Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear

By Lindsay Mattick Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

1.      Bibliography

Mattick, Lindsay, Sophie Blackall, and Katherine Kellgren. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. New York: Little, Brown, 2015.  ISBN 0316324906

2.      Plot Summary

A veterinarian from Canada goes off to care for the horses during World War I.  On the way to the front, he comes across a bear at a train station in White River.  He buys the bear and names him Winnipeg (or Winnie for short) after his hometown.  The veterinarian soldier takes the bear to Europe and the bear trains with his unit until it is time for them to ship off to war in France.  Knowing he cannot take the bear to war, the Captain donates the bear to the London zoo.  While at the zoo, a young boy comes to play and they become fast friends.  The boy’s father (A.A. Milne) writes stories that immortalize the bear (Winnie-the-Pooh) and his son’s (Christopher Robin) friendship.

3.      Critical Analysis

I believe that children who are old enough to have formed a connection with the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin will find this book especially appealing.  There is a great sense of joy in finding out that the story is about characters that are already known and loved and that they truly did exist.  The plot has an interesting twist.  You believe you are listening to a mother tell a story to her son about a man and his pet bear.  However, it takes a turn and ends up being about the true story of how the characters in the Winnie-the Pooh stories came to be and about the history of the mother and son team of story teller and listener.

Sophie Blackall’s illustrations are simple color drawing, almost to the point of being cartoon like.  The historical time period is mostly illustrated through the characters costume, such as the soldiers’ uniforms, and the surrounding environment such as the train and baby buggies.  I especially like the Wright Brother model biplane.  To show the two different stories included in the book, the front cover shows the bear Winnie hanging on the Captain’s leg.  Whereas, the back cover shows a stuffed bear (Winnie-the-Pooh) being dangled by a child.  And, of special value, the end notes have a photo album of the true characters from the story.

4.      Review Excerpts

Winner of the 2016 Caldecott Medal

            Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

From School Library Journal: “Children everywhere will enjoy this tale for years.  A must have.”

From Publisher’s Weekly: “The book strikes a lovely, understated tone of wonder and family pride.”

From The New York Times: “delightful telling of the story behind A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh.”

5.      Connections

Gather other books with famous bear characters such as:

Bond, Michael and Peggy Fortnum.  A Bear Called Paddington. ISBN 0062422758

Freeman, Don. Corduroy. ISBN 0140501738

Minarik, Elsa Holmelund and Maurice Sendak. Little Bear. ISBN 0064440044

Gather Winnie-the Pooh stories such as:

Milne, A.A.  Winnie-the-Pooh, Chaper 1. In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie the Pooh and Some Bees and the Stories Begin. ISBN 0525444432

 

           And watch the corresponding short film:

Walt Disney Productions.  Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. ASIN 0788807285

Gather other stories with veterinarian characters such as:

Herriot, James.  All Things Bright and Beautiful.  ISBN 1250058120

Spelmand, Lucy H. and Ted Y. Mashima. The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stoes of Zoo Vets and their Patients. ISBN 0385341474

Trout, Nick. The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs. ISBN 1401310885

Use with a social studies unit on World War I or Ancestry

Use with a science unit on bears