LONDON (AP) — Publisher HarperCollins says Michael Bond, creator of globe-trotting teddy Paddington bear, has died aged 91.
The publisher says Bond died Tuesday at his home after a short illness.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 12: Paddington Bear making a trade at BGC Annual Global Charity Day at Canary Wharf on September 12, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
Ann-Janine Murtagh, executive publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, said the duffel-coated, Wellington boot-wearing bear “touched my own heart as a child and will live on in the hearts of future generations.”
The marmalade-loving bear who traveled from “Darkest Peru” to London’s Paddington station first appeared in “A Bear Called Paddington” in 1958. He went on to star in some 20 books and a feature film.
The books have sold some 35 million copies worldwide.
