The little bear and his small gang of Hundred Acre Wood friends have captivated children’s imagination for nearly a hundred years. Pooh, along with Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl, and the little boy Christopher Robin were the literary creations of English writer AA Milne.

Alexander Alan Milne was born in London on 18 January 1882. He studied at Henley House School, a small independent school run by his father. One of the teachers at the school was HG Wells. After earning a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University, AA Milne moved back to London where we worked as assistant editor of the humour magazine Punch for eight years. Despite being a staunch pacifist he was drafted in World War 1 and served for the British army. He was injured in the Battle of Somme; and returned to England suffering from post-traumatic stress caused by his experience in the war. He could not take the busy life of London and moved his family to the countryside outside of East Sussex. As he slowly recovered, he spent a lot of time in the woods in the area with his only son Christopher Robin, nicknamed Billy Moon. These woods became the setting for the forthcoming adventures of the Hundred Acre gang of friends. And the woodland walks planted in AA Milne the roots of the tales of the motley group of anthropomorphic animals. 

How did the woods become populated with these characters whose charm has remained undiminished for a hundred years? Christopher Robin himself was introduced by his father in a poem titled Vespers which was published in 1923. Another poem mentions a Mr Edward Bear, which was the name of the toy bear that Milne had given his son on his first birthday. But a visit to London Zoo where Christopher saw a black bear rescued from Winnipeg in Canada, led to the renaming of Edward the toy bear as Winnie. The christening was complete when Christopher told his father about a swan that he fed every morning, and how, if the swan did not come, Christopher would say “pooh” implying ‘I don’t care!’ Thus, on Christmas Eve 1925, AA Milne’s short story The Wrong Sort of Bees formally introduced Winnie the Pooh, the teddy bear often dragged down the stairs by his owner Christopher Robin. In no time, the big-hearted but slightly slow-witted bear won the hearts of all children, and the child-at-heart. In the stories that followed, the little boy and his bear were joined in their woodland adventures by their equally quirky, but loving, furry and feathered friends.

The pencil illustrations by Milne’s friend Ernest E Shepard brought the characters to life. The association between writer and artist (his old friend who had served together with him in the war) continued through all the books. Shepard based his drawings also on some other stuffed toys that Christopher played with in his childhood. However Pooh bear was based on his own son’s teddy bear named Growler. The original stuffed toys that gave form to Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, and Kanga are still preserved in the New York Public Library, a bit bedraggled over time, but still tugging at heartstrings. The baby kangaroo stuffed animal (named Roo) was lost in an apple orchard during the 1930s. The toys were taken to the United States in 1947, and remained with Milne’s American publisher EP Dutton until 1987 when they were donated to the New York Public Library to add to its renowned collection of children’s literature. Here they remain in the Library’s permanent exhibition, a bit bedraggled over time, but still tugging at heartstrings.

The first collection of stories Winnie the Pooh was published in October 1926. It was a huge success and helped to introduce the characters to audiences beyond England. The stories with their innate innocence, childhood joys, and idyllic countryside provided comfort in times that still echoed with the brutality of World War I. They also touched upon universal sentiments of friendship and bonding.

The unprecedented success of the books however impacted the childhood of the real Christopher Robin. He was thrust into the discomforting limelight, and grew up resenting the fallout of early fame. This led AA Milne to stop writing Pooh stories after his fourth book, The House at Pooh Corner. However the damage had been done and the relations between father and son continued to remain strained till the end.   

Milne wrote four children’s books that made up the Winnie the Pooh anthology, beginning with the poetry series When We Were Young published in 1924, and the final book The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1928. In the nearly hundred years since, the books have sold millions of copies worldwide, and the characters remain evergreen, and ubiquitous, through animated versions and merchandise which have earned billions of dollars. The exclusive media ownership of the brand was with Disney and Warner Brothers until 2022 when the 95-year copyright lapsed. Pooh and friends are now in the public domain. May they continue to charm and endear themselves for the next hundred years.

So they went off together. But wherever they 
go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in
that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a
little boy and his Bear will always be playing.

The House at Pooh Corner

–Mamata