Gorgeously illustrated by Blackall…this delightful telling of the story behind A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh is also a family history.

★ 07/20/2015
Mattick is the great-granddaughter of Capt. Harry Colebourn, the Canadian veterinarian who set all things Winnie-the-Pooh in motion: while en route to join his unit during WWI, Harry rescued an orphaned bear cub from a trapper (it cost him $20) and named her Winnipeg (Winnie for short), after his hometown. She accompanied Harry to England and became the mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade. Knowing Winnie couldn’t follow him to France, Harry arranged for a new home for her at London Zoo, where a boy named Christopher Robin discovered her, and the rest is literary history. Framed as a bedtime story that Mattick tells her toddler son, Cole (who interjects questions such as “Is twenty dollars a lot?”), the book strikes a lovely, understated tone of wonder and family pride. It also suits Blackall (A Fine Dessert) to a T. While her work usually has a strong streak of fantasy, or at least ethereal otherworldliness, she proves that she’s equally imaginative at chronicling straight-on reality, too. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. Illustrator’s agent: Nancy Gallt, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. (Oct.)

"The book strikes a lovely, understated tone of wonder and family pride...[Sophie Blackall] proves that she's equally imaginative at chronicling straight-on reality too."

08/01/2016
PreS-Gr 3—The beautiful gouache and ink illustrations that earned this title the 2016 Caldecott Medal spring to life in this exceptionally well-done, heartfelt production. Delicate keyboard music sets a tender tone as narrator Katherine Kellgren introduces viewers to author Lindsay Mattick and her young son Cole. As seen in Sophie Blackall's illustrations, they're sharing a bedtime story about Cole's real-life great-grandfather Harry Colebourn. Harry was a World War I veterinarian who rescued a bear cub from a trapper at a train station. He named the bear Winnie after his hometown of Winnipeg, and she traveled with him and his regiment all over Canada and eventually across the Atlantic Ocean to England. She became the mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade, but when the time came for the men to march into battle, Harry knew it wouldn't be safe for the cub to come along. He drove her to the London Zoo, promising to always love her, even while they were apart. While staying at the zoo, Winnie met Christopher Robin Milne. The boy and the bear formed a special bond, and Christopher Robin's father, A.A. Milne, wrote about their adventures in his books. Real photographs are included at the end that depict Winnie with Harry, his fellow soldiers, and Christopher Robin. Close-ups of Harry's diary entries are featured as well. VERDICT Well-paced narration, gentle background music, strong storytelling, and expressive artwork combine seamlessly, making this perfect for a bear-themed storytime or for a World War I unit.—Anne Bozievich, Friendship Elementary School, Glen Rock, PA

2015-06-23
A mother tells a true bedtime story about the bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh's name. Mom tells little Cole about Harry, a veterinarian in Winnipeg "about a hundred years before you were born." En route to his World War I muster, Harry buys a bear cub from a trapper and names her Winnipeg "so we'll never be far from home." Winnie travels overseas with the Canadian soldiers to training in England, but when they ship out to France for actual combat, Harry leaves her at the London Zoo. "That's the end of Harry and Winnie's story," but another section begins, about a boy named Christopher Robin Milne who plays with Winnie at the London Zoo. Christopher Robin names his stuffed bear Winnie-the-Pooh after her, and his father—A.A. Milne, of course—takes the name and runs with it. Mattick's prose has a storyteller's rhythm and features the occasional flourish (repeating "his heart made up his mind"); Blackall's watercolor-and-ink illustrations have a peaceful stillness that's welcome in a book that, though not about combat, concerns the trappings of war. A photo album includes snapshots of Winnie with her soldiers and with Christopher Robin. The piece has something of a split personality, and the Winnie-the-Pooh angle comes so late it seems almost an afterthought. Beautiful but bifurcated, with the two stories in one making it a challenge to determine the audience. (photo album) (Picture book. 5-8)