Silly Old Bear! Winnie The Pooh by AA Milne

Reading List
Written By Rebecca Grabill

Winnie The Pooh by AA Milne. 1926.

Bump, bump, bump on the back of his head. Winnie Ther Pooh. Haycornes and Heffalumps.

How many times have I read these charming stories to my own kids, skipping whole pages so bedtime doesn’t stretch on until 10pm?

The tone is gentle, paternal (without being didactic). And there’s a lesson to writers here: if you write about your own kids, change the names. Apparently Christopher Robin (the real boy) was quite harassed by classmates for having a popular book out about his playtime imaginings. Moral #2: modern authors might not want to mimic the Pooh style too closely. Timeless sensibilities to appreciate: repetition, delightful characters (very Toot & Puddle—rather they are very Pooh), nostalgic prose. But please add a little of today’s characteristics like brevity for a more parent-friendly read.

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Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
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