Original Drawing by E.H. Shepherd
It was on this day back in 1926 that the first of A.A. Milne’s classic children’s books, Winnie-the-Pooh, was published. In the 85 years since, the beloved Pooh and Christopher Robin, along with his close group of friends who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood, have engrained themselves into the fabric of childhoods around the globe. So great is this gentle bear’s influence that he has garnered streets name after him in Warsaw, Poland and Budapest. There was even a Latin translation of the original book that became a NY Times Bestseller– the only book in Latin to ever do so. Not to mention the countless trinkets and films the series has spawned from the Disney Co.
But while there may have been product overkill over the years, the basic gentleness of Winnie the Pooh remains intact after all these years. His openly good nature and sweet simplicity still lives on. And that, I think, is a good thing. We could all learn a thing or two from this little honey loving bear and his friends.
Map of Hundred Acre Wood from EH Shepherd 1959
Redtree Times 