Finding Winnie

Starred review from July 20, 2015
Mattick is the great-granddaughter of Capt. Harry Colebourn, the Canadian veterinarian who set all things Winnie-the-Pooh in motion: while en route to join his unit during WWI, Harry rescued an orphaned bear cub from a trapper (it cost him $20) and named her Winnipeg (Winnie for short), after his hometown. She accompanied Harry to England and became the mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade. Knowing Winnie couldn’t follow him to France, Harry arranged for a new home for her at London Zoo, where a boy named Christopher Robin discovered her, and the rest is literary history. Framed as a bedtime story that Mattick tells her toddler son, Cole (who interjects questions such as “Is twenty dollars a lot?”), the book strikes a lovely, understated tone of wonder and family pride. It also suits Blackall (A Fine Dessert) to a T. 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. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. Illustrator’s agent: Nancy Gallt, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency.

July 15, 2015
A mother tells a true bedtime story about the bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh's name. Mom tells little Cole about Harry, a veterinarian in Winnipeg "about a hundred years before you were born." En route to his World War I muster, Harry buys a bear cub from a trapper and names her Winnipeg "so we'll never be far from home." Winnie travels overseas with the Canadian soldiers to training in England, but when they ship out to France for actual combat, Harry leaves her at the London Zoo. "That's the end of Harry and Winnie's story," but another section begins, about a boy named Christopher Robin Milne who plays with Winnie at the London Zoo. Christopher Robin names his stuffed bear Winnie-the-Pooh after her, and his father-A.A. Milne, of course-takes the name and runs with it. Mattick's prose has a storyteller's rhythm and features the occasional flourish (repeating "his heart made up his mind"); Blackall's watercolor-and-ink illustrations have a peaceful stillness that's welcome in a book that, though not about combat, concerns the trappings of war. A photo album includes snapshots of Winnie with her soldiers and with Christopher Robin. The piece has something of a split personality, and the Winnie-the-Pooh angle comes so late it seems almost an afterthought. Beautiful but bifurcated, with the two stories in one making it a challenge to determine the audience. (photo album) (Picture book. 5-8)

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Starred review from August 1, 2015

K-Gr 3-This sweet tale of the black bear that inspired the legendary children's book character Winnie-the-Pooh will resonate with readers. In the framing story, a mother tells her son, Cole, a bedtime tale about how veterinarian Harry Colebourn, a young Canadian soldier on his way to train and fight in Europe during World War I, stumbled upon a baby black bear that he bought off a trapper at a train depot. Colebourn named the bear Winnie, short for Winnipeg, a gentle reminder of his hometown, and took the bear with him to England. Winnie quickly became the mascot of his unit. But when the time came to ship out to France for combat, Colebourn left his beloved pet in the capable hands of the London Zoo. Later, Milne and his son, Christopher Robin, visited the London Zoo and Christopher Robin took an immediate shine to Winnie, developing an unusually strong bond with the animal and even playing with her in her enclosure. The boy imagined all sorts of adventures for Winnie, which became the basis for the now-famous stories written by Milne. Washes of muted colors convey a cozy cheeriness that imbues the book with warmth and comfort, while occasional interjections from young Cole add to the fun. Blackall's characters are rosy-cheeked and expressive, while Winnie is curious and whimsical. A perfect melding of beautiful art with soulful, imaginative writing, this lovely story, penned by Colebourn's great-great granddaughter, is ideal for sharing aloud or poring over individually. VERDICT Children everywhere will enjoy this tale for years. A must-have.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2015
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* Mattick's family ties to Winnie-the-Pooh form the backbone of her cozy debut. Framed as Mattick telling a bedtime story to her young son, Cole, her tale begins in 1914 in Canada, when veterinarian Harry Colebourn, her own great-grandfather, sets off to join the war in Europe. A fateful whistle-stop encounter with a gentle bear cub begins the historic friendship, when Colebourn buys the cub for 20 dollars. Though officers in Colebourn's division were initially aghast that he would bring a wild animal along, they were quickly won over by her irrepressible charm (and appetite), and the bear, named Winnipeg after their hometown, became the division's mascot. Winnie accompanied the soldiers all the way to England, where Colebourn eventually took Winnie to the London Zoo. There Christopher Robin met Winnie and the rest is literary history. Blackall's warm, beautiful gouache-and-ink illustrations capture an impressive depth of feeling, even in relatively simplified faces. The visuals not only complement the fablelike cadences of Mattick's text but also include subtle details that enrich the storythe opening pages, for instance, recall a storybook forest before melting into the surroundings of Cole's bedroom, where he hears the story of Colebourn and Winnie. Little ones who love A. A. Milne's classic stories will be enchanted by this heartening account of the bear's real-life origins.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2015
A little boy named Cole curls in the crook of his mother's arm and asks for a story; she spins him two. The first one tells of a veterinarian, Harry Colebourn, who buys a baby bear at a train station on his way from Winnipeg to the WWI European Theater. He calls her Winnie, and the two become deeply attached, until Harry ships out to France, regretfully depositing Winnie at the London Zoo. There the second story begins, wherein a little boy named Christopher Robin Milne befriends Winnie, playing with her in her enclosure and inspiring his father to write some most beloved children's tales. The end of the second story closes the loop by bringing us back to the little boy in his bedroom: Harry Colebourn was Cole's great-great-grandfather, for whom he is named, and our stories are true. Mattick, who's the storytelling mother in this book, embellishes her family's tale with especially evocative and playful language ( The train rolled right through dinner and over the sunset and around ten o'clock and into a nap and out the next day ), matched by the period warmth of Blackall's still, balanced, and carefully composed images. The sum total is as captivating as it is informative, transforming a personal family story into something universally resonant. A facsimile photo album at the back features photos and records documenting both stories' landmark events. thom barthelmess

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)