Simple stories of a silly old bear and his friends spawned an empire of media and merchandising unrivaled to this day. The tales originated at the bedside of the real-life Christopher Robin Milne, child of author A. A. Milne. Milne crafted a series of stories set in the fictitious Hundred Acre Wood starring his son Christopher Robin and populated by living versions of his toys, Kanga, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, and Edward Bear or Winnie-The-Pooh. Christopher had named his small stuffed bear after a local zoo favorite, Winnie Bear, a black bear originally from Ontario and named after Winnipeg, Manitoba, hometown of the bear’s owner Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn. The setting for the Pooh stories is a fictionalized version of Ashdown Forest, local to Sussex, England near Milne’s country home Cotchford Farm. Several distinctive landmarks slightly renamed make their way into the tales and the illustrations match the local setting.

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The first collection of Pooh stories was published in 1926 under the name “Winnie-The-Pooh”, followed by the sequel “the House at Pooh Corner” in 1928. Two more works between featured Pooh in poems, “When We Were Very Young” and “Now We are Six”, all volumes illustrated by E.H. Shepard. The books were a resounding success, instant bestsellers and popular favorites amongst children and eventually translated into 25 different languages worldwide including Latin.

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The Pooh-books were childhood favorites of the daughters of Walt Disney, who sought to animate the tales, acquiring the rights in 1961. The character was first animated in 1966 and in 1977 Disney released, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, the first feature length film featuring Pooh Bear and dropping the hyphen between the words in his name. Winnie the Pooh and friends have since been the subject of 10 film releases, 4 television shows, and a horde of tv specials, direct to video shorts, even appearing in video games. Disney has acknowledged Winnie the Pooh outstripped even Mickey Mouse in worldwide popularity and recognizable characters and a significant source of revenue for the company.

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Even outside Disney’s reach Winnie the Pooh’s mark and legacy continues to this day, featured in song, theater productions and numerous books used to illustrate philosophical concepts and metaphysical systems and academic concepts. A street in Warsaw, Poland is named after the character, and the fictional sport of Poohsticks evolved into it’s own international sport, with World Championships held yearly in Oxfordshire.  For 80 years silly old Pooh Bear and his friends have endured as the world’s most popular children’s icons, with his popularity only increasing. Without doubt children for years to come will be thrilled and delighted with tales of the hunny loving bear and cast of friends.