ORIGINS OF WINNIE-THE-POOH

Happy Winnie-the-Pooh Day!  Today marks the anniversary of the birth of author A.A. Milne in 1882.   Christopher Robin's "Silly Old Bear" holds a special place in my heart, being one of the early favorite characters I introduced my children to during our read aloud time.  I enjoyed Milne's books as much as they did - and there's a reason for that...

Peter Dennis, an English actor who for many years performed a one-man-show, "Bother!", and lent his vocal talents in recording all of Milne's stories and verses (available HERE), said:  For too long, Winnie-the-Pooh has been relegated to children's bookshelves and Disney children's cartoons. But A. A. Milne didn't write the stories and poems for children. He intended them for the child within you – and me – and countless millions of others. Milne rarely read the stories and poems to his son Christopher, preferring rather to amuse him with the works of P.G. Wodehouse. In a letter to me, Christopher wrote, "My father did not write the books for children. He didn't write for any specific market; he knew nothing about marketing. He knew about me. He knew about himself..." [source: Pooh Corner]

photo source: nypl.org

If you're ever in New York City, be sure and stop by the Public Library's Children's Center (their home in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street), where you can see Christopher Robin's beloved bear and other treasured toys preserved for viewing in a glass cabinet.  Below are some "Fun Facts" from the NYC Public Library website...

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE REAL WINNIE THE POOH AND HIS FRIENDS

-The curious name of "Winnie-the-Pooh" came from Christopher Robin, from a combination of the names of a real bear and a pet swan. During the 1920s there was a black bear named "Winnie" in the London Zoo who had been the mascot for the Winnipeg regiment of the Canadian army. "Pooh" was the name of a swan in When We Were Very Young [Milne's first book of poems].

-Pooh was purchased at Harrods department store in London and given by A.A. Milne to his son Christopher Robin on his first birthday, August 21, 1921. He was called Edward (proper form of "Teddy") Bear at the time.

-The rest of the toys were received as gifts by Christopher Robin between 1920 and 1928.

-Not only Christopher Robin played with the toys; so, apparently, did the family dog, which may have contributed to their well-worn appearance.

-The baby kangaroo stuffed animal (named Roo) was lost in an apple orchard during the 1930s.

-Winnie-the-Pooh had adventures with Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit, and Tigger in the 100 Aker (Acre) Wood (based on the Ashdown Forest in southern England, located near the Milne family home).

-Owl and Rabbit were brought to life to join Pooh and pals Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger, by Milne and illustrator Ernest H. Shepard.

-The stuffed animals range in height from 25" (Eeyore, the biggest) to 4 1/2" (Piglet, the smallest).

Want more information?  You can also see NYP Library's A REAL POOH TIMELINE, here.

Make a Honey Cake, to celebrate the day: Click HERE for the recipe, from my past post, "Proper Tea with Winnie-the-Pooh".

My book recommendation for today: Three Cheers for Pooh, by Brian Sibley. You'll love Brian Sibley's richly detailed account, with lavish illustrations of Ernest Shepard's full-color artwork and original sketches (as well as photographs, newspaper reports, and manuscript pages in Milne's own handwriting). This creatively designed book is perfect for both seasoned Pooh admirers and those eager to get better acquainted with Edward Bear - known to most as: Winnie-the-Pooh.

A PROPER TEA WITH WINNIE-THE-POOH

"A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards." - A.A. Milne

HONEY CAKE
from Winnie-the-Pooh's Teatime Cookbook*


1¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup milk
2 eggs
½ cup butter (1 stick),softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup honey
powdered sugar, for decoration


Preheat oven to 375°F. Sift dry ingredients together. While mixing, slowly add milk, eggs, softened butter, vanilla, and honey. When a creamy batter has formed, pour into 2 greased 9-inch round cakepans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown around the edges. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before serving. Serves 12


Serve with an herbal tea, like "Mystical Garden" or "Storytime Tea" from LOST RIVER NATURALS.

*Book description: Winnie the Pooh's Teatime Cookbook (inspired by A. A. Milne, with decorations by Ernest H. Shepard) discusses the phenomenon of afternoon tea and provides recipes for muffins, pastries, and other appropriate fare, punctuated by quotations from the works of A. A. Milne.  Published in 1993 by Dutton Children's Books. (available from AMAZON)


You might also enjoy my past post, "Parties with a Book Theme".

