Lindsay Mattick

A young mother, appealed to for a bedtime story, tells the tale of Harry Coleburn, a Canadian veterinarian who adopts an orphaned young bear cub on his way to serve in World War I. Named Winnie, in honor of Coleburn's hometown of Winnipeg, the cub soon becomes a beloved mascot for the entire regiment, settling admirably into military life, and lifting the spirits of all the men. Traveling with them across the sea to England, Winnie continues to grow. When Harry Coleburn discovers that he is show more soon to be sent to the front, he finds a home for Winnie at the London Zoo, where she will be safe. It is here that she is befriended by a young boy named Christopher Robin, who named his own stuffed bear Winnie-the-Pooh in her honor...

Awarded the Caldecott Medal last month, Finding Winnie is a lovely book, one that features both beautiful artwork and an engaging tale. Sophie Blackall captures her ursine heroine's appeal, depicting her charming expressions in many scenes. Her contentment, when sucking at a bottle, her affection, when looking at Coleburn, are all ably conveyed. My favorite scene, visually speaking, was the one in which Winnie and Coleburn rub foreheads in a poignant and loving moment, shortly before they are parted. A beautiful book, visually speaking, this is a book that is just as engaging textually. I liked the dual-narrative, in which the mother - author Lindsay Mattick, herself Harry Coleburn's great-granddaughter - tells the story to her young son, and thought his occasional interjections moved the story along, rather than interrupted it. I also found the text beautiful in its own right. Highly recommended to anyone looking for engaging tales of people and their animal friends, who are interested in the origins of Winnie-the-Pooh, or who admire Sophie Blackall's artwork. show less

This is the true story of the bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie was a Canadian bear cub adopted by a veterinarian who served in the Canadian army during WWI. Winnie became the company's mascot. She traveled with them from Canada to England, and she found a new home in the London Zoo when the company left for the front lines. Christopher Robin Milne was a frequent visitor to the zoo, and his love for Winnie inspired his father to write a series of children's books about a bear named show more Winnie. The story is enchantingly told, with passages like “the train rolled right through dinner and over the sunset and around ten o'clock and into a nap and out the next day”. The story-within-a-story format gives the book a cozy feel. Children will want to curl up with their own teddy bears while they listen to this bedtime story. show less

This is a really neat picture book -- I love the pacing, the illustrations, the story. It's broken nicely into 3 parts, so you can enjoy them one at a time or all at once. It's a sweet story, and a crazy one, and satisfying that it connects to the origins of Winnie the Pooh on top of being a great story in its own right. I never imagined that someone could buy a bear and bring it to the front in WWI, or that child could make friends with a bear at the zoo and be allowed into the enclosure to show more play with it. A different time. show less

After enjoying [b:Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh|21469062|Winnie The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh|Sally M. Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421837322s/21469062.jpg|40786988] I wasn't sure if I could judge [b:Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear|24819508|Finding Winnie The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear|Lindsay Mattick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453570693s/24819508.jpg|44460289] show more objectively. But I must say, this does not suffer in comparison. It is longer, which makes it better for older children. It's more poetic and literary. And (yay!) it was written by a descendant of Winnie's first best friend, Harry. Even though I do have a bit of a problem with the ideas of zoos and wild animals as pets, in this particular case it was a good thing for Winnie, and for children and readers everywhere, that Harry adopted the bear cub.

Note, though, that one does not need to be any sort of a fan of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories to love either of these picture-books.

However, now I really want to reread the original Pooh stories. If you've not done so yet, I highly recommend them. So much better than the Disney versions. show less