A Visit from Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Join us for Family Story Time at the Flowood Library on 1/12/2019 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. We will enjoy stories, music, crafts, and snacks as we celebrate A.A. Milne's birthday. Winnie the Pooh will be here as our special guest. Tigger wanted to be here, but he had another engagement.

Growing up I never knew that much about Winnie the Pooh other than he had a few cartoons, a few books, and a Disney World ride at Magic Kingdom. How would I approach learning more about Winnie the Pooh? In the old days, I could reach for a dusty encyclopedia and possibly find the answer? Do they make dusty encyclopedias anymore? I could also check out a book at the local library. But what if the library is closed for the day?

Through the CMRLS (Central Mississippi Regional System) website I have access to an online World Book Encyclopedia where I can find answers to a number of questions including, "Who is Winnie the Pooh?"

I go to the website cmrls.lib.ms.us where I find the Digital Library drop-down menu.  I click on Virtual Reference Collection and then on to the subheading World Book Online.  I click on the Kids box category because Winnie the Pooh is based on a character made for children. Then I type in the name Winnie the Pooh.

World Book Online tells me that, "Winnie-the-Pooh is a toy stuffed bear who is the title character in two books by the English author A. A. Milne. Both books have become classics of children's literature. The first is a collection of stories called Winnie-the-Pooh (1926). The bear also appeared in a second book, The House at Pooh Corner (1928).

Milne’s stories describe the adventures of a boy named Christopher Robin and his animal friends in a forest called the Hundred Acre Wood. The boy is the only human being in the adventures and serves as the kindly master of the animals.

Winnie-the-Pooh is a gentle-natured bear who loves honey. Other characters include a gloomy donkey called Eeyore, a peppy tiger called Tigger, a timid pig called Piglet, a philosophical owl called Owl, an interfering Rabbit, and a kangaroo named Kanga and her baby called Roo."

World Book Online provides an option where the article can be read to you. There is a category for Pictures, Videos and More, and a category for More Information.

Additional hyperlinks are available so you can learn more about the author of the Winnie the Pooh stories, A. A. Milne, and the illustrator who drew Winnie the Pooh, Ernest Howard Shepard.

The story of Winnie the Pooh was inspired by the stuffed animals belonging to A. A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin.  One never knows where inspiration will appear.

I found using World Book Online to be user-friendly and very informative. It reminds me that Google and Wikipedia may not have all the answers to my questions when I'm performing research.

Winnie the Pooh is coming to the Flowood Library on January 12, 2019, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. I sure hope he brings some honey!