the bear after the railway station.[6] By 1967, Bond was able to give up his BBC job to work full-time as a writer.

Paddington's adventures have sold over 35 million books, have been published in nearly twenty countries, in over forty languages, and have inspired pop bands, race horses, plays, hot air balloons, a movie and television series.[6][7] Bond stated in December 2007 that he did not plan to continue the adventures of Paddington Bear in further volumes.[8] However, in April 2014 it was reported a new book, titled Love From Paddington, would be published that autumn. In a film, Paddington (2014), based on the books, Bond has a credited cameo as the Kindly Gentleman.[9]

Bond has also written another series of children's books, the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, named after the Bond family's pet,[2] as well as the animated BBC television series The Herbs (1968). Bond also writes culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.

Honours

In 1997, Bond was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to children's literature. On 6 July 2007 the University of Reading awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Personal life

Bond is married, has two adult children and lives in London, not far from Paddington Station, the place that inspired many of his books.

Bibliography

Paddington Bear series

  • 1958 A Bear Called Paddington[10] (ISBN 0-618-15071-4)
  • 1959 More About Paddington
  • 1960 Paddington Helps Out
  • 1961 Paddington Abroad
  • 1962 Paddington at Large
  • 1964 Paddington Marches On
  • 1966 Paddington at Work
  • 1968 Paddington Goes to Town
  • 1970 Paddington Takes the Air
  • 1972 Paddington's Garden
  • 1973 Paddington's Blue Peter Story Book (sometimes titled as Paddington Takes to TV)
  • 1974 Paddington on Top
  • 1975 Paddington at the Tower
  • 1979 Paddington Takes the Test
  • 1980 Paddington on Screen
  • 1984 Paddington at the Zoo
  • 1986 Paddington at the Palace
  • 1987 Paddington's Busy Day
  • 2002 Paddington in the Garden
  • 2003 Paddington and the Grand Tour
  • 2008 Paddington Rules the Waves
  • 2008 Paddington Here and Now[11]
  • 2011 Paddington at the Tower
  • 2012 Paddington Races Ahead
  • 2012 Paddington Goes for Gold
  • 2014 Love From Paddington[6]

Olga da Polga series

Chapter Books

  • 1971 The Tales of Olga da Polga
  • 1973 Olga Meets Her Match
  • 1976 Olga Carries On
  • 1982 Olga Takes Charge
  • 1987 The Complete Adventures of Olga Da Polga (omnibus)
  • 1993 The Adventures of Olga Da Polga (omnibus)
  • 2001 Olga Moves House
  • 2002 Olga Follows Her Nose
  • 2002 The Best of Olga Da Polga (omnibus)

Picture Books

  • 1975 Olga Counts Her Blessings
  • 1975 Olga Makes a Friend
  • 1975 Olga Makes a Wish
  • 1975 Olga Makes Her Mark
  • 1975 Olga Takes a Bite
  • 1975 Olga's New Home
  • 1975 Olga's Second House
  • 1975 Olga's Special Day
  • 1983 The First Big Olga da Polga Book (omnibus)
  • 1983 The Second Big Olga da Polga Book (omnibus)

Monsieur Pamplemousse series

  • 1983 Monsieur Pamplemousse
  • 1985 Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Secret Mission
  • 1986 Monsieur Pamplemousse on the Spot
  • 1987 Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure
  • 1989 Monsieur Pamplemousse Aloft
  • 1990 Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates
  • 1991 Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case
  • 1992 Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm
  • 1992 Monsieur Pamplemousse on Location
  • 1993 Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Train
  • 1998 Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume One
  • 1998 Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume Two
  • 1999 Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat
  • 1999 Monsieur Pamplemousse Omnibus Volume Three
  • 2000 Monsieur Pamplemousse on Probation
  • 2002 Monsieur Pamplemousse on Vacation
  • 2003 Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines
  • 2006 Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Militant Midwives
  • 2007 Monsieur Pamplemousse and the French Solution
  • 2011 Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Carbon Footprint
  • 2015 Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Tangled Web

Other

  • 1966 Here Comes Thursday
  • 1968 Thursday Rides Again
  • 1969 Thursday Ahoy!
  • 1971 Thursday in Paris
  • 1971 Michael Bond's Book of Bears (Editor)
  • 1972 The Day the Animals Went on Strike
  • 1975 Windmill
  • 1975 How to Make Flying Things (nonfiction)
  • 1975 Mr. Cram's Magic Bubbles
  • 1980 Picnic on the River
  • 1980 J. D. Polson and the Liberty Head Dime
  • 1981 J. D. Polson and the Dillogate Affair
  • 1983 The Caravan Puppets
  • 1986 (With Paul Parnes) Oliver the Greedy Elephant
  • 1987 (And photographer) The Pleasures of Paris (guidebook)
  • 1988 A Mouse Called Thursday (omnibus)
  • 1992 A Day by the Sea
  • 1992 Something Nasty in the Kitchen
  • 1996 Bears and Forebears: A Life So Far (autobiography)

References

  1. ^ "Birthday Honours 2015", BBC News, 13 June 2015
  2. ^ a b c d Pauli, Michelle (28 November 2014). "Michael Bond: 'Paddington stands up for things, he's not afraid of going to the top and giving them a hard stare'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. ^ Midgley, Emma (13 February 2012). "Paddington Bear 'inspired by evacuees' says author Bond". BBC. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Paddington Bear writer's wartime Reading Podcast now online". Reading Borough Council. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  5. ^ Michael Bond at jrank. Retrieved 2 November 2014
  6. ^ a b c d "Paddington Bear author Michael Bond writes new book". BBC News. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  7. ^ John Plunkett (22 January 2008). "BBC celebrates 50 years of Paddington". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  8. ^ Richard Lea (11 December 2007). "Paddington Bear faces questions on asylum status". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  9. ^ Lang, Kirsty. "Paddington creator Michael Bond makes cameo in new film", BBC News, 13 October 2014
  10. ^ Nicholas Lezard (19 January 2005). "Classic of the month: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  11. ^ "In praise of...Paddington Bear". The Guardian. London. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
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