5.2. Working with texts.
5.2.1. Read the text below and then complete the grid.
Winnie- the- Pooh, also called Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or, the ’Bear of Very Little Brain’, continues to be extremely popular with all children. As far as the spelling of the little bear’s name is concerned, the author, Milne, used hyphens when writing his name, but Walt Disney dropped them when making the stories into his world-famous film version.
January 18th is generally known as Winnie- the- Pooh Day because it was the birthday of Alan Alexander Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh (1926). This book was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included poems about the bear in children's verse books, for example in When We Were Very Young (1924), Winnie’s first official appearance, and in the volume Now We Are Six (1927).
Almost all the characters in the book had real-life counterparts. Christopher Robin, Pooh's friend, was named after Milne's own son, Christopher Robin Milne. Actually, Winnie- the- Pooh was Christopher's teddy bear. Christopher Milne had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear he often saw at London Zoo.
But Christopher Milne also played with other stuffed toys including a piglet, a tiger, a pair of kangaroos and a donkey. All these animals would feature in the book as Winnie’s friends. The original toys can still be seen at the New York Public Library
The scene, the Hundred Acre Wood resembles Ashdown Forest, where the Milnes had their family home in Sussex, England.
5.2.2. Read the following quotations from the book Winnie-the- Pooh, discuss their possible meaning with your partner/ group and thus you will be able to identify the main themes of the novel.