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So beautifully and so simply written (deceptively so) by A.A. Milne and exquisitely illustrated by E.H. Shepard (initially black/white line drawings and later colour washed by Shepard himself).

These are the stories of a boy and his bear, his world and all the wonderful characters that inhabit that world � 100 Acre Wood, his childhood and ultimately the passing of that childhood.

What could have been (especially considering the era in which they were written) a particularly twee, sickly sweet and very dated collection of stories of childhood, is as about as far from that as it could possibly be. Both collections have certainly stood the test of time extremely well.

At the heart of A.A. Milne’s wonderful collections: ‘Winnie-the-Pooh� and ‘The House at Pooh Corner� � is of course Pooh, who is such a wonderfully created character � a ‘bear of very little brain�, but a bear who is undeniably wise, funny, loyal, paradoxically clever, who does many brave and wonderful things; a bear who makes mistakes and gets things wrong, but is always forgiven; a bear who is both selfish and greedy (see Honey) and yet kind and thoughtful; a bear who above all else (and clichéd though it may be) lovable.

Let us not forget though the lovely cast of supporting characters, including the timid and excitable Piglet, wise (although not) Owl, morose and self-pitying Eeyore, Kango, Roo, Rabbit (and friends and relations) and many others. In these characters, we see ourselves, we all know and Eeyore, the same as we all know a Rabbit � we are all in there somewhere, in some shape or form.

A.A. Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh stories are just so simply and so well written, both collections are timeless classics � from the opening lines to the closing ones from the profoundly moving last chapter:
“…So, they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing�

There is so much more I could write about these books, but it doesn’t feel that I am really conveying quite how wonderful these stories are, I am not doing them justice � what A.A. Milne along with E.H. Shepard have given us is something very special. Both of these collections are classics in every sense of the word.

Not to mention the funny, moving and sometime life affirming quotes from ‘Winnie-the-Pooh�

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.�
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.�
“If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.�

In summation � just read them.