Winnie-the-Pooh

By A. A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard

“Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders.”

Curl up with a true children’s classic by reading A.A.Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh with iconic decorations by E.H.Shepard.

Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, but thanks to his friends Piglet, Eeyore and, of course, Christopher Robin, he’s never far from an adventure.

In this much-loved classic story collection Pooh gets into a tight place, nearly catches a Woozle and heads off on an ‘expotition’ to the North Pole with the other animals.

This stunning edition of A.A.Milne’s world-famous story is once again brought to life by E.H.Shepard’s beautiful decorations. Milne’s masterpiece conveys a child’s imagination like no other story before or since.

Do you own all the classic Pooh titles?

Winnie-the-Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner
When We Were Very Young
Now We Are Six
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
The Best Bear in All the World
Once There Was a Bear

The nation’s favourite teddy bear has been delighting generations of children for over 95 years. Milne’s classic children’s stories – featuring Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and, of course, Pooh himself – are gently humorous while teaching lessons about friendship and kindness.

Pooh ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. Whether you’re 5 or 55, Pooh is the bear for all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jul 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781405249430

A. A. Milne

A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne (1882--1956) was a noted English author primarily known as a poet and playwright before he found huge success with his iconic children’s books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh. Milne served in both World Wars and was the father of Christopher Robin Milne, upon whom the Pooh character Christopher Robin was based.

Book preview

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CHAPTER ONE

in which we are introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and some Bees, and the stories begin

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn’t. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.

When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are going to say, ‘But I thought he was a boy?’

‘So did I,’ said Christopher Robin.

‘Then you can’t call him Winnie?’

‘I don’t.’

‘But you said—’

‘He’s Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don’t you know what "ther" means?’

‘Ah, yes, now I do,’ I said quickly; and I hope you do too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get.

Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh likes a game of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes to sit quietly in front of the fire and listen to a story. This evening—

‘What about a story?’ said Christopher Robin.

‘What about a story?’ I said.

‘Could you very sweetly tell Winnie-the-Pooh one?’

‘I suppose I could,’ I said. ‘What sort of stories does he like?’

‘About himself. Because he’s that sort of Bear.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘So could you very sweetly?’

‘I’ll try,’ I said. So I tried.

Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders.

(‘What does under the name mean?’ asked Christopher Robin.

‘It means he had the name over the door in gold letters and lived under it.’

‘Winnie-the-Pooh wasn’t quite sure,’ said Christopher Robin.

‘Now I am,’ said a growly voice.

‘Then I will go on,’ said I.)

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One day when he was out walking, he came to an open place in the middle of the forest, and in the middle of this place was a large oak-tree, and, from the top of the tree, there came a loud buzzing-noise.

Winnie-the-Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree, put his head between his paws, and began to think.

First of all he said to himself: That buzzing-noise means something. You don’t get a buzzing-noise like that, just buzzing and buzzing, without its meaning something. If there’s a buzzing-noise, somebody’s making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you’re a bee.

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Then he thought another long time, and said: ‘And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey.’

And then he got up, and said: ‘And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.’ So he began to climb the tree.

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He climbed and he climbed and he climbed, and as he climbed he sang a little song to himself.

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It went like this:

Isn’t it funny

How a bear likes honey?

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

I wonder why he does?

Then he climbed a little further … and a little further … and then just a little further. By that time he had thought of another song.

It’s a very funny thought that, if Bears were Bees,

They’d build their nests at the bottom of trees.

And that being so (if the Bees were Bears),

We shouldn’t have to climb up all these stairs.

He was getting rather tired by this time, so that is why he sang a Complaining Song. He was nearly there now, and if he just stood on that branch. …

Crack!

‘Oh, help!’ said Pooh, as he dropped ten feet to the branch below him.

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‘If only I hadn’t—’ he said, as he bounced twenty feet on to the next branch.

‘You see, what I meant to do,’ he explained, as he turned head-over-heels, and crashed on to another branch thirty feet below, ‘what I meant to do—’

‘Of course, it was rather—’ he admitted, as he slithered very quickly through the next six branches.

