Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh

by Sally M Walker, Jonathan D. Voss (Illustrator)

Overview

Who could care for a bear?

When Harry Colebourn saw a baby bear for sale at the train station, he knew he could care for it. Harry was a veterinarian. But he was also a soldier in training for World War I.

Harry named the bear Winnie, short for Winnipeg, his company's home town, and he brought her along to the training camp in England. Winnie followed Harry everywhere and slept under his cot every night. Before long, she became the regiment's much-loved mascot.

But who could care for the bear when Harry had to go to the battleground in France? Harry found just the right place for Winnie while he was away — the London Zoo. There a little boy named Christopher Robin came along and played with Winnie — he could care for this bear too!

Sally Walker's heartwarming story, paired with Jonathan Voss's evocative illustrations, brings to life the story of the real bear who inspired Winnie the Pooh.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805097153
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	01/20/2015
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	69,713
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sally M. Walker is the author of the ALA Notable Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917. She is also the author of Written in Bone, Fossil Fish Found Alive, and Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, which was awarded a Sibert Medal. She lives in Illinois.

Jonathan D. Voss was a portrait artist and graphic designer before becoming a children's book illustrator. He lives in North Carolina with his family. Winnie is his first book.

Editorial Reviews

…this is a "gee-whiz" kind of story, with one improbable, satisfying moment after another and little to no conflict. Jonathan D. Voss's sweetly realistic, nostalgic watercolor illustrations go down easy as well, casting a benign glow even over scenes of army life during wartime. The little brown bear is adorable and affectionate, winning the heart of every human she comes into contact with, and her owner, Harry Colebourn, is a paragon of kind, virtuous, never-say-never manhood. Though Winnie earned her place in history accidentally, Walker's storybook narration makes her legendary status seem well deserved, even preordained.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

11/10/2014
Walker (Freedom Song) provides a concise, affecting account of the story behind the bear that sparked the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh. The heart of the story is the relationship between Winnie (short for Winnipeg) and Harry Colebourn, a WWI Canadian Veterinary Corps soldier who impulsively bought the young orphaned bear at an Ontario train station. Making a memorable debut, Voss highlights Winnie’s playful personality, as well as the close bond between her and Colebourn (an especially sweet sequence shows Winnie digging through the soldier’s uniform as they play her favorite game, “hide-and-seek biscuits”). Subtle sepia tones give the nostalgic pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations the feel of period photographs (actual period photos are also included). When Colebourn ships out to care for wounded horses in France, he finds her a new home at the London Zoo. This bittersweet separation has a gratifying resolution: Winnie easily adjusts to life among the other bears and makes friends with young zoo visitors—including the son of A.A. Milne, whose books made Winnie a celebrity in her lifetime. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Catherine Drayton, Inkwell Management. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Beautifully illustrated with humanistic, old-fashioned washes, Walker's true tale is a low-key heart warmer about an unexpected interspecies bond.” —Booklist

“Readers will be captivated by the fictionalized picture book account of the bear that eventually became the inspiration for A.A. Milne's acclaimed "Winnie-the-Pooh" series.” —School Library Journal

“Ideal for Winnie the Pooh fans, this clear, straightforward biography reveals the bear behind the tale.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Walker's short, descriptive text provides the essentials of the story, and Voss's watercolor illustrations portray the unusual situation with a mix of realism and humor.” —The Horn Book

“This is an intriguing and well-written look at a different era....Voss' watercolor and pen and ink illustrations paint a casual and affectionate portrait of man and bear.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

From the Publisher

Few readers know the real origins of Winnie-the-Pooh, the lovable bear from A. A. Milne’s incredibly well known stories Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. Walker brings the real story to life in this delightful picture book. Harry Coleburn, a veterinarian bound for World War I training, bought an orphaned black bear at a Canadian train station and took her along. Coleburn names her Winnipeg, Winnie for short, and the two bonded instantly. The incredibly friendly and gentle Winnie became the mascot of Coleburn’s military company, and took on the job as Coleburn’s shadow—she even slept under his cot at night—as he cared for the horses that would be needed for battle. Winnie went along with Coleburn and his company to a military camp in England, but when he received word that they would need to go to France, Coleburn knew that Winnie would have to stay behind. He found her a new home at the London Zoo, where she was well cared for and had many other bear companions. It was there that she met a boy name Christopher Robin Milne, whose father, A. A. Milne, wrote his timeless stories based on the bear and boy’s friendship. Voss’s water color with pen and ink illustrations add to the text. Back matter includes an author’s note, additional sources about Winnie, and two suggested websites. Real photographs of Coleburn, Winnie, and Christopher Robin are included on the end pages along with descriptive captions. While it is written more as a narrative then a biography, including some imagined dialogue, this story is one to cherish. Highly recommended for homes, classrooms, and libraries. Reviewer: Anne Pechnyo; Ages 4 to 8.

Children's Literature - Anne Pechnyo

11/01/2014
Gr 1–2—Readers will be captivated by this picture book account of the bear who inspired the "Winnie-the-Pooh" series. Walker tells the story of Harry Colebourn, a World War I soldier who came upon a man selling a baby bear at a train station (he had shot the cub's mother) and decided to adopt the animal. A veterinarian, Colebourn quickly became attached to the little bear he named Winnie (short for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Colebourn's company's hometown), who accompanied the soldier to a training camp in Quebec and became a favorite of the entire regiment. Winnie even went with the company to England when more soldiers were needed across the Atlantic. When Colebourn was sent into battle, he took Winnie to the London Zoo, where she was so gentle and tame that zookeepers sometimes let children ride on her back. There, Milne's young son, Christopher Robin, met her and fell in love, motivating Milne to pen the "Winnie-the-Pooh" books. Sweet, realistic illustrations, rendered in watercolor with pen and ink, lend the work an old-fashioned air, while a simple but gentle narrative provides readers with a sense of the emotional connection between Winnie and Colebourn. Back matter offers brief material on Colebourn, Winnie, black bears in general, and Milne's writings, as well as photographs of Winnie and Christopher Robin. Children will enjoy this interesting insight into the real story behind a beloved bear they already know so well.—April Sanders, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL

School Library Journal

2014-10-01
A soldier's pet becomes famous.During a short stop on a train ride across Canada during World War I, veterinarian-turned-soldier Harry Colebourn buys an orphaned bear cub he sees at a station. He names her Winnipeg for his company's hometown; it's quickly shortened to Winnie. He and his fellow soldiers take her along to England and keep her as a pet until the company leaves to fight in France. Harry finds her a home at the London Zoo, where she entertains generations of children, including young Christopher Robin, who renames his bear after her. Though she mentions A.A. Milne's book, Walker's narrative focuses on the bear. Opening and closing spreads of black-and-white photographs attest to the story's truth; the misty edges of Voss' ink-and-watercolor illustrations, from vignettes to full-page spreads, suggest its place in history. Readers see the appealing bear clinging to Harry as a young cub, climbing all over him in a game of "hide-and-seek-biscuits," looking at them apprehensively over Harry's shoulder during the ride to the zoo, and, fully grown, being hugged and ridden by children. An author's note expands on Harry's story and adds some facts on black bears and Milne's children's books. Ideal for Winnie-the-Pooh fans, this clear, straightforward biography reveals the bear behind the tale. (sources, websites) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews