It is Winnie the Pooh Day! It is held on this day because it is the creator of the stories, A.A.Milne's birthday. Milne created these stories for his son Christopher Robin who had a teddy bear, bought from Harrods that he named Winnie-the-Pooh after the bear, Winnie that he visited at the London Zoo.
Winnie-the-Pooh (or Pooh) and Christopher Robin had adventures in Hundred Acre Wood, which was inspired by Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashwood Forest in East Sussex—situated 48kms south of London—where the Londoner Milne's country home was located. Joining them on these adventures were other animal characters that were also based on toys of Christopher Milne – Piglet, Eyesore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger.
The stories first appeared in1924. In 1961,The Walt Disney Company bought a license to use Pooh as a cartoon/movie character and they removed the hyphens in his name and dressed him in the clothes seen on the Disney Pooh. The original toys are in a glass case at the New York Library and they look like the E.H Shepherd illustrations.
When it comes to the actual Pooh stories, I much prefer the original E.H.Shepherd illustrations. but I know that the young children I teach prefer coloured illustrations and are so exposed to Disney that they want Pooh to look like the one they see.
Several well known English authors have written prequels and sequels to the stories, most notably Jane Riordan and Jeanne Willis. Jeanne Willis' picture book story episodes work well for my young audience. So far she has done four. They are illustrated by Mark Burgess. (Notice she has reinstated the hyphens).
• What Shall We Do Winnie-the-Pooh?
Jane Riordan is the author of the picture books for Disney but you will notice that she too has used the hyphens in Pooh's name.
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