Winnie-the-Pooh

This book has a special place in my heart because it was the first "big boy" book I ever read in Japanese. OK, that might just mean I'm immature. Eventually, years later, I read the English original to my daughter when she was little, and it became a huge favorite of hers. But deep in my heart, this little dude is still クマのプーさん and I have my dog-eared well-marked-up study copy to prove it was a bear to get through when I first read it.

A read-aloud to my youngest (7 y/o girl) at bedtime. In a world of 7-second scene changes and high stakes for every minor show, the pacing is drastically different here. Some of the classic tales that I remember from the Disney version are here, Pooh on a balloon to get honey and stuck in Rabbits hole, and the pacing is just nice, simple stories that are fun for all 7 to 700 year olds. What stands out is Milne's storytelling. The use of capitalization to make these simple moments as big moments or big titles lets the adult reader know that their child, who has a lot less history and experience underneath them might view these stories as bigger than what the adult thinks they are. So it's clear that while Milne is writing stories for his show more child, he's reminding the reader that they need to remember to read the stories with the mind of a child, and that is not a put-down to children and their minds.

Pooh's little songs he makes up and boops and bops along tie him to a child, who experience teaches the parents, that this happens on many occasions. And not to psychoanalyze the story too much, but the characters' personalities are consistent with them as the child can go through these same kinds of moods and even jump from one to another in their own play and experience. The friendship maintained amongst the characters might seem at odds but considering that they speak truthfully to what the child feels within themselves and needs to "play safely" with these feelings to figure out how to balance them, the stories hold the cohesive nature without the other characters have to teach the lesson to the other characters.

I believe A.A. Milne is a genius at sneaking lessons to both children and adults in these stories. His use of language is poetic and each story holds some fascinating look for daughter...and father alike. Final Grade - A+ show less

I grew up on Winnie-the-Pooh, but only the Disney version. I mean, I had wood-cuts of the figures hanging on my wall as a child, along with Pooh curtains, Pooh bedspread, and even a Pooh lamp and coat rack. But somehow, someway, I had never been exposed to the original book. I picked this copy up a few years ago at a thrift store in New Bern that no longer exists and finally sat down to read it.

This book was pretty much guaranteed to find a place in my heart because of the place Pooh already had, but the whole structure of the storytelling makes it jump to the top of the list. Here we have the story of the narrator (obviously Milne) telling stories to his son Christopher Robin about his adventures with his toys. This is what parenthood show more is, folks. Milne creates the world in which his son imagines himself, and his son loves every minute of it, completely buying the stories his father tells him as truth, because why wouldn't he?

And the way the stories are written, we are immediately a part of this world that Milne has created for his son. That's the magic of a good children's story.

This book is definitely going to find a regular place in my children's bedtime stories. show less

Charming bunch of stories for children with some amusement for the adults reading as well. The narrator nails the questions and logic of a child and manages to inject a silly humour they'll love. Although I was surprised by the gun. I mean Christopher Robin's what 4 years? What on earth made Milne think of adding that detail? Shows how times have changed, that's for sure. My favourite part was the "deception which we are practising on these bees". 4 stars.

“It’s like this,” he said. “When you go after honey with a balloon, the great thing is not to let the bees know you’re coming. Now, if you have a green balloon, they might think you were only part of the tree, and not notice you, and if you have a blue balloon, they might show more think you were only part of the sky, and not notice you, and the question is: Which is most likely?” “Wouldn’t they notice you underneath the balloon?” you asked. “They might or they might not,” said Winnie-the-Pooh. “You never can tell with bees.” He thought for a moment and said: “I shall try to look like a small black cloud. That will deceive them.” “Then you had better have the blue balloon,” you said; and so it was decided.

Milne, A. A.. Winnie-the-Pooh (AmazonClassics Edition) (pp. 10-11). AmazonClassics. Kindle Edition.

“Isn’t that fine?” shouted Winnie-the-Pooh down to you. “What do I look like?” “You look like a Bear holding on to a balloon,” you said. “Not,” said Pooh anxiously, “—not like a small black cloud in a blue sky?” “Not very much.” “Ah, well, perhaps from up here it looks different. And, as I say, you never can tell with bees.”

Milne, A. A.. Winnie-the-Pooh (AmazonClassics Edition) (p. 11). AmazonClassics. Kindle Edition.

“Christopher Robin!” “Yes?” “Have you an umbrella in your house?” “I think so.” “I wish you would bring it out here, and walk up and down with it, and look up at me every now and then, and say ‘Tut-tut, it looks like rain.’ I think, if you did that, it would help the deception which we are practising on these bees.”

Milne, A. A.. Winnie-the-Pooh (AmazonClassics Edition) (pp. 12-13). AmazonClassics. Kindle Edition.

“Christopher Robin, you must shoot the balloon with your gun. Have you got your gun?” “Of course I have,” you said. “But if I do that, it will spoil the balloon,” you said. “But if you don’t,” said Pooh, “I shall have to let go, and that would spoil me.” When he put it like this, you saw how it was, and you aimed very carefully at the balloon, and fired. “Ow!” said Pooh. “Did I miss?” you asked. “You didn’t exactly miss,” said Pooh, “but you missed the balloon.”

Milne, A. A.. Winnie-the-Pooh (AmazonClassics Edition) (pp. 15-16). AmazonClassics. Kindle Edition. show less

Cute enough that I wish I'd read it to my kids when they were smaller, primarily because if I had, then all of us could have been startled by the sinister kidnapping storyline instead of just me.

I always wanted to be one of those moms that read great books to their kids when they are little, books that are the children's classics, and when they are adults they can look back and remember fondly how their mama used to read these to them. Now I know this is an idealized vision, but there's no harm in starting to read these books to them now, is there? I decided to start with Winnie the Pooh, which I've never read before; I always wished this was one of my childhood memories, and now I am making this one of her memories.

I can see why this story is beloved by so many. The narrator is a father, and he is telling stories to his son, Christopher Robin. All the stories feature some of Christopher's stuffed animals, who come to live in show more the Hundred Acre Woods and take on lives of their own. The story within a story framework works well, because we get the intermittent comments from Christopher Robin and his father's answers, which makes it feel authentically like a parent telling a child a story and captures that innocence and imagination of childhood. Milne does an excellent job in portraying a child's voice. Christopher Robin is inquisitive, he is curious but wants to act like he knows it all, he wants his friends to be happy, he wants to go on daring adventures.

These adventures are the stories that comprise each chapter. They are whimsical, and exciting without being too dangerous. Like the time Pooh does his best to get at the honey in a tree, even dressing up like a little rain cloud. Or when the whole forest floods over in a massive rain (and how many children really do think that their world is going to flood when it rains hard?) and Pooh has to save Piglet. The stories are charming, Christopher Robin is a quintessential child, his father is adoring and has a good sense of humor, and there is a healthy dose of nonsense rhymes mixed in, to boot. A great book, and I plan to read the rest of the series to my own little girl. show less

The funny thing about Winnie-The-Pooh is that it has become so much a part of our cultural vernacular that it’s easy to take it for granted. Rereading this as an adult was highly enjoyable and sweetly poignant in all the right places, without being sickly sweet or too moralistic. If you dislike the Disney Pooh, give the real thing a go.