Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Winnie the Pooh Day


It's time for a celebration! 
January 18th is "Winnie the Pooh Day"

In case you've lived under a rock and don't know who Winnie is, here's a bit of background. Written by A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh came into existence in the 1920's. According to just-pooh.com, "This book includes a poem about a Teddy Bear who 'however hard he tries grows tubby without exercise.' This was Pooh's first unofficial appearance in A.A. Milne's writing. 'When We Were Very Young' proved to be an instant success and sold over 50,000 copies within eight weeks.
Pooh bear writing a letter
It was not until 1925 that Pooh officially came into being. Milne's contribution for the Christmas Eve issue of the Evening News was a bedtime story that he had made up for his son about adventures he had with his Teddy Bear who was known as Winnie the Pooh. It was also at this time that the Milne family moved to the cottage at Cotchford Farm in Sussex which later provided the setting for the Pooh books"
Since these stories were published, the world of Christopher Robin (the young boy who's bear Pooh is), Pooh, Eeyore (the pessimistic donkey with a lost tail), Rabbit, Tigger (the energetic bouncing tiger), Piglet, and the Mother/Son duo Kanga and Roo has erupted. Appearing in countless books, the pals from the 100 Acre wood have become cartoon and movie stars. Countless plays, musicals, movies, commercials have been created. Not to mention the enormous amount of toys, games, and clothing manufactured featuring these characters each year.
So in your travels today, spare a bit of time for Winnie and his pals in the 100 Acre woods. 
Why don't you stop by and see what your local library has by A.A. Milne or about Winnie? You may be surprised!