‘It all comes, I suppose,’ he decided, as he said good-bye to the last branch, spun round three times, and flew gracefully into a gorse-bush, ‘it all comes of liking honey so much. Oh, help!’

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He crawled out of the gorse-bush, brushed the prickles from his nose, and began to think again. And the first person he thought of was Christopher Robin.

(‘Was that me?’ said Christopher Robin in an awed voice, hardly daring to believe it.

‘That was you.’

Christopher Robin said nothing, but his eyes got larger and larger, and his face got pinker and pinker.)

So Winnie-the-Pooh went round to his friend Christopher Robin, who lived behind a green door in another part of the Forest.

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‘Good morning, Christopher Robin,’ he said.

‘Good morning, Winnie-ther-Pooh,’ said you.

‘I wonder if you’ve got such a thing as a balloon about you?’

‘A balloon?’

‘Yes, I just said to myself coming along: I wonder if Christopher Robin has such a thing as a balloon about him? I just said it to myself, thinking of balloons, and wondering.’

‘What do you want a balloon for?’ you said.

Winnie-the-Pooh looked round to see that nobody was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said in a deep whisper: ‘Honey!’

‘But you don’t get honey with balloons!’

‘I do,’ said Pooh.

Well, it just happened that you had been to a party the day before at the house of your friend Piglet, and you had balloons at the party. You had had a big green balloon; and one of Rabbit’s relations had had a big blue one, and had left it behind, being really too young to go to a party at all; and so you had brought the green one and the blue one home with you.

‘Which one would you like?’ you asked Pooh. He put his head between his paws and thought very carefully.

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‘It’s like this,’ he said. ‘When you go after honey with a balloon, the great thing is not to let the bees know you’re coming. Now, if you have a green balloon, they might think you were only part of the tree, and not notice you, and if you have a blue balloon, they might think you were only part of the sky, and not notice you, and the question is: Which is most likely?’

‘Wouldn’t they notice you underneath the balloon?’ you asked.

‘They

Reviews for Winnie-the-Pooh

[crfonten · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Pooh bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. This is a classic book that teaches the value of friendship.

[oceanna-8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was a good book and it was very cute. I would like it more than others because i really love winnie the pooh and when i read it i felt like i was in the hundred acre wood. Its good to read to little kids.

[fastawker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that I thought I had read but really hadn't. I knew all the stories from when I was a child but loved reading them now as an adult. I found myself laughing out loud at these wonderful stories.

[ladytoni_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I used to buy anything Winnie the Pooh when my children and grandchildren were growing up and even at my age I'm enjoying reading this one very much. I still read (supposedly) childrens classics.

[sbenne3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How can you not love this timeless classic (especially reading it to your kids every night before bed !!). No wonder these characters live on today. The story is endearing and I really enjoyed the writing style - great for kids and the adults who get the pleasure to read to them. If you have little ones, I highly recommend adding it to your list.

[isaacfellows · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To put it simply, this is (despite its age) one of the freshest works of fiction I've read in a long time. The playful approach to narration and the perfectly integrated illustrations (which are themselves some of the best and freshest examples of their kind I've seen) amaze me; but really it's the snappy language, the perfect turns of phrase that have stayed with me. This is a Sustaining Book, a true masterpiece that's all the more so masterful for seeming so easy, almost accidental.

[dasam-5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A delightful children’s book I never read as a child or to a child. Never too late and not a minute too soon.

[liabee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can't remember reading this book as a child, and I didn't read it to mine. What a shame! This was charming, surprisingly dry, and very entertaining, even for an adult. Not surprised that the author and illustrator worked for Punch. It's got that subtle something.

[daisy_may-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightful, and full of witty, gentle humour. I'm so glad I've finally read it properly, rather than just skimming through, and surprised it's taken me so long to do so.

[lucy_skywalker · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Had Christopher Robin and his silly old bear been shot in the head at the beginning, it could have been a pretty good book.
I don't like beings with very little brain, although I don't particularly hate them either, but I do hate those who find them cute, so actually I hate the overratedness of the book rather than the book itself. (Same with The Little Prince.)

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I might be jumping ahead, reading to my son before he's even born and able to express his preferences, but maybe that's all the more reason to be reading this classics now...A.A. Milne's book is really enjoyable. It's smart enough to have some laughs for adults without any raunchiness - just wit. It's also action-packed in a gentle, non-anxiety-inducing-way for the toddlers that you're trying to usher off into dreamtime.

[atreic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How do you review such a charming sweet classic? Maybe you don't. It is whimsical and lyrical, and very very tongue in cheek and aimed at the adults as well as the children. And has some very clever bits (the bit where Pooh and Piglet hunt their own footprints is lovely) and some bits that make the over sensitised liberal in me cringe (Pooh eats too much when visiting, and gets stuck, and gets starved for a week.) And I'm not sure what to make of the plot 'Rabbit decides something should be done about Kanga, because she is Strange, and decides to steal her child to encourage her to leave the forest, but she deals with it with good humour and then they all stay as friends.'.

[becks2611 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful childhood tale of a boy and his bear that chronicles their adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. A true classic for children and adults of all ages!

[clurb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading these short stories as an adult I was overwhelmed by the fantastic wit which I'd completely missed as a child. A book-and a philosophy of life- to cherish.

[lefty33 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightful stories of the Hundred-Acre Wood and all of its lovable characters. Pooh and friends have quite a few adventures (or misadventures) in this collection of Winnie-the-Pooh stories. The stories remind me of childhood, making them special each time I reread them. I wouldn't even be able to choose my favorite chapter in this book -- each one is full of wonder, laughter, and Pooh.

[merkabaza · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderfully innocent and charming read. Characters that any child would instantly fall in love with and a world that holds a great multitude of exciting adventures.

[isatyajeet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This...this teaches you life!

[rbeene-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A childhood favorite.

[beammey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As if there was any doubt I wasn't going to love Winnie-The-Pooh? It was really nostalgic to read, but it went quick. I can't wait to read the other books in the series. I can understand why these stories are classics. 5 out of 5 stars.

[cassiewinters-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Disney film stayed very true to this book, but there is a magic in reading the story instead. I enjoyed this immensely and would recommend it to anyone that has seen the films or anyone looking for wholesome tales to tell their children. I was more than pleased with this book and glad it is one of the books I finally read even if it was as an adult.

[kscarlett01 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a classic novel about Winnie the Pooh and his friends that live in the woods with him. This book is a great for children of all ages. The book can be used to focus on the importance of friendship.

[andrewkbrown · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love reading this to my children. The voices of the characters are so distinctive and the language that Milne squeezes into this classic make it a total delight.

[av0415 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know Winnie-the-Pooh is originally a book. I thought it was first released as a cartoon show. Anyway, this is really an entertaining read. I learned a lot about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends like Pooh is Edward Bear and he is not very much bright, and Piglet is so small he fits in a pocket.

[librarylou · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You read this as a child, and fall in love with the characters, and the stories, and then you read it as an adult and find yourself in histerical fits of laughter, and complete and utter belief that this book tells you all you need to know about life and how to deal with it.

[lindsay7564 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I`m a sucker for the kids stories! Love Winnie The Pooh!

[shaunesay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had forgotten how funny these actually are. :)

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I've read the whole book straight through more than once, and should again. But I've definitely read all the original chapters, and they do, of course, beat the adaptations all hollow.

[srboone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You can't go wrong with Winnie-the-Pooh. This is childhood personified. But childhood is dark as well. Pooh gets shot! Loved it then and I love it now.

[kristymk18-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So adorable. I loved the TV Show Winnie-the-Pooh growing up and it saddens me that I waited this long to read the books. Cute stories that any child (or adult :D ) will love.

[shahnareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love me some Pooh.
<3