Paddington Bear arrives at Paddington Station on his way to the children's literature event at ... [+]
Paddington Bear is a character created by Michael Bond after he found a teddy bear in a London tube station and brought it home to his wife. Paddington was so named because he just so happened to have been found in London’s Paddington Station. Author Michael Bond and illustrator Peggy Fortnum used the idea of this found stuffed toy to create the first book in the Paddington series, A Bear Called Paddington, in 1958. The Paddington books are now widely beloved by children and adults alike, having sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. The British people even chose Paddington Bear to be the first item to send through the completed Channel Tunnel to France in 1994. Paddington has now been adapted for both television and film, with the most recent being the Paddington and Paddington 2 movies released in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
With such a widely adored character and story, it is clear that there is storytelling wisdom to be learned from Paddington’s smashing success. Here are three storytelling lessons from lovable Paddington Bear:
1) Find inspiration anywhere.
Paddington’s author Michael Bond found an abandoned children’s toy in a subway station, and instead of discarding it as trash like many would, he adopted it as his own. He then imagined an elaborate backstory about the bear’s aunt shipping him off from Peru and becoming the newest addition to a charming London family. From this, a bestselling cross-genre story was born. The lesson here is to find inspiration wherever you find yourself, and never doubt that a small accident can turn into a magical story.
2) Imperfection is charming.
As with many other children’s literature characters, Paddington Bear is far from perfect. Most of his stories surround his mistakes and misadventures, and Paddington has a sense of self-confidence and acceptance around his shortcomings. He says, “I’ll never be like other people, but that’s alright because I’m a bear.” Children and adult audiences alike seem to relate to and find comfort in a character who embraces their imperfections. No one is perfect, and stories that help us accept that are relatable.
3) Optimism is contagious.
Paddington’s other most charming character trait is his optimism. Fundamentally, despite his many foibles and the problems they cause, Paddington always believes that things will turn out okay in the end. As is said of him, "He was a hopeful bear at heart." Paddington’s adopted family appreciates this quality about him, and so do the story’s audiences. Always consider how contagiously effective a sense of optimism and confidence can be in storytelling.
As author Michael Bond has been quoted as saying, “I write it, you read it, we share the joy.” With these three storytelling lessons learned from Paddington Bear’s story — finding inspiration anywhere, embracing the charm of imperfection, and appreciating that optimism is contagious — creatives can find inspiration for their own joyful stories. Paddington Bear is an imperfect optimist who believes that anything is possible, and other storytellers can be, too.
