A Stroll Through the 100-Acre Wood
This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most cuddly and beloved characters in children’s literature–Winnie the Pooh.
Many of your likely know that A. A. Milne had a son named Christopher Robin, who inspireded his father to pen the stories that thousands of children (and adults) have come to treasure. But if you’re like me, you might not know some of these other bits of trivia.
- Winnie-the-Pooh’s original name was Edward (the formal version of Teddy). However, Christopher Robin loved to visit the zoo, and his favorite animal was a black bear named Winnie. And apparently there was a swan the boy tried to feed who often refused to cooperate, and the youngster would say “Pooh!” in frustration. Hence Winnie-the-Pooh was born.
- Milne moved his family from London to the country, seeking a quieter life after being injured in WWI. He and his son (and the boy’s stuffed bear) would often visit nearby Ashdown Forest, which served as the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood.
- The collection of stories known as Winnie-the-Pooh was published in October 1926 and sold around 32,000 copies in the United Kingdom and 150,000 copies in America, all by the end of 1926. A massive best-seller!
- Walt Disney licensed the Winnie the Pooh characters and stories in 1961.
- The Winnie the Pooh ride at Disney World is my daughter’s favorite ride (she’s now 28) and features the most bookish experience at the park. (That one’s a bonus.)
Last month, I got to take my own stroll through the Hundred Acre Wood. My hometown of Abilene, TX happens to be the Storybook Capital of America. We have museums and sculptures all over downtown paying homage to characters from children’s literature. And this summer, they unveiled a new storybook garden honoring Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
It was so fun to see these beloved characters come to life right in my own backyard.
I took a stroll with Pooh and Piglet to visit Eyeore, who was feeling a bit gloomy.
Then we said hello to the ever industrious Rabbit, who shooed us on our way so he could count his vegetables in peace.
In case we got lost, there was a very helpful guidepost to point the way.
Next came a visit to Kanga and Roo, my personal favorites, and the always energetic Tigger hopped over to say hello as well.
We stopped by Owl’s house for a little sage advice.
The trail ended at Christopher Robin’s house, where our friend was kind enough to open the door wide and welcome us in.
In case we grew tired and needed a rest along the way, the entire path was lined with stone benches carrying favorite bookish quotes from various donors. One of my favorites was an Anne of Green Gables quote.
I look forward to the day when I can take grandchildren on a tour of this garden. We might even need to bring the original book with us and read it on one of the benches together.
Who is your favorite Winnie the Pooh character?
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What a great place! I wish I could take my Texas grandkids there!
You’ll just have to bring them for a visit, Deb. 🙂
What a great post, Karen! We lived in Abilene years ago (our son, now 37, was born there), and this garden wasn’t there at that time. But I do remember the Abilene Zoo and what fun we used to have there. Abilene holds lots of wonderful memories for us—and I’ve long loved Winnie the Pooh. Your grands will treasure walking those paths with you some day. 🤍
Yes, our little zoo is a great place for childhood memories. The sculpture gardens are relatively new. They started adding children’s literature statues around downtown in 2013, with a small park dedicated to Dr. Seuss. It expanded to the first storybook garden near the civic center in 2017, and added this expansion this year. It really is fun.
Thanks for this interesting post, Karen. I loved hearing the history of Winnie the Pooh! The pictures are great.
Thanks Deena. It was fun to explore the new garden.
Oh, how fun!! Thanks for sharing.
I love that we have so many bookish things in town. 🙂
That is so neat! I love that Abilene has created these little garden areas as a tribute to so many authors. I can’t wait to come and visit the new library the next time I am in Abilene! I would say that my favorite Winnie the Pooh character is Pooh himself. He reminds us of what’s important in such a simple and funny way.
Pooh has such a sweet spirit and he’s always helping his friends. Love that about him!
Wow, what a lovely garden to have in your town. So fun!
It really is a lovely spot!
Loved this post! I’m so impressed with Abilene’s renovated library and now this Winnie-the-Pooh themed park. CHARMING!!!
The city has been knocking it out of the park lately with these bookish delights. 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this post. Winnie the Pooh has long been a favorite of mine. I read him to my children – my son was 60 in May and my daughter, who I am currently visiting in CA, will be 58 next week – and then my grandchildren, who are 19 and 17. My daughter decorated her son’s nursery with Winnie the Pooh, including a huge bear. I knew about Christopher Robin and Edward Bear. I saw and bought the Disney cartoon and have visited both Disneyland and Disney World. How fortunate to live in the Story book capital of America. The Winnie the Pooh addition is charming, with all of those wonderful scriptures.
About ten years ago, on a trip to Maine, my husband and I decided to take a two day excursion into Canada. We spent one day on Prince Edward Island where we visited the Anne of Green Gables home and surroundings. It was beautiful, and of course, as a book lover, I brought home several treasures. Thank you so much for sharing this, Karen!
I would love to visit Prince Edward Island someday. What a marvelous trip that must have been, Betty!
Love them all, but Tigger is my favorite!
He is always so chipper and energetic. 🙂
Wow! That is awesome! How fun to have it in your town.
It really is. 🙂
Pooh is my favorite character. The story of the real bear that Christopher Robin visited in the zoo is very interesting. There’s a children’s book Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick that details the story. It was one of the books from our school library that I read during my small group last school year.
I’m a long way from being a child but I still enjoy the Winnie the Pooh stories and movie.
I think Winnie the Pooh is the cutest. I even have a leggings with Winnie the Pooh on it.
However, I would have to say Eyeore because my sister does a perfect impression of him. It’s hilarious.
That would be a really cool place to visit. They have storybook land about an hour and a half from where I live. My sister and I went earlier this year and it was kind of cool.