This is a something I drew a few years' back. I loved Paddington Bear when I was a kid & had my own Paddington (it played music) from the age of five til twenty-five. I suspect my mom of donating my beloved bear to charity. *sniff, sniff*
What I never knew or thought to even look up was why Michael Bond picked Peru as the birth place of Paddington. I naively thought that Bond was just being fanciful in his choice of So. American country. Not so, it turns out.
I just read a rather bleak article in the Guardian about the habitat loss of the Peruvian bear, whose numbers, no big surprise, are rapidly dwindling. As it turns out, Paddington really was from 'darkest Peru'. Hopefully, our little bears with spectacled faces continue to live on despite humans' need to expand their territory much to the detriment of local flora and fauna.
How sad. Apparently the author did his research.
ReplyDeleteI know. It's sad, but not surprising. They are cute little guys with dark coats and beige face masks. All unique.
DeleteI too adore Paddington. And was given my own quite recently.
ReplyDeleteI did know that his namesake came from deepest, darkest Peru and are endangered. And mourn.
And did you know a last Paddington Bear book is due out this year?
No, I did not know that a last book is due out. I look forward to reading it!
DeleteI love that you were given a Paddington. The drawing above shows the Paddington my husband bought for me a few years ago. The one I grew up with had a yellow hat & was able to be sat down. I hope you love yours as much as I did and do mine.
I did and I do love my Paddington. And will buy the last book in the series.
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