Eleanor Taylor

Jolly couplets about colors are teamed with cute pictures of Pooh and his friends to give a happy little board book I'd find easy to read to a toddler over and over.

(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 show more my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

I want to like this educational story about bees, but the author has the nerve to use the most cliched and formulaic of Pooh plots: Pooh wakes up in the morning, realizes he has a problem, walks around the Hundred-Acre Wood and discusses it with his friends one by one and then has a celebratory party once a resolution has been reached.

Also, part of the advice for helping bees is to leave out dishes of standing water for them, but that directly contradicts advice about suppressing mosquito show more breeding grounds.

Though the book is copyright by Disney, the art mimics that of E. H. Shepard, giving us a Roo who looks like a cross between a chipmunk and a squashed bug.

(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

I have tremendous respect for Emma Thompson, but I did not care for this. It plays up the madcap adventures angle, and tames down the imminent danger, which is more in keeping with modern sentiment, but is also kind of less interesting.

Also, what the hell is wrong with the English? How is it none of them can write of Scotland without kilts and haggis? Honestly I'm surprised there weren't any bagpipe jokes. Why the hell would rabbits have haggis? They're vegetarians! Also, how quickly does show more Thompson think McGregor and wife can get to the highlands in their open wagon?

This reads very much like the scripts for the episodes of any animated kids show based on a really awesome book: it's similar, but weak sauce. I think it's clear that Potter didn't really know what she wanted to do with her stories, and they're all over the place. But that's part of the charm to me.

Likewise, the art is lovely, but Peter is looking much younger and rounder. Less like an actual rabbit in a coat and cuter. But I love how accurate the animals are, despite their clothes, in Potter's books.

Library copy 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