Today In History: A.A. Milne Publishes Winnie the Pooh

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.

--A.A. Milne, Chapter 1, "In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin", Winnie-the-Pooh, p.1.

Did you know that on October 14th, 1926, British author A.A. Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh, a collection of children's stories, with inspiration drawn from his young son, Christopher Robin, and his beloved animal toys -- among them, a honey-loving golden teddy bear, named Pooh; sad gray donkey, Eeyore; lively, motherly kangaroo, Kanga; shy little pig, Piglet; and bouncy, energetic tiger, Tigger? These characters live in the forest surrounding Hundred Acre Wood, with master Christopher Robin close by. This young boy brings sensible solutions to life's everyday predicaments: getting trapped in trees (in pursuit of honey); stuck in doorways (eating too much honey); or caught in rising rivers (tempting the forces of nature).

Winnie-the-Pooh came to literary book life, thanks to the publisher of Milne's earlier children's work, Methuen, in England; E. P. Dutton in the United States; and McClelland & Stewart in Canada. The first Pooh bear story was published in The Evening News, a London newspaper, on Christmas Eve, 1925, with illustrations by J.H. Dowd, and it later was serialized the Boston Daily Globe, with famous illustrations by E.H. Shepherd -- many based on Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England.

A classic work of children's fiction, which includes silly poems, Winnie the Pooh has been adapted to screen and stage, and remains a favorite among younger and older readers -- offering insightful, often humorous insight into human behavior. Held in the Schwarzman Building, Gottesman Hall, the New York Public Library, the self-described "Bear of Very Little Brain" and his stuffed animal friends (apart from Roo, Kanga's long lost baby) are iconic symbols of childhood, love, and learning.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Milne, A. A. (1926, May 23). Winnie-the-Pooh: Faring Forth With Christopher Robin and the Big Bear Into A Place Where Live the "Wrong Kind Of Bees". The Sun (1837-)

• Milne, A. (1926, Sep 26). Winnie-the-Pooh Finds A Tail: An Item Of Interest To Eeyore, the Old Gray Donkey. Boston Daily Globe (1923-1927)

• Moore, A.C. (1926, Oct 17). The Three Owls: Mr. Shepard's Pictures. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962)

• Milne, A., & Salg, B. (1926, Jul 18). Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Hunting: With Piglet On the Trail of the Woozle and Wizzle. Boston Daily Globe (1923-1927)

• Grove, Lee. (1950, Nov 10). The Original Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger and Kanga Go on Exhibit. The Washington Post (1923-1954)

• Sakol, J. (1966, Jun 08). In British Universities Pooh-Bear Wins Admirers. The Sun (1837-)

• Literary Favorites for Children. (1968, Nov 12). The Christian Science Monitor (1908-)

• Winnie-the-Pooh Hits 50. (1976, Oct 14). Newsday (1940-)

• MacPherson, K. (1984, Dec 23). Pains Taken for Pooh: Original Bear Has a Protector. The Hartford Courant (1923-)

• It's Bullish for Bears. (1996, Oct 19). The Guardian (1959-2003)

• Kelso, P. (1997, Jun 20). Winnie-the-Pooh Drawings Likely to Strike Gold. The Guardian (1959-2003)

• Gillies, J.S. (2001, Jan 21). Updating a Classic: In Which a Famous English Bear Meets Japanese-Style Puppetry. The Washington Post (1974-)

• Shea, C. D. (2016, Oct 15). New Friend for Pooh. New York Times (1923-)

Tips:

• Hoff, Benjamin. The Tao of Pooh. New York: Penguin, 1983. PR6025.I65 Z68 1983

• Milne, A.A. Winnie-the-Pooh. New York E.P. Dutton & Company, 1926. Closed Stacks. PZ7.M64 Wi 1926

• Williams, John Tyerman., and Ernest H. Shepard. Pooh and the Philosophers : in Which It Is Shown That All of Western Philosophy Is Merely a Preamble to Winnie-the-Pooh. New York: Dutton Books, 1996. PR6025.I65 Z976 1996

Images:

• Boy Carrying Bear, Courtesy Piqsels

• Special News Slide Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries

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