ALTHOUGH I knew of Winnie the Pooh, I wasn’t truly introduced to his stories until young adulthood, and they became firm favourites. I was excited to discover recently more stories of this lovable bear and his friends. Although not written by original author A. A. Milne and drawn by illustrator Ernest H. Shepard, they follow in the same traditions and this is the first authorised sequel to the Winnie the Pooh tales.

The 10 chapters begin with Christopher Robin’s return from boarding school.

Familiar adventures such as the search for honey occur along with slightly older activities acknowledging Christopher Robin’s school interests, such as a spelling bee, the game of cricket being introduced and Owl becoming an author. Chapter four sees the introduction of Lottie the otter who surfaces from the dry riverbed and remains in the rest of the stories. These stories follow so much in the vein of previous editions, that it would be hard to see the difference. Winnie the Pooh is still obsessed with honey, Owl’s spelling has not improved, Eeyore’s still gloomy, Tigger bouncy and Piglet often left out.

Mark Burgess has used the same style with his illustrations, and the book begins in the same tradition with a map at the beginning depicting a view of the forest from Christopher Robin’s House.

An enjoyable read for any lovers of Winnie the Pooh.

Interesting fact:

Benedictus said one decision that involved some wrangling was the creation of a new character, which he was determined to introduce. His first concept, a grass snake, was not too enthusiastically received because there were those, he says, who thought a “grass snake would be too scary for children”.

So instead the character became Lottie the Otter, whom the author describes as “a bit of a snob and … a bit catty, too”. Aside from Lottie, the trustees and publishers did not want the characters to stray too much from the original. (Source: npr).