[.ca] Paddington Bear (ISBN 0006647162)

charming and entertaining, a delight for any child:
As a child I fell in love with Paddington bear, who spoke to me more than Winnie ever could, although many have drawn simmilarities between the two. Both are fumbling, innocent little things, orphaned and adopted by human families. Winnie couldn't keep his sticky little paws out of the honey jar, and Paddingtons fondness for marmalade could be called obsessive... However for all these simmilarites the one difference is that while child-like pooh looked to Mr Robin for guidance, it was the wee bear in galoshas and a rain hat, found at the Paddington railway station, whose simplistic outlook on life saved his adoptive family from complete destruction of sanity in the day-to-day madness of the world. Paddington was a saviour in childhood, and is bound to be an absolute delight for any child who learns of his misadventures, his love of marmalade and his earnest love of his newly adopted family and newly adopted life in city.

Not the real thing...:
This is a dumbed-down picture book version of Paddington that sacrifices most of the charm of the original stories. This is one of the few childrens' book purchases I've ever regretted. Buy A Bear Called Paddington instead.

Introduce little ones to Paddington:
I loved the "real" Paddington stories as a young girl. When I saw these versions for younger kids at the library, I checked some out to see if my daughter would enjoy them. She loves them! The longer, original stories are much too complex for her (she's 2). But these introduce the characters and are filled with the same humor and warmth of the original stories. The illustrations are wonderful and bring my beloved Paddington to life. We love these books and have now purchased some for our collection!

Cute for its age group!:
It may seem like a "dumbed-down picture book" version of the original story --- because it's meant for a YOUNGER READER!! The age group for this book is clearly stated as AGES 4-8, while the original is for AGES 9-12. This is a wonderful book with delightful illustrations for the 4-8 year old. It's just the right length for parents to read to the kids (without falling asleep) and for beginning readers to read it themselves.