Books at Bedtime: Winnie the Bear
This past week, our bedtime read has been of a local author, M. A. Appleby‘s recently published book, Winnie the Bear (Dominion Street Publishing, 2011). Many of you are probably familiar with the Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne, but did you know that the original inspiration behind Milne’s creation was an actual bear called Winnie who lived in the London Zoo? Winnie, moreover, was named after the city of Winnipeg, home of the Canadian veterinary officer Harry Colebourn, who bought the bear cub from a trapper at a train station in White River, Ontario in 1914.
In Winnie the Bear, Appleby recounts the story of Colebourn’s encounter with the bear and how he came to bring this cub over to England at the advent of the first world war. Eventually, Winnie was donated to the London Zoo where she became the inspiration for A.A. Milne and E.H. Shephard’s Winnie the Pooh stories. Meticulously researched and illustrated with vintage style drawings by P.R. Hayes, Winnie the Bear is a wonderful book. Appleby has worked on this book for over six years but the germ of the story goes back even further in Appleby’s own life; her father was a good friend of Harry Colebourn’s son, Fred. My daughter and I are enjoying this book very much and we hope this wonderfully local story (for us!) might find readers all over the world as Milne’s books certainly have.
December 12th, 2011 at 7:24 am
After reading the article, I began to like Winne Bear. I wonder the book remind me of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.
December 13th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
I love learning about the back story for books, especially famous ones! Thanks for this post! It makes me think about Winnie the Pooh as more than a sleepy, hungry, amiable, stuffed animal type of creature!
December 13th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Jinxing, I haven’t read Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse — thanks for making the comparison; I’ll have to seek it out at some point…and yes, it’s great to know just how Winnie the Pooh came about from Milne’s close observation of the actual bear in the London Zoo.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:02 am
To Sally, thanks for your writing back. As publishing editor in China, I am willing to read and introduce good books to Chinese readers, such as Winner the Bear. Best wish
December 14th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Thanks, Jinxing! I saw your company’s website. Have you published any English children’s books translated into Chinese? And do you also translate Chinese childrens’ books into English? I’m sure that Winnie the Bear would interest Chinese readers.
December 14th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Hello Sally, Yes, our Press(CPG-MEP) publish picture story book, fiction and non-fiction children’s books, including foreign authors’s books in Simplified Chinese. You can search and see them in Amazon(China). We also actively translate good books into English, and introduce to foreign readers. If you want to more understand, you may contact with me via email. Best! Jinxing
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December 16th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Thanks, Jinxing! I have told the author about your press.
December 17th, 2011 at 6:12 am
Hello Sally, Thanks for your introduction. I am willing to communicate with the author of Winnie the Bear.
Also I want to say Merry Christmas to you and your family, and all friends. Bless you and your family with love and health in the new year. Jinxing(My email: jinxing.nie#gmail.com)