Jane Riordan

Jane Riordan is shaping up to be one of my favorite writers of the Pooh sequels authorized by the trustees of the Pooh Properties and the Shepard Trust with her gentle but cute stories that capture some of the tone and wordplay of A.A. Milne.

Chapter One, in which Pooh has a lucky day

Pooh and his friends go hunting for four-leaf clovers in this sedate start. It has one of the worst mnemonic songs for all time to help remember the colors of the rainbow.


Chapter Two, in which Piglet finds a show more jewel

Oh, my. Are those Christopher Robin's infamous blue braces? Piglet is delighted to help return them to working order.

Chapter Three, in which Tigger is good at many things

Tigger brings his chaos, as usual, but helps set things right also.

Chapter Four, in which Eeyore tolerates relations

The cutest chapter of the book has Rabbit's friends and relations intruding into Eeyore's gloomy place.

Chapter Five, in which a prickly thing gets Rabbit

A mischievous new character is introduced in the Hundred-Acre Wood by way of a prank on Rabbit.

Chapter Six, in which Roo digs and Kanga worries

The friends build pyramids in the Sandy Place the day before a visit to the British Museum to see all the stolen Egyptian artifacts.

Chapter Seven, in which Owl doesn't sleep

Owl's difficulty sleeping during the day turns into a night of stargazing for all the residents of the Hundred-Acre Wood in this sedate conclusion.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Introduction -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter One, in which Pooh has a lucky day -- Chapter Two, in which Piglet finds a jewel -- Chapter Three, in which Tigger is good at many things -- Chapter Four, in which Eeyore tolerates relations -- Chapter Five, in which a prickly thing gets Rabbit -- Chapter Six, in which Roo digs and Kanga worries -- Chapter Seven, in which Owl doesn't sleep -- Facts about the Forest -- Carmen: A New Friend

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

One last Christmas book for the year!

Pooh saw in a book that Christmas trees are a thing, so he and Piglet set off to find a tree that will fit in Pooh's home . . . inside a tree. And once they find a good candidate, they recruit their friends to figure out how to make the rooted thing a bit more . . . mobile. Christopher Robin, as always, provides the best option.

Cute and charming.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to show more indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

Earlier today I read Winnie the Pooh Goes to London and enjoyed Pooh's little day trip around the big city. But then I discovered that it was an abridged version of this book, which has been published as Winnie-the-Pooh and the Royal Birthday and Winnie-The-Pooh Meets the Queen, and boy, it's much better than the shortened version.

It turns out that in 2016, both Winnie the Pooh and Queen Elizabeth II had 90th birthdays, and this book was made to celebrate that fact. Christopher Robin takes show more Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore to London and they take in the sites as the head to Buckingham Palace to give the queen a present.

Jim Broadbent reads the story in this official Disney video: https://youtu.be/t2tSqyVJC7M

This unabridged version is much livelier, with more wordplay reminiscent of Milne and reference to Pooh's origin in Harrods department store. It also includes an appearance by Prince George of Cambridge that not included in the abridged version. And it has a lovely coda at the end about Pooh's age.

This is the version to get. I read a library copy today, but now I hope to add a copy to our personal collection one day.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

First sentence: Not so very far away there is a forest. You've probably been there. It's the sort of Forest with trees to hide behind, sticks to bend and snap, streams to wet your toes in, and steep running down-y bits to run down. In this Forest, two friends sat in a patch of sunlight.

Premise/plot: This is the official prequel to A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. These are stories that take place before the first book. For example, ever wonder how Winnie the Pooh came to be Christopher Robin's show more bear? Ever wonder about Pooh's experiences in a department store? The stories mainly seem to stand alone.

My thoughts: I had very high expectations. This one mostly lived up to those high expectations. I wouldn't say that it was completely and totally magical from cover to cover. But there were two or three stories that really stood out to me as wonderful. Most were pleasantly good and solid--nothing disappointing. I loved Eeyore's origin story, for example. And Piglet's story with the boot was also great.

Is this one necessary for every Pooh lover? Maybe. Maybe not. The originals are SO wonderful, marvelous, memorably epic. This prequel is solidly good and pleasant enough. I definitely enjoyed it more than not. I don't know that it is something that would be an absolute must for every fan. show less