Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (Methuen & Co., 1926) is the first book in a series of collected short stories that follow the titular character and his friends on numerous adventures through the woods where they live. The second book in the series is House at Pooh Corner. The stories are accompanied by images from award-winning British illustrator E. H. Shepard, and the Winnie-the-Pooh stories have become classics of children’s literature. Winnie-the-Pooh has been translated into over 50 languages, including Latin; in fact, it was the only Latin book ever featured on the New York Times Best Seller List.

The books have inspired several movies and television shows, particularly under the Walt Disney label. The first of Disney’s adaptations was Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in 1966.

British author and playwright A. A. Milne (1882-1956) attended Westminster School and Trinity College before finding success as a comedy writer with Punch magazine. In 1924, in collaboration with Shepard, Milne released When We Were Young, a collection of children’s poetry, which inspired him to write Winnie-the-Pooh. Since Milne’s death, the Pooh legacy has grown and continues to inspire young readers across the world.

This guide follows the 2009 Dutton Children’s Books edition of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Plot Summary

Winnie-the-Pooh contains 10 short stories about Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood as they follow their imaginations to find adventure, using simple ideas and friendship to overcome any obstacles they face. In Chapter 1, “In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin,” Pooh attempts to get honey from a beehive with Christopher Robin’s help, but the bees aren’t fooled by their tricks. Next in Chapter 2, “In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place,” Pooh goes to see his good friend Rabbit, eating quite a bit of honey and extending his stay for longer than planned when he gets stuck in Rabbit’s doorway. Chapter 3, “In Which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle,” Pooh and one of his best friends, Piglet, follow what they believe are Woozle tracks but in fact are nothing that scary, as Christopher Robin explains when he encounters them walking in circles.

Pooh’s adventures continue in Chapter 4, “In Which Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One.” This chapter introduces Pooh’s friend Eeyore, the gloomy, gray donkey, whom Pooh helps out of an unfortunate situation, discovering that Owl found Eeyore’s tail and is using it as a bell-pull. In Chapter 5, “In Which Piglet Meets a Heffalump,” Pooh and Piglet set out to catch a Heffalump but end up confusing one another instead, until Christopher Robin appears on the scene. Chapter 6, “In Which Eeyore Has a Birthday and Gets Two Presents,” demonstrates the power of friendship and giving as Pooh and Piglet help Eeyore have his best birthday ever. Next, Chapter 7, “In Which Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest, and Piglet Has a Bath,” introduces new friends and shows how actions can have unexpected outcomes.

The final three stories link together to bring the collection to a close and show Pooh at the center of his group of friends. In Chapter 8, “In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition to the North Pole,” Pooh receives credit for finding the North Pole. This segues into Chapter 9, “In Which Piglet Is Entirely Surrounded by Water,” in which Pooh has fallen asleep after searching for the East Pole. When Pooh wakes to find the Hundred Acre Wood flooded from days of rain, he eats all his honey, which prompts him to jump into the water as a mysterious object floats by, which he thinks is a honeypot. Rather than honey, however, the object is a message from Piglet asking for help, and Pooh goes to Christopher Robin’s house, where he has the brilliant idea to use Christopher Robin’s umbrella as a boat. The two save Piglet, and in Chapter 10, “In Which Christopher Robin Gives Pooh a Party, and We Say Good-bye,” Christopher Robin throws a party to thank Pooh for being such a good friend to Piglet. As the book ends, the narrator and author, the real-life Christopher Robin’s father, hints that Pooh and his friends will have more adventures soon.