Paddington is one of the most well-known and best-loved teddy bear characters in the world today, second only to Winnie-the-Pooh. He was the creation of the writer Michael Bond who wrote the first Paddington story"A Bear Called Paddington" in 1958. The book was a resounding success, and so from 1960 onwards Michael Bond's stories were published in the USA and translated into numerous languages.The story start on Paddington Station, (after which he is named), when a little bear, wearing a hat and sitting on a suitcase, is spotted by a certain Mr Brown. There is a label around the bear's neck saying, "Please Look After This Bear. Thank You."  Originally, Paddington came from the Darkest Africa, but Michael Bond's literary agent told him that there were no bears in Africa. Peru, on the other hand, had lots of bears. So although Paddington is really very English, with his battered duffel coat, and love of marmalade, there is always his mysterious past with an aunt in Darkest Peru to fire children's imagination.