Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Travel the World: England: 100 Acres Woods: Winnie the Pooh

Last night I reread one of my favorite books of all time. A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. I can't begin to count how many times I've read--either on my own or read aloud--this brilliant book. The characters? Christopher Robin. Winnie ther Pooh. Piglet. Rabbit. Owl. Kanga and Roo. And of course the ever-sullen Eeyore. They're so wonderful. So lovable. So perfect. The language? So beloved. So familiar. So right. I really couldn't imagine a world without Pooh. Pooh captures everything that is so right with the world. The innocence. The charm. The love. The kindness. There's just something so good, so pure about Christopher Robin and his chums.

"So did I," said Christopher Robin.
"Then you can't call him Winnie?"
"I don't."
"But you said--"

Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, love to be told stories. (I think everyone likes to be told stories.) Pooh especially likes to be told stories about himself because as Christopher Robin says, "he's that sort of Bear."

The first story about Winnie-the-Pooh starts off like this, "Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders."

I just love that beginning. Don't you? It's silly; it's fun; it's just right. Once upon a time . . . about last Friday. Genius.

The stories themselves are very interactive. The narrator speaks to the child directly. I really think Pooh is the kind of story that is meant to be read aloud. And read aloud often. It bears much repeating. It only grows better each time it is experienced.

According to the 80th Anniversary edition of the book Winnie the Pooh has been translated into thirty-one different languages! Which makes him perfect for this Wednesday's edition of Travel the World.


Anonymous said...

Thanks for calling it to my attention that the White Linen Nurse doesn't count...I wasn't thinking! lol! I just picked stories from one of those web sites you had listed in the original post. I imagine a lot of the other ones I've chosen are just like The White Linen Nurse...oh well...I enjoyed the book nonetheless! lol!

chrisa511 said...

I've always wanted to read this and I never have! I just added this edition to my Amazon wishlist yesterday actually, so hopefully I'll get to it sometime this year. I've always loved the illustrations for the Pooh books. It's always looked like such a charming book.

Shelley said...

You're right--this is definitely read -aloud material. I read this the first time in fourth grade, and I think that was the beginning of my love of quirkiness.

Anonymous said...

I loved that addition too - the butter yellow pages, etc. I'm glad you found it.