NEED A "SUSTAINING BOOK"?

"...would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would

help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness?"

A.A. Milne's books about Edward Bear will definitely hold your child's attention, as well as provide them with lots of bedtime stories, one chapter at a time!

This edition celebrated the 75th anniversary of the beloved "silly old bear". THE COMPLETE TALES AND POEMS OF WINNIE-THE-POOH collects A.A. Milne's classic stories (Winnie-the-Pooh; The House at Pooh Corner; When We Were Very Young; and Now We Are Six) and Ernest H. Shepard's original illustrations in one gorgeous oversize gift edition.  And it includes Three Cheers for Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World, by Brian Sibley, which provides readers with a historical reference point, starting with the story of Mrs. Milne's purchase of a stuffed bear at a London department store for their young son, Christopher Robin. Photographs, original manuscript pages and Shepard's sketches and illustrations complete the package.

 


from WINNIE-THE-POOH,
Chapter II ...In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place...

"We'll read to you," said Rabbit cheerfully. "And I
hope it won't snow," he added. "And I say, old fellow, you're
taking up a good deal of room in my house -- do you mind if I
use your back legs as a towel-horse? Because, I mean, there
they are -- doing nothing -- and it would be very convenient
just to hang the towels on them."

"A week!" said Pooh gloomily. "What about meals?"

"I'm afraid no meals," said Christopher Robin, "because
of getting thin quicker. But we will read to you."


Bear began to sigh, and then found he couldn't because
he was so tightly stuck; and a tear rolled down his eye, as he
said:

"Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would
help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness?" So for a
week Christopher Robin read that sort of book at the North end of Pooh,
and Rabbit hung his washing on the South end . . . and in
between Bear felt himself getting slenderer and slenderer. And
at the end of the week Christopher Robin said, "Now!"

So he took hold of Pooh's front paws and Rabbit took
hold of Christopher Robin, and all Rabbit's friends and
relations took hold of Rabbit, and they all pulled together....

And for a long time Pooh only said "Ow!" . . .

And "Oh!" . . .

And then, all of a sudden, he said "Pop!" just as if a
cork were coming out of bottle.

And Christopher Robin and Rabbit and all Rabbit's
friends and relations went head-over-heels backwards . . . and
on the top of them came Winnie-the-Pooh -- free!

So, with a nod of thanks to his friends, he went on
with his walk through the forest, humming proudly to himself.
But, Christopher Robin looked after him lovingly, and said to
himself, "Silly old Bear!"


A.A. Milne always acknowledged that it was his wife, Daphne, and his young son, Christopher Robin, who inspired him to write the poems and stories – the literary journey began in 1924 when the Very Young Christopher Robin was introduced to an American black bear at the London Zoological Gardens. (from PoohCorner.com)
Click on the link PoohCorner.com to read more about the origins of Winnie-the-Pooh.

And you can read my previous post "Making Friends With Pooh" by clicking HERE.

A.A. MILNE POEMS, MUPPET STYLE!

HALFWAY DOWN THE STAIRS
by A.A. MILNE (from WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG, published 1924)


Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair

Illustration: E.H. Shepard

Where I sit.
There isn't any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I'm not at the bottom,
I'm not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop.


Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
"It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!"

Harold Fraser-Simson, who put many of Milne's poems to music, adapted the verse. The resulting song, Halfway Down the Stairs, was used in the first season of THE MUPPET SHOW.


Another Muppet interpretation of an A.A. Milne poem that my kids loved: Cottleston Pie, by Rowlf.  Pooh sings “Cottleston Pie” in Chapter 6 ("In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents") of WINNIE-THE-POOH (published 1926). Pooh has just met up with Eeyore who greets him with a confounding conversation, so Pooh decides to sing...


"Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
(That was the first verse. When he had finished it, Eeyore didn't actually say that he didn't like it, so Pooh very kindly sang the second verse to him:)
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.

(Eeyore still said nothing at all, so Pooh hummed the third verse to himself:)
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,

Why does a chicken? I don't know why.

Ask me a riddle and I reply

Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie."