Alan Alexander Milne (pronounced /ˈmɪln/) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.
A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.
Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.
After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."
He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".
Throughout reading this beautiful book, I was also enjoyed reminiscing, thinking back to my childhood, remembering those wonderful, carefree days, when all I was concerned about was which penny sweets I should buy with my pocket money. Those were good days. They were the days when I was first introduced to Winnie The Pooh. Yes, he was referred to as a "silly old bear" countless times by Christopher Robin, but he was also "My, silly old bear" as I own a rather huge, soft toy of Winnie The Pooh, and he takes pride of place, sitting on my bed. The moment I spotted this complete collection, and at the time, it was actually on sale, I just had to have it. No questions asked, I just bought it. This hardback is really something special. It is something I am going to treasure forever, like I will with all my books. Contained in this treasury, are all the stories and adventures of Pooh and his dear friends, plus two volumes of poems. I'll admit, I didn't care for all of the poetry in here, but that is normally the case with me anyway. I much rather preferred the stories. The illustrations are beautiful, and yes, the stories are quite sad when you really sit and think about it, and there is such a lot that children and adults can take away and learn from A.A. Milne's writing, and his quotes, if only we all could see it.
Pooh was getting rather tired of everyone ganging up on him, and he wondered if there was some way he could grab just a couple more votes. He suddenly thought of his old friend Vikki Blows. Now if he inserted the picture here...
"Oh, help!" said Pooh, as a half-dozen angry comments appeared on his screen.
"If only I hadn't--" he said, as a dozen even more angry messages turned up in his inbox.
"You see, what I meant to do," he explained, as several people unliked his review, "what I meant to do--"
"Of course, it was rather--" he admitted, as they all simultaneously unfriended him.
"It all comes, I suppose," he decided, as the system administrators closed down his account, "it all comes of liking votes so much. Oh, help!"
"But who won?" asked Christopher Robin.
"Pooh did, of course!" I replied. "That silly old Heart of Darkness wasn't even in the story, so Pooh won by default."
"I thought so too," said Christopher Robin. "I just wanted to be sure."
Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh, Two in One Back in the 70s when I learned the term “depravation of environment” at college, I had decided that I had had experienced this greatly in my childhood for I had not read many children’s books outside of Disney’s, which, by the way, were nothing to brag about. So I went to Hinks Department store in Berkeley and came home with “The Wind in the Willows.” I was going to collect and read all the best children’s books.
My friend Bob on Goodreads was reading “Winnie the Pooh” so I decided to do the same, but I wanted to start with this one. Well, It was not interesting. Who wants to read about an ugly mole or a river rat? I suppose the author is trying to make kids like them.
Well, first off, the mole in this story comes above ground and loves seeing nature. Well, let’s not begin by lying to kids. Moles rarely come above ground and they can only see black and white, and I don’t mean like, black and white TV. I mean that they see light and dark, as in, dark underground, light above ground. And the more I read, the more bored I became. The End. I put the book down and went on to another, “Winnie the Pooh.”
Now this book was cute. The author is or was, ingenious. I can handle the animals and even like their way of talking, although I admit, the reader of the first book was great, and I felt like I have heard her voice before and saw her as someone’s aunt, an actress with the bulging eyes who always wore her hair in a bun. The narrator of this book, a man, was just as good. And the stories were better; they were fun.
We have a bear named “Pooh,” a bird named “Christopher Robin, an Owl and a piglet. I don’t recall the owl’s name, but maybe the pig was “Piglet.”
While I hate animals talking; this time it didn’t matter. The bear wanted to reach the honey in a tall tree, maybe a pine. Instead of climbing, he floated up there in a balloon. Ah, come on. Bears can climb. Still, it was cute. Then he had to figure out how to get down. That was tricky. Maybe these two books hadn’t been written when I was a kid. I would have loved this one.
Another story has Pooh and Company desiring to find the North Pole, wherever it is. All they knew was that there was a pole marking the spot. They pack provisions, that is, food, and then decide to eat it all at once so they wouldn’t have to carry it. Great idea. But what does the pole at North Pole look like? I can tell you: It is red and white striped, much like a Barber pole. Well, I don’t know if they have barber poles anymore except in old timey movies. I wish that we still had them, but I wish a lot of things that I don’t get. One thing that did disappear, thankfully, is the barber shop quartets. I dislike group singing. Give me a country music duet between a man and a woman and I am all ears. And heaven forbid, do not give me Opera.
So, if you had a bad childhood like I had, you owe it to yourself to begin reading all those books you missed. If anyone thinks I should give “The “Wind in the Willow” another try, let me know. If anyone has any other ideas for me to read so I won’t feel so deprived, let me know. I am all ears.
I got to rediscover the 100 Acre Wood with my youngest sister. <3 Here's what we thought...
Our Review We love it! It was the little sister’s first time hearing a lot of the stories. We like the relationship of Pooh and Christopher Robin and all the others and all the others. It was funny how all the animals sign their names because they can’t spell. We’ve played Pooh sticks before. Eeyore was actually really funny like how sarcastic he was. We cried at the end.
My Review To tell the truth, I want to be Winnie-the-Pooh when I grow up. For a bear of very little brain, he’s got a lot of heart. He’s loyal, adorably honest, and a good friend to everyone. In fact, of all the characters, he’s probably the least remarkable or unusual; but his blundering, good-natured contentedness is what makes the story (with a little help from the delightful others, mainly Piglet and Eeyore). As an artist myself, I enjoyed Pooh Bear’s poetry and how he claimed you don’t make poetry it “just comes”. And the literary quality! Oh, I loved every minute. :D
This time around though, it wasn’t just a cute children’s story I was sharing with my youngest sister. It wasn’t just an old classic to make this author’s heart happy. It was a story that reminded me of God’s love for me. As I thought about Pooh’s ordinary-ness and his relationship to Christopher Robin, it was as if I were accidentally reading an allegory. Who does Pooh bring all his troubles to? Who fondly says “silly old bear” then helps him out? Who loves him as a friend?
It may seem like a stretch, but it was often on my mind as the story progressed. Here’s when I started crying…
“What do you like doing best in the world, Pooh?” “Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best—” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called. And then he thought that being with Christopher Robin was a very good thing to do, and having Piglet near was a very friendly thing to have; and so, when he had thought it all out, he said, “What I like best in the world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying ‘What about a little something?’ and Me saying, ‘Well, I shouldn’t mind a little something, should you, Piglet’, and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing.”
I think I will definitely have to re-read this book in the near future. And if you haven’t, it’s time you meet my friend Edward Bear. ;)
I LOVE this book! It's a beautiful full-color collection of stories around Winnie-the-Pooh including additional poems. It's a rather big book, heavy with an additional protective case. Highly recommended not only for Winnie-the-Pooh fans but also for book collectors!
There is very little you can say about this classic book which I suspect has not already been said. Yes I thoroughly enjoyed it being brought up on classics stories of Winnie the Pooh (along with Thomas the Tank Engine and a fair few others).
This book is a great collectors hard back edition containing many of the famous stories which Disney turned in to cartoons and now are synonymous with the character.
This is a great book to cleanse your reading pallet especially after being immersed in something a little more challenging or heavy. No it will not test and challenge your reading but it will leave you with a cosy feeling of nostalgia (okay it did for me) and childhood.
Like many books of this type that may not be for all bit I think not only are these stories part of my childhood then also help to remind me that reading has neither boundaries nor requirements if you enjoy a good story it should be available to all
Li este livro para o projeto do DisneyInUs, que consiste em ver um filme da Disney por mês e ler o conto/livro que lhe deu origem. Os filmes são escolhidos à sorte e no mês de Agosto calhou ver o Winnie the Pooh. O livro que deu origem a esse filme foi o Winnie the Pooh de A. A. Milne. Para saberem o que achei do livro e do filme podem dar uma espreitadela ao vídeo que fiz a falar de ambos e a tecer algumas comparações entre os dois: https://youtu.be/61imh8GdS5E
I just saw the movie Christopher Robin, and I'm not exactly sure why but it was a hug for my soul. I'd never read the original Pooh stories before. Turns out they are just delightful and full of quiet, humorous turns of phrase.
Gorgeous collection of must have Winnie the Pooh stories & poems. Something that children will always treasure I'm sure! Really beautifully presented and just a wonderful addition to our children's library
Llevo enamorada de estos personajes desde pequeña y siempre quise leer todos los cuentos y poemas. No me ha decepcionado, me han parecido cuentos y poemas super tiernos que todo el mundo debería leer al menos una vez. Además esta edición es una joya.
Ah, so that's why Winnie-The-Pooh was my favorite when I was very young.
(Of course, I'm sure it helped that I'm Christopher Ronald.)
This is the first time I've gone back and read these stories since I became old enough to remember them. Though, you could say, I've yet to actually read them, strictly speaking, since they were read to me by my parents when I was little and this time I listened to Peter Dennis ("the only readings of A.A. Milne's Pooh classics authorized by Milne's son, Christopher Robin," we're told in each introduction) read them to me. And, it seems to me, that's as it should be.
Reading and listening are two different activities that don't always overlap. Sometimes words that are elegantly eloquent as written on the page trip stumblingly off the tongue and quickly become too convoluted for ears to follow, while oral presentations that astound and amaze can lose all sense of voice and magic once they are transcribed. Finding the realm where the two overlap is a delicate task. It's one that Milne mastered. His stories are as wonderful read as heard, as animated heard as read, and are best when they are both: not simply told, not merely read, but read aloud in shared tellings.
The magic of Pooh is that of the simple, young imagination. Many of my favorite books are those that capture the make-believe moments of children, from the beloved egocentricity of Bill Watterson's Calvin and his Hobbes to George and Harold, the boundary-pushing, hero-inventing, comic-book-writing prankster protagonists of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books, to the wildly captured imaginings of Malachai Nicolle in Axe Cop. As different as those more recent stories might seem due to setting and context, they are descendents of Christopher Robin's adventures with Pooh and their friends--they are each a window into the mind of child at play, having fun with imagination and stories. There are many others to choose from, of course, and they are almost always a delight. Milne's Pooh classics are among the best.
The fact that I’m 23 years old and sobbing at this beautiful book.
If you weren’t aware A.A Milne and his son Christoper Robin had a complicated relationship which was not aided by the popularity of Winnie-the-Pooh and subsequent spotlight it shone on real life Christopher Robin.
A quote from Christopher’s memoir is "It seemed to me almost that my father had got to where he was by climbing upon my infant shoulders, that he had filched from me my good name and had left me with the empty fame of being his son."
I find Winnie-the-Pooh such a heartwarming story that made up a huge part of my childhood. It absolutely devastates me that the story which was Christopher’s has left such a positive impact on most people’s childhoods but such a negative impact on his.
You know you are reading wonderfully rich children’s literature when you find yourself laughing at the multi-layered humor, and nearly tearing up in the last chapter. I grew up on Pooh stories and I loved reading them allowed to my children. The language is lovely, humorous, and full of imagination. I will hopefully read these 100 more times in my lifetime.
Im no longer rating children's novels unless they're, like, horrendous.
Decided to read The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh after watching the movie Christopher Robin and bawling my eyes out. Pooh and his 100 Acre Wood crew will always have a special place in my heart - my sister and I had a Winnie the Pooh and Tigger bedroom and snow globes growing up, my sister has a Winnie the Pooh tattoo, and our mother would read us Milne stories at bedtime. These stories be bringing back all the feels.
This was a good collection comprised of 2 Winnie the Pooh stories and 2 poetry collections. I definitely preferred the second poetry collection (Now We Are Six), more than the first (When We Were Young). I also preferred the second story (The House At Pooh Corner) more than first story (Winnie The Pooh) but that was mainly because Tigger is introduced in the second story.
Winnie the Pooh blijft mijn all time favourite comfort read. Een kinderboek dat grappig en eerlijk is en tegelijkertijd de grote en kleine filosofische vragen stelt én een antwoord biedt zonder belerend te worden. Hoe vaak ik dit ook herlees, ik blijf me kapotlachen met de passief agressieve Eeyore en de kinderlijke logica van Pooh. Het origineel is wel stukken beter dan de Nederlandse vertaling.
Voin hyvin antaa tälle 2 x 5 pistettä, koska luin kirjan nyt toistamiseen, osan teoksista ehkä kolmanteenkin kertaan. Ehdoton hyvänmielentuoja on Nalle Puh ja kaverit, mindfulnessia parhaimmillaan. Ja nyt minulla on "kello yhdentoista olo", nälkä on valtava.
Jeugdsentiment 🥰🥰 All time favorite blijft toch die lieve kleine Knor ❤️
De aanvullende verhalen en gedichten, ná die van Poeh, voegden in mijn optiek weinig toe. Het is dat ze in dezelfde bundel zitten, anders was dit een gevalletje “gelezen en kan weg” geweest hahaha.
This was probably one of the cutest little books I've ever read in my life. The final story in The House at Pooh Corner made my heart hurt, but in a good way. Can't wait to read this to my kids!
Winnie the Pooh is truly a childhood staple. I don't know how many times I have read this outloud, but it never gets old for my children. Every toddler and preschooler is smitten and even the 14 year old listens in whenever possible.
This volume collects Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner into one volume, including additional colour decorations by E. H. Shepard. I haven't read these books in years, so revisiting the Hundred Acre Wood was a delight. Superficially, these books offer up a loosely-linked series of whimsical events--chasing a Woozle, trying to trap a Heffalump, getting stuck in a rabbit hole, or up a tree, etc. These are entertaining and memorable in their own right. However, despite the simplicity and the general good-natured whimsy of the books (though we have predator animals such as an Owl or a Tigger, for instance, there is no reference to predation--indeed, Tiggers like to eat Extract of Malt best), the books do address, with sympathy and a wry tolerance, the foibles of the young (and the old). Some plot strands--trying to kidnap Roo to drive Kanga from the Wood, or trying to lose Tigger--suggest the negative aspects of the selfishness and ego that tend to define all the characters in one way or the other, and would in a real-world environment have a very real potential for catastrophe. That is, these books quietly represent but paper over the sad and tragic elements of life. They are there to be assimilated, or not, by the reader, depending on his or her level of development and insight. Speaking personally, I find the ending particularly devastating. At the end, Christopher Robin is (inevitably) transitioning into adulthood, leaving the Hundred Acre Wood and his imaginary friends behind, imploring Pooh to remember him (ironically), and Pooh is oblivious to the implications. Loss is inevitable. Tonally, we are in different territory from, say, King Lear, with its bleak pessimism, but we are nevertheless confronting what is--or seems to me--something like the tragedy of what is inevitably lost as life progresses. Only in the fantasy realm can that underlying reality reconcile with the final words of the book: "in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing." That, to me, is one of the most devastating endings of any literary work. I have to stop writing now, to keep from weeping.
I bought this book as my daughter is currently having me read some children's Winnie the Pooh stories multiple times a day and I thought, hey why not give the original a try. Despite having a copy of this in my house as a child, I never read it properly other than looking at the illustrations which are not particularly colourful particularly nowadays where children's books are so beautifully decorated. Anyway, I read most of this treasury, which includes the two story books by A A Milne and two poetry collections, and listened to a little bit via an audio book I found on YouTube. I have rated this only 3 stars because this has destroyed all of my previous opinions on the characters in Winnie the Pooh. I used to quite like Eeyore as he was in the little cartoons I watched as a child but in this I'd say he's downright mean. He never has a nice word to say about anyone, he's snarky and sarcastic and hurtful at times. Pooh and Piglet remain largely as they are in the cartoons. Tigger used to irritate me in the cartoons but in this he comes across as being a very vulnerable and childlike figure. He often lies about his abilities because the other characters are always bigging themselves up (Owl, Rabbit) and he just wants to play and enjoy time with his friends but they just get irritated with him. Rabbit hates everyone - he kidnaps Roo in a story to try and get rid of Kanga when they move into the forest, and he attempts to get Tigger lost in the forest so Tigger will feel low and useless - gaslighting at its finest. They're a nice collection of little stories and I can see elements of the cartoons I watched but I just feel like my childhood image of this whole series has been tainted and is lost forever.