Reading Winnie-the-Pooh, it may be tempting to think that AA Milne’s charming and insouciant tales about the Bear of Little Brain and his companions in the Hundred Acre Wood tripped easily on to the page with scarcely any authorial involvement. That is not quite the case, as I discovered in contributing to the official sequel, The Best Bear in All the World, which was published on Thursday for Pooh’s 90th anniversary.
Today, Milne’s reputation is as a writer for children, but before Christopher Robin and Pooh he was an acclaimed playwright and an accomplished essayist, novelist and writer of light verse. A 1920s polymath, his lighter-than-air wit caught and reflected the gaiety of the decade.
This was the skill set that Milne brought to his books for young readers: a consummate knack for creating pin-sharp characterisations that makes Pooh, Piglet et al so memorable, and droll, occasionally sardonic, dialogue that appeals to readers of all ages. This is the work of a playwright at play.
Attempting to capture some of those qualities was a challenge, as was trying to replicate Milne’s verbal and stylistic tricks, such as Occasional Flurries of Capital Letters. And as if that wasn’t enough, I took the risky liberty, in my story, “Winter”, of inviting a newcomer to Pooh Corner. Penguin was inspired by a long-overlooked photograph of Milne playing with his son, Christopher Robin, with the teddy bear who would become Pooh, and a toy penguin.
While my colleagues – Paul Bright, Kate Saunders, Jeanne Willis – and I have been engaged on our Milne “impoohsonations”, illustrator Mark Burgess has been busily capturing the illustrative style of the original decorations by EH Shepard.
At 90 years young, Winnie-the-Pooh is still – in the words of Christopher Robin – the Best Bear in All the World.
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