Though the name AA Milne may not ring a bell instantly, Winnie-The-Pooh surely does. A literary critic and short story writer, Alan Alexander Milne is credited with creating one of the most loved children's characters ever. His first children's book on the titular Pooh bear was published on this day, October 14 in 1926
Winnie-the-Pooh
Though the name AA Milne may not ring a bell instantly, Winnie-The-Pooh surely does. A literary critic and short story writer, Alan Alexander Milne is credited with creating one of the most loved children's characters ever. His first children's book on the titular Pooh bear was published on this day, October 14 in 1926.
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We present some interesting trivia on the author and his creation on this occasion...
A poster of the 2011 film, 'Winnie the Pooh'
>> The characters in Winnie The Pooh were inspired by A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin's stuffed toys. Those toys are now kept at a New York museum.
>> Winnie-the-Pooh first made his appearance in the book, 'When We Were Very Young' a collection of short poems for children written by Milne in 1924.
>> Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends first appeared in colour in 1932, when the bear was drawn by Stephen Slesingerin his now-familiar red shirt.
>> Since 1966, Disney has released numerous animated productions starring Winnie the Pooh and related characters. These have included theatrical featurettes, television series, and direct-to-video films, as well as the theatrical feature-length films The Tigger Movie, Piglet's Big Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, and Winnie the Pooh.
(From left) Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Piglet, Winnie-the-pooh and Christopher Robin
>> As a kid, Winnie-the-Pooh creator A.A. Milne was lucky to have 'War of the Worlds' writer HG Wells as one of his teachers.
>> From 1929, the success of his children's books irritated Milne who found no takers for his writings for grown-ups.
>> Besides Winnie-The-Pooh, Milne's other well appreciated work was the Red House Mystery, a comic novel.
>> "Ulica Kubusia Puchatka", a street in Warsaw, Poland, is named after Winnie-the-Pooh. The bear is extremely popular in the country.
>> Poohsticks, a game played by Pooh and his friends in the book The House at Pooh Corner and later in the films has crossed over into the real world: a World Championship Poohsticks race takes place in Oxfordshire each year. In the game, competitors drop sticks into a stream from a bridge and then wait to see whose stick will cross the finish line first.
>> Noted American author Benjamin Hoff has used Milne's characters in his books, The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet to explain Taoism.
>> Musician Kenny Loggins wrote the song "House at Pooh Corner", which was originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and later rewrote the song as "Return to Pooh Corner", featuring on the album of the same name in 1991.