Though Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends have been having adventures for decades on the small and big screen, there has not been an “authorized” new story of the honey-loving bear for 80 years when Christopher Robin said goodbye to his friends in The House on Pooh Corner.
Now Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh and all their delightful friends are back for new adventures in Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. The new book has 10 stories written by Benedictus and illustrated by Mark Burgess. It has a first printing of 300,000 copies in 16 languages. Christopher Robin has returned from boarding school to find that almost no time has passed in the Hundred Acre Wood. During that time, a new animal has joined the circle of friends in the wood. Lottie is a pearl-wearing otter.
Over the 81 years since we last read about Winnie-the-Pooh, he has become iconic and the books are considered classics. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, written by David Benedictus, has big shoes to fill. Even before the book came out, people were taking sides either for against bringing out a sequel.
It shouldn’t be surprising. If Gone With the Wind and Rebecca could have an authorized sequels and do well, it shouldn’t be surprising that the same thing would be done with Winnie-the-Pooh. And, let’s face it, there have been dozens of new stories about the Hundred Acre Wood from the movies to the TV series to the books that are unauthorized. Most kids are more familiar with the modern renditions of Winnie-the-Pooh than they are with the drawings in A.A. Milne’s books. Though most sequels books by new authors have proven inferior to the original classics, it’s always nice to return to familiar stories and friends.
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