Image Credit: Madalin Calita
Once upon a time, a father began to tell bedtime stories to his son. The stories were about the little boy's adventures in a friendly wood and his companions in these stories were all his favourite toys - a donkey, a piglet, a tiger and a kangaroo. His favorite toy, however, was a stuffed bear that he had named Winnie-the-Pooh, after a bear that he had seen in London Zoo.
It is true to say that Pooh Bear - as he became known - was not the cleverest bear in the world, but he was loyal and kind and always ready to help his friends.
The father, A. A. Milne, began to write down the stories and poems that he wrote for his son Christopher Robin and eventually they were published. The first collection of stories was simply called Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner
(1928). Milne also included a poem about Winnie-the-Pooh in his book of children's verse When We Were Very Young
(1924) and several poems about Winnie the Pooh and his friends appeared in Now We Are Six
(1927). All of these books were illustrated by E. H. Shepard
The books were exraordinarily successful and have been turned into stage plays, radio shows TV series and of course the hugely popular Disney animations that brought Winnie the Pooh (it was Disney who removed the hyphens from his name) to a whole new generation of children.
Although he did not realise it, being a Bear of Little Brain, Pooh Bear was a true philosopher. In honour of Winnie the Pooh Day, which is celebrated on 18th January each year - A. A. Milne's Birthday - here are 10 of Winnie-the-Pooh's sweetest and most inspirational quotes.
This is possibly the best known and most iconic Winnie the Pooh quote of them all; however it wasn't actually written by A.A. Milne, it was written by those people at Disney.
A very wise observation.
Pooh Bear looking forward to an adventure with his friends.
Awwww!
Pooh begins to realise that getting some honey will not be as easy as he thought.
Another piece of wisdom from Winnie the Pooh.
A true friend, Pooh always speaks words of gentle encouragement.
Pooh shows his existential side.
Winnie the Pooh demonstrates the path to true happiness.
Always calm in the face of adversity, this was Pooh Bear's usual response to any problem.
If you are not a bear of little brain you might want to have a go at these Winnie the Pooh puzzles with a wordsearch and anagrams to try.
About eParenting: eParenting was started by Jacqui O'Brien in 2004. At the time her kids were 1 and 4 and kept her nice and busy. Now they are teenagers and still keeping her pretty busy!