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.
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 travelled 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.