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


BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mattick, L. and Blackall, S. 2015. Finding Winnie The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. (First Edition). Little Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN-10: 0316324906

PLOT SUMMARY
In Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, Lindsay Mattick establishes the true origin of our beloved character “Winnie the Pooh” in a children’s book. A loving mother genuinely reveals her family’s past and association to “Winnie” through a bedtime story for her son Cole. An account of Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian in Winnipeg, forced to leave his hometown during a war, buys a cub during one of the train stops. The bear is named “Winnie” in memory of his hometown. Winnie soon becomes part of the military family and trains with the soldiers. When battle time in France approaches, Cole is forced to make the sacrifice of leaving Winnie at the local Zoo. The friendly bear soon makes a new friend called Christopher Robin Milne and his father starts writing stories about their friendship that we all know and love as “Winnie the Pooh”.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The illustrator, Sophie Blackall, designed a very neat, detailed, and colorful children’s book. Each page tells the story through its captivating pictures. She makes the characters come alive and their personalities are portrayed through the thought-out facial expressions. “We are on a journey of thousands of miles, heading into the thick of battle, and you propose to bring This Most Dangerous Creature?” the colonel asks Colebourn. “This Most Dangerous Creature” is capitalized to emphasize the wilderness of the bear, but at the same time serves as irony because “Winnie”, as we all know, is the world’s most beloved bear.

Blackall is conscious of the author’s intention of the story being told through a mother’s perspective. Every time Cole asks his mother a question, Blackall is sure to include a small illustration of them next to the text. The pictures tell of two stories, one in Cole’s room before bedtime, and the other as a flashback to the past.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY review: “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.”
GOOD READS review: “Gentle yet haunting illustrations by acclaimed illustrator Sophie Blackall bring the wartime era to life, and are complemented by photographs and ephemera from the Colebourn family archives.” 

CONNECTIONS
*Have children write a paragraph describing their favorite wild animal and how they would be as a pet/friend. Have children print pictures to attach to their stories. Display the stories in the library.
*Have other related books available for students that depict the connections between history and their favorite characters.
Mattick, Greenhut and Blackall, S. 2018. Winnie’s Great War. Little Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN-13: 9780316447126

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