Did you know that the bear of little brain, Winnie-the-Pooh, is 100 years old this year? A.A. Milne published the book in 1926 and followed it up two years later with The House at Pooh Corner. Both books were a huge success, with E.H. Shepard’s wonderful illustrations adding to the delight of the stories. Milne already had a good reputation as a writer – he had penned humorous stories for Punch, was a successful playwright and had written a murder mystery. Then he was asked to write poems for children, and When We Were Very Young was the result. He used his son’s toys as models (those toys are now held in a library in the USA), and his son also became a major character in the stories, though the fame he gained as Christopher Robin would come to blight Christopher Milne’s life. The name Winnie came from a bear called ‘Winnipeg’ at the London Zoo, which young Christopher liked to go and visit.
For many readers, Winnie-the-Pooh represented a blissful arcadia. The animals and boy are divorced from real-life problems – nobody has to earn a living (that supply of honey for Pooh seems inexhaustible), there are no issues with sex, no politics, very few rules and the trauma of WWI is conveniently ignored (although serving in the war turned Milne into both an atheist and a pacifist). There have been criticisms about the lack of female characters (there’s only Kanga), and no doubt today there will be attacks because no animal is black or LGBTQI+, but the stories continue to enchant and have become part of our culture and lexicon (I think I’m starting to feel eleven o’clockish!). The book has been translated into 72 languages, and a 1958 Latin translation made it onto the New York Times bestseller list, the first Latin book ever to do so. The Walt Disney film version came out in 1966 – personally, I can’t stand it and hate the Disney interpretations of the animals. In 2012, the book was ranked 26th on a list of Top 100 Children’s Novels. The manuscript is held at the Wren Library in Cambridge, UK (Milne was a student at the University of Cambridge).
Milne was a superb mathematician, and the stories have a fascinating mathematical logic to them (you find it when they follow the Heffalump). Christopher Robin is wise in the eyes of his animal friends, and children love to read about someone their age who is so looked up to and always seems to have the answers (even if those answers are wrong). The character types are universal – we all know people like Pooh who eat too much, Owl is dyslexic yet something of a know-it-all, Tigger would today be diagnosed as being ADHD, Eeyore suffers from depression and low self-esteem, Piglet is the nervy sort, and Roo is probably going through the terrible twos! I love them all and can go back to the stories with joy.
With my tour groups, I have played Poohsticks on the Poohsticks Bridge (where the game was invented) in the 100 Acre Wood, and I have walked in the wood.
I have visited the shop Nanny took young Christopher Robin to when he had a penny to spend on sweets, and I have watched and can recommend the 2017 film Goodbye Christopher Robin. There’s a very good biography of Milne by Ann Thwaite, A.A. Milne: His Life and this year there are two new books which I plan to read: The Men who Created Winnie-the-Pooh: The Lives of A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard by James Campbell, and Somewhere a Boy and a Bear: A Biography of A.A. Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh by Gyles Brandreth. It looks like 2026 will be a fabulous year of Pooh celebrations. Hunny, anyone?
Do you love Winnie-the-Pooh? How do you feel about the Disney adaptations? Let me know by leaving a comment.
Selected links for relevant websites, books, movies, videos, and more. Some of these links lead to protected content on this website, learn more about that here.
Susannah Fullerton: Winnie-the-Pooh – A.A. Milne, Video Talk
Susannah Fullerton: A.A. Milne
Susannah Fullerton: A.A. Milne marries
Susannah Fullerton: Christopher Robin Milne
Susannah Fullerton: Christopher Robin Milne is born
Susannah Fullerton: A.A. Milne dies
Susannah Fullerton: Edward Bear makes his first appearance
Susannah Fullerton: A.A. Milne & Pinkle Purr
Flashbak: Original Winnie The Pooh Drawings
Trinity College: Celebrating 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh
How Winnie-the-Pooh Became a Household Name
A.A. Milne: His Life by Ann Thwaite
The Men who Created Winnie-the-Pooh by James Campbell
Somewhere a Boy and a Bear by Gyles Brandreth
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, E.H.Shepard (Illus.)
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne, E.H.Shepard (Illus.)
Now We are Six by A.A. Milne, E.H.Shepard (Illus.)
Yvonne
I did not grow up with Winnie the Pooh books but read them to my children. They loved them and do I.
Lately I seem to get small segments of Winnie the Pooh videos where he mulls over the things he does each day. He helps chase the blues away by being very positive in a gentle way. The narrator has a beautiful voice and the drawings are a delight.hope to see you at the JASA meeting in Brisbane.
Yvonne
Susannah Fullerton
Yes, they are funny and positive stories and so beautifully written.
See you in Brisbane!
Christine Stevenson
‘The Enchanted Places’ written by Christopher Milne is also worth a read.
Playing Pooh Sticks on that bridge is indeed a magic moment.
Susannah Fullerton
I loved The Enchanted Places – fabulous book!
Chris Browne
Hi Susannah
I can highly recommend the Gyles Brandreth book which was one of my Christmas presents this year. (I did know Gyles slightly at Oxford; today he would have been labelled as the Boris Johnson of time, the person at Oxford most interested in becoming famous!)
Gyles does point out one important fact about Pooh, that is that although many of us are celebrating 100 years of Winne-the-Pooh in 2026, he did in fact first appear in print over Christmas 1925, where Milne had the first Pooh stories serialised in a London Evening paper (the Standard I believe from memory). This is why ‘Somewhere a Boy and a Bear” (great title) was published by Brandreth for Christmas 2025. None the less, like many a Pooh fan, I will be cerebrating Pooh this year with an “in conversation event” in Melbourne Rare Book Week 2026 in partnership with with Jane Sullivan, together with Pooh readings, and a prize for the best looking bear that attends!
Like you, I loathe the Disney version of Winnie-the Pooh (and just about everything else that is regurgitated from that Mecca of tastelessness. Everything that Disney Studios touch just seems to turn to… well… Pooh!
Hummingly yours
Chris
Susannah Fullerton
I’ll be buying the Gyles Brandreth book when I get back to Sydney – I’ve looked at it it in bookshops and it looks great. Yes, I knew that Pooh had appeared in the paper the year before.
I assume you have played Poohsticks in the actual spot??
Keep humming!
Rosalind
I can’t comment except to say I would not even start to watch a Disney adaptation.
Susannah Fullerton
It’s ghastly, isn’t it!
Valerie Brown
Dear Susannah, growing up in the late 1940s and 1950s Winnie the Pooh was my favourite bear – I loved the books then and still do – the bear of very little brain is definitely one of my favourite book characters! Thank you so much for reminding us that this very special bear turns 100 this year!
Susannah Fullerton
He is so special. Like you, I adore the stories and was surprised to find the anniversary had crept up on me. I hope there are celebrations for the book this year.