{"product_id":"please-look-after-this-bear-how-paddington-became-british-9780197818473","title":"Please Look After This Bear: How Paddington Became British","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eAn exploration of Paddingon the Bear as an international cultural phenomenon\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1958, a little marmalade-loving brown bear from Peru named Paddington was introduced to the post-war British public. Inspired by his creator Michael Bond's memories of displaced Jewish children in the United Kingdom during World War II, Paddington became a symbol of how to treat refugees with kindness. Author Bond was clear from the outset about Paddington's refugee status. Nearly sixty-five years later, the bear's legacy has evolved into a transmedia phenomenon; his once marginalized image has now been licenced to numerous British organisations -- such as Barbour and Marks \u0026amp; Spencer -- and more recently, even become a symbolic figurehead of national mourning following Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Look After This Bear\u003c\/em\u003e analyzes the titular character's transformation from displaced Peruvian bear to member of a wealthy, upper-class West London family, raising questions about migration, assimilation, tolerance, and national identity. The first of its kind to trace the publication history of the Paddington stories, this cutting-edge, critical text not only offers a unique sociocultural biography on the series' origins and background, but looks closely at its contemporary adaptations and afterlives, citing its emergence as a British cultural symbol across the globe. To date, Paddington books have been translated into forty languages (including Latin) and have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTold in poignant, incisive prose, this book reveals how Paddington evolved from an unassuming Peruvian bear on the printed page to an international transmedia phenomenon and icon of Britishness. With thoughtful nods both to nostalgia and to national identity, this book traces the character's dramatic change across the ever-changing British historical and political landscape of the past nearly-seven decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Melanie Ramdarshan Bold,Aishwarya Subramanian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/18\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e Children's Classics Critically\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.8lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.38h x 5.93w x 1.09d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780197818473","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46717429776521,"sku":"9780197818473","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_a8c18397-dd1c-4623-9005-880ada367188.jpg?v=1778613758","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/please-look-after-this-bear-how-paddington-became-british-9780197818473","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}