Winnie - the - Pooh

Winnie - the - Pooh by A.A. Milne was first published eighty years ago on the 14th October 1926. Children since have enjoyed the stories of Winnie - the - Pooh and seeing him go bump, bump, bump downstairs, discovering how much he loves honey and being introduced to all his other friends in the forest. So how did it all begin?
Milne first got the idea when he took his son Christopher Robin to London zoo in 1924. There they saw an American black bear. The bear once belonged to Harry Colebourn a Canadian. Who was a lieutenant in the Canadian army, were he was a Veterinary officer. He bought the bear from a man at a railway station in Canada in August 1914. The man had shot her mother and the cub subsequently had no one to look after it. Harry Colebourn took pity on the cub and having paid $20 dollars for the cub she became an army mascot. By December 1914 the First World War was taking place and he had to go to France. As he had to go through London, Harry Colebourn left the bear at London zoo to be safely looked after while he was away. He thought it would be only a few weeks before he would come back and reclaim her but it was four years though before he could get back. Seeing how happy she was and that the bear had become known as Winnie after Winnipeg, Harry Colebourn's hometown, he decided it was best for her to stay. He visited Winnie whenever he was able to; she was a very friendly bear. Christopher Robin like many other children and adults loved Winnie and named his teddy bear after her. The name pooh came from a Swan Christopher Robin knew.
The Forest where Winne - the - Pooh and his friends lived is Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. Which is where A.A. Milne lived with his family Christopher Robin didn't like the fact that his father used his name in the books. He was teased and never really came to terms with it. This affectionate story became a world wide classic. Perhaps if A.A Milne had been able to see the impact of his work he wouldn't have used his sons name in the book. Particularly if he'd been beware of the burden it would put on his son.
Ernest Shepard did the beautiful drawings that illustrated the stories of Winnie - the - Pooh. Later Disney made films about Winnie - the - Pooh. The bright garish cartoon character to me doesn't depict the rather gentle old - fashioned bear whose story I adored listening to and looking at before bedtime.
However the game of Poohsticks is something that will always remain the same. Everybody must have at some stage played it. It is very simple, however this I am sure has nothing to do with its inventor being a bear of very little brain. Poohsticks is played in The House at Pooh Corner. I read Chapter Six In which Pooh invents a new game and Eeyore joins in just recently. It brought back a flood of memories and made me not just smile but laugh. The enjoyment and characters had lost none of there appeal over the years, which is why it is a classic.
© Children's Web Magazine 2006