New Winnie-the-Pooh Sequel Coming!

A new Winnie the Pooh sequel us coming!  The book, which is entitled The Best Bear in All the World, will be an anthology of four stories, each by a different author, and illustrated in the style of original Pooh illustrator, E.H. Shepard.


Paul Bright, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders, and Brian Sibley, all of whom have authored several children's books, while the illustrations will be done by Mark Burgess, who also worked on the first authorized Winnie the Pooh sequel Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. The new book will be released in October of 2016 to mark the 90th anniversary of the release of the first Winnie the Pooh book.

Winnie the Pooh was created by English author A. A. Milne who based the bear on the teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne. Milne wrote two story collections about Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, as well as two poetry collections that include poems about the "bear with very little brain."

Although Milne died in 1956, Pooh and his friends have continued to delight children and adults well into the 21st century, either through the original books, or through numerous adaptations, including the popular Disney movies.

 “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with four authors who have such passion and respect for Milne’s writing," said Nicole Pearson, creative director of Egmont Publishing, which will be releasing the anthology. "

Each really understood the wonderful characterization Milne brought to his books, his playwright’s facility with dialogue and his wonderful sense of humor.

Sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

Here comes a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh!  It is being published by Egmont and is an "official sequel" to 2009's  Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, by David Benedictus, itself the first authorized sequel to Milne’s tales. 

This edition, an anthology, will coincide with the 90th anniversary of the first Pooh book in October 1926, the adventures of Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh would be continued by four “outstanding writers with a real understanding for AA Milne’s characters and world”. Out next year, the book will be illustrated by Mark Burgess, who also worked on Benedictus’s sequel.

It appears that the authors' names will be announced closer to publication. We’ve a while to wait until then, so let’s pass the time by speculating about who the best authors writing today would be to pick up Milne’s baton.

'Winnie-the-Pooh' was originally published by Methuen on October 14th, 1926, the verses 'Now We are Six' in 1927, and 'The House at Pooh Corner' in 1928. All these books were illustrated in a beautiful way by E.H. Shepard, which made the books even more magical. The Pooh-books became firm favorites with old and young alike and have been translated into almost every known language.

Children's Books Banned from Bookshelves as Late as 1990

I certainly have warm and fuzzy memories of reading of the adventures of Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood as a child.  But did you know this lovely piece of literary prose was banned because the animals spoke?  What could the reason be?

It was accused of alluding to Nazism and being ungodly because of talking animals. Certain institutions in Turkey and the UK have banned  because the character of Piglet could offend Muslims.

The much-loved book by A.A. Milne is among several popular children's books and a dictionary that have been banned in the U.S. over the years for being anti-Christian, too sexual or damaging to industry. 
Important works of literature such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, praised for its insight into the impact of the Second World War on children, was banned by a Virginia school over the 'sexual content and homosexual themes' when the definitive edition was released in 2010.

Other schools tried to ban it from reading lists because it was too depressing and last month a Michigan mother complained about its 'pornographic tendencies' over passages where Anne describes going through puberty.

Two books - Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and Dr Seuss's The Lorax - were both criticized for damaging the foresting industry.  A Colorado library barred the Giving Tree for being sexist in 1988 and in 1989 a Californian school district banned The Lorax incase it put children off a career in the logging industry.

One of the most popular Dr Seuss books, Green Eggs and Ham, was not allowed in parts of California because of suggestions of 'homosexual seduction', according to
Buzzfeed. 


Both were viewed as encouraging children to be disrespectful for children. Harriet the Spy was accused of teaching 'children to lie, spy, talk back and curse,' and Katherine Peterson's novel Bridge to Terabithia was described as 'an elaborate fantasy world that might lead to confusion'.

In several southern states, classics such as Where the Wild Things Are was banned in the 1960s for promoting the supernatural.  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was considered 'ungodly' in Chicago and was criticized for depicting women in strong leadership roles. 

The Winnie the Pooh concerns even led to a 14-year-old girl in California being suspended from school for wearing Tigger socks after the school banned students from wearing clothes with the characters on, according to Banned Books.

And, as a wrap on this topic today, California banned the 10th edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2010 because it included a definition for 'oral sex'.

Great Children's Book Classics, Reprise

Have a look at several books that are worthy of a reprise.  These have weathered time and children's ever changing tastes reflected by society at large. 


My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

This stylish series is about the very resourceful Elmer Elevator, who sets off to rescue a baby dragon.


Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans

“In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines… the smallest one was Madeline.”  A charming, timeless story for generations of children, Madeline is just whimsical enough to satisfy kids' wishes and dreams.


Frog and Toad, Arnold Lobel

This is the most interesting pair of storybook friends I know, and their friendship is endlessly appealing.  In fact, they remind me of a classic British book or film about two friends who are so comfortable with each other that everyone wants to be their friend, too!  Frog, who is eternally friendly and Toad, endlessly grumpy, entertain and amuse folks of all ages. 

Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne

In my opinion, this is the loveliest children's book out there.  Traditional and timeless, this whimsy is genius in every way.  Kids relate to its simplicity and to the characters and to the marvelous illustrations.  A book for every child for all time.  

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is a woman who lives in an upside down house in a town filled with misbehaving children.

Luckily, Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle is the proud owner of a magical chest left to her by her pirate husband, which contains a variety of peculiar cures for things like bad table manners and truancy.


Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Once again, every little girl's wish--to be placed in that Conestoga wagon and ride into Little House adventures!  How cool is that?  For that reason alone, this is one of my favorites.  It timelessness, believability and character strength of the people who inhabit the pages make it an on-going delight to young and older.

Do yourself a favor, and have another peek at some or all of these books.  Yes, they can be cross-over reads for kids and parents.  Give it a try!

The Jim Henson Company Bringing Frog and Toad to the Big Screen

The Jim Henson Company, based in L.A., has picked up the film and consumer products rights to 1970s classic children’s book series Frog and Toad, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.

An animated film featuring the comic adventures of the amphibian pals is in development, while a licensing program based on the series’ original artwork is underway.


The Lobel series consists of four Frog and Toad books and five short stories that have sold more than 13 million copies over the years and continue to sell in excess of one million copies annually for publisher HarperCollins.

Lisa Henson will produce the animated film slated for release in 2014, while Adam and Adrianne Lobel are the producers. 

As for consumer products, Henson has secured L&M representation rights from HarperCollins Children’s Books and SVP of global consumer products Melissa Segal says 
she’s not waiting for the movie to start working on a licensing program. She and her team at Henson are taking a two-pronged approach.

At the Licensing Show next week, Segal will be talking to potential partners for a classic Frog and Toad program targeting the infant, kids and adult demos. She believes the property sits comfortably among literary classics like Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh. “The books are still read in schools and also resonate with parents,” she says.

To that end Segal will be looking primarily for soft goods (think onesies and layettes for infants, nightwear for kids, and statement-based apparel for adults), accessories, gift and room decor partners to launch a classic Frog and Toad program at US mid-tier and specialty retailers in 2013.

Winnie-the-Pooh: From Acton to Hundred Acre Wood

A new plaque to mark Winnie-the-Pooh’s birthplace was revealed in April in Acton, West London.  The Farnell Factory, which manufactured Britain’s first teddy bears, was Pooh's unlikely birthplace. Since the factory has since been demolished the plaque has been placed on The Elms, a Georgian house owned by the Farnell family.

The bear was one of a batch produced in 1921 and sent from silk merchant John Kirby Farnell’s factory to Harrods, where Daphne Milne, Christopher Robin’s mother, bought him for her son’s first birthday present.

Pooh spent the rest of his days flitting between the Milnes’ London home and Cotchford Farm in Hartfield, an area in East Sussex that inspired AA Milne’s Enchanted Place, Hundred Acre Wood, the House at Pooh Corner, and Pooh’s other favorite haunts.

 

It is unclear whether Pooh spent the entirety of World War Two at Cotchford Farm, when the real Christopher Robin was in the navy.   He had always felt resentful towards the toys that eclipsed him throughout his life.  His father also grew exasperated with the bear, as no one paid his adult literary works more attention than his vastly popular children’s stories, which he came to dismiss as “trifles for the young."

When AA Milne died in 1956 – notably with neither funeral nor memorial stone organised by his family, so disenchanted with his creations and alienated were they at this stage – he left much of Pooh’s legacy to The Garrick Club. The fund, known informally as “The Pooh Trust”, caused such infighting that the Club almost crumbled.

A plaque seems inadequate acknowledgement of such an eventful life. The original Farnell factory’s instructions for bear care are sadly prophetic: “The ideal place to keep an elderly bear is in a glass-fronted cupboard where it can be seen and taken out from time to time.”

 The Life and Times of the Real Winnie-the-Pooh: the Teddy Bear Who Inspired A.A. Milne by Shirley Harrison is published by Pen & Sword.