Erin Moon’s narration is lovely and winsome, honoring the compassion inherent in this piece of history.

Milne’s son, discovered Winnie at the zoo and became enamored with her. That is where, as Mattick so aptly says, “sometimes you have to let one story end so the next one can begin.” Christopher Robin Milne, A.A. It was then that Harry made the difficult decision to give