161 pagesCopyright 1926, reprinted 1988
Dutton Children's Books
New York, NY
I've always loved Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in The Hundred Acre Wood. I can remember watching a cartoon episode of his adventures almost every Saturday as a child. So I don't mind that he has become the most loved stuffed toy that my daughter possesses. Currently she loves anything Winnie-the-Pooh and is quick to point out "Pigget", "Tigger", "Owl", "Eeyore" and "Roo."
So I am glad I took the time to read Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne, as I'm not sure I've ever had it read to me.
For those unfamiliar with the book, Winnie-the-Pooh is the first of two children's story books about a young boy named Christopher Robin and his friends who live in The Hundred Acre Wood, including the lovable bear without much brain, "Edward Bear" also known as "Winnie-the-Pooh", also known as "Pooh."
The stories within Winnie-the-Pooh are told through narration, presumably the author (who happened to be the father of the real Christopher Robin). The book consists of ten chapters following the adventures that Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo share together. I found it interesting to note that in this first book about Pooh Bear there is no Tigger. Perhaps he'll appear in the next book?
While love, friendship, honesty, sharing and other such honorable traits abound in the stories they aren't really the point of the stories. Rather, the stories are meant to be cute, charming, and comical stories that children will love and which make excellent bed time reading. Between the excellent story tale writing and the scattered pen and ink illustrations throughout the pages Winnie-the-Pooh is a wonderful read-aloud for young children.
On a scale of 1-5, 1 being horrible and 5 being excellent I would rate A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh a 5. It is a timeless classic that I can't wait to share with my daughter, perhaps next year after I've had a chance to add it to her personal library collection.
If you haven't read Winnie-the-Pooh be sure to add it to your list. You'll enjoy it as will the children you share it with.
4 comments:
Yes, Tigger comes in the second book.
I just read my 23-month-old both Winnie-the-pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. I read while he played with his toys, about five pages a day. He would request most mornings, pointing up at the bookshelf, and he would run over to look at the pictures in between playing with his toys. When I closed the last page of the last book, he looked up from his toy and said, "More? Pooh?"
I don't know how old your daughter is, but I say, don't wait to read it to her! She'll love it even if she's rather young.
I read this and The House at Pooh Corner outloud to my kids about 5 years ago and they loved it. Personally, I thought this book was so much more enjoyable when I read it as an adult. I think Milne does a great job of capturing human nature in his stories. We get these books out every couple of years and re-read them.
As a child I loved both Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. The books were read to me and later I read them more than once myself. It might be interesting to reread them now, many years later.
Rebecca, thanks for the tip. My daugter is 26 months and I tried it out today. Read the first chapter of THaPC while she played. She ran over periodically and looked at the book, thankfully just as I turned a page to pictures. I think she enjoyed it. We'll see. :)
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