Господин Грубер решава да заведе Падингтън пред Бъкингамския дворец, за да му покаже смяната на караула. Уви, събрала се е такава тълпа, че мечето не вижда нищо! Ала загадъчна високопоставена особа явно много обича мечета и му приготвя чудесна изненада.
Michael Bond, CBE was an English children's author. He was the creator of Paddington Bear and wrote about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs. Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.
4 stars. I very vaguely remembered reading this story in French as a kid and it wasn’t much like I remembered, so I was slightly disappointed (picture books are so much better when you’re a child, haha!). I reread this story in honour of Her Majesty’s passing and was disappointed that Paddington didn’t actually meet the Queen, which I thought I remembered, but which I must have confused with another book…?? Anyways, I still enjoyed the images and I liked the gentle hint towards the Queen, which add an extra star to my rating. <3
(If anyone knows of a picture book where the MC somehow attracts the Queen’s attention and ends up waving to the people from a balcony with a crown on, please let me know what it is because it’s killing me.)
In this adventure, Paddington goes along with his friend Mr Gruber to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. They took the bus to get there, Paddington with his flag to wave in case he sees the Queen and Mr Gruber with his camera to catch any action.
The walk through St James's Park having got off the bus and Paddington wants to pick some flowers 'for the Queen' but Mr Gruber tells him that as it is a Royal Park it is not allowed - [to my shame I must confess to having played football in that very park, something else that is strictly forbidden - sorry!].
The flag is flying atop Buckingham Palace when they arrive, so Paddington knows that the Queen is in residence. He then thinks he sees someone looking through one of the windows and speculates that it might be the Queen watching the crowds gather.
The crowd grows and the band arrives but by then Paddington is pushed back and cannot see over the top of people's heads so Mr Gruber buys him a periscope but it does not work well for little Paddington. And by the time he has crawled to the front of the crowd the band has passed by.
The crowd drifts away and Mr Gruber is disappointed that he has not got a photograph of Paddington with one of the guardsmen. 'I didn't even see them,' bemoans Paddington. But at that moment a bowler-hatted gentleman appears at the front gate and tells the couple that he has instructions to invite them inside the gates so that they may take a photograph. 'You're very honoured,' he tells them.
Mr Gruber and Paddington accompany the man across the Palace parade ground where a soldier stands to attention; Paddington, complete with his flag stands to attention alongside him [I have somewhere a photograph of myself aged 10, looking very self conscious, stood next to a guardsman but he was not at the Palace but at Horse Guard's Parade] and Mr Gruber takes the photograph.
As the delighted couple walk away from the Palace, Paddington asks if it was the Queen looking out of the window when they first arrived. Mr Gruber replies, 'It was either the Queen or it was someone who likes bears very much.' And he tells Paddington that when he puts the photograph in his album he must mark the window with a cross to remember the moment. The photograph duly appears in Paddington's album with a proud footnote 'Me at the Palace.'
This is another fun adventure with that charming little bear Paddington Brown.
"I think", he said, as he stood to attention while Mr Gruber took a photograph, "this guard is so good he doesn't need changing."
Ha ha I think this quote is hilarious. I really enjoyed this one. Maybe a bit too short but good for very young children who just want to read something quick.
Paddington visits Buckingham Palace but misses the Changing of the Guard, but someone important makes one of his dreams come true. A wonderful Paddington story, even more so after his involvement in the Platinum Jubilee.
This book was extremely sweet and charming. The book was chronological and a really enjoyable story that followed Paddington’s journey to Buckingham Palace. He faces obstacles on his journey but manages to overcome them with the help of his companion. The book represents friendship, companionship, and resilience. The late Her Majesty the Queen is also mentioned several times throughout the book. For this reason, the book would be an ideal one to share with children for special Royal Family occasions.
The book would be primarily suitable for year five and year six children. Some of the language is complex and the book is perhaps not as straightforward as it could have been in places. Nonetheless, this could create good opportunities for children to expand their vocabularies. Additionally, the book could feed into wider curriculums about the Royal Family. Children could learn about the history of the Royal Family, or even Kings and Queens more generally. The book would therefore be excellent for use in history lessons especially.
Despite the complex language at times, the book is very pleasant. The illustrations are beautiful and mirror the text perfectly. I would highly recommend as a delightful story, but would just be cautious about the target audience. Overall though, I do look forward to sharing this book with children over the coming years.
I absolutely love Paddington!! He is such an adorable character that you easily fall in love with and relate to. This was a quick read for the Rory Gilmore Book Club on Instagram and I'm so glad I chose this story as not only my first read of 2024 but for this challenge too. I highly recommend this book for any Paddington lovers or for those who simply want to relive their childhood for at least 5 minutes!!
I love Paddington however when reading this after reading lots of other kids books at storytime at work, the wording of this book feels very boring and like it doesn't flow as well as it should. Maybe I read too many that rhyme but rhyme definitely makes a story more fun and easier to read out loud to a group of kids. Or maybe this book was just a bit boring?
We are big Paddington fans, and this book about Paddington and Mr Gruber's trip to the Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards is a lovely story.
It was a lovely way to talk about how we had a similar trip to St. James park and other tourist hotspots in London.
Lovely and familiar story with fantastic illustrations.
This is the second title published in "A Paddington Treasury". The original was published in 1958 and this one in 1986. I'm now learning that there were annual sequels each year after the original book. Apparently I have a lot to learn about Paddington. This one was just OK. My 2 1/2 year old daughter didn't request repeated readings.
I recently found this book for my sons, and with so many happy memories of Paddington Bear from my own childhood, when it came to reading it I was not disappointed!
My boys and I loved it! A lovely, short, easy to understand, fun story full of beautiful illustrations. Perfect for young children!
Another short one that was certainly enjoyed by myself and my son. We both love a good Paddington adventure and this one was amazing. Can't wait to continue the Paddington adventure throughout all the books.
Wonderful story of Paddington going to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. I love Paddington and the story line was wonderful. Perfect for children and adults.