Michael Bond, creator of the renowned children’s book character of Paddington Bear, has died at his home at age 91 after a short illness, according to his publisher HarperCollins. Bond published his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, in 1958, and has since published dozens more stories about the extremely polite, Wellington-boots-and-duffel-coat-wearing bear, who totes around his trademark suitcase, comes to London from Peru, and loves to eat marmalade. Paddington appeared in BBC and Hanna-Barbera TV shows in the 1970s and ’80s, and in a film adaptation, where he was voiced by Ben Whishaw, in 2014; a sequel is out this year. Paddington books have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide, and the most recent installment, Paddington’s Finest Hour, came out in April.
