Paddington, at 50, Gets a Very 2008 Makeover

Paddington Bear is celebrating his 50th birthday with a comeback, the Daily Telegraph reports, as the first new book in 30 years arrives soon. Though the marmalade-loving furball will be charming as ever, Paddington Here and Now might raise controversy: It’s about immigration.

Author Michael Bond, who first dreamed up the bear from Darkest Peru, insists the topic is a natural fit. “There is this side of Paddington the Browns don't really understand at all," he says of the bear's adoptive family, "What it's like to be a refugee, not to be in your own country." (More children's books stories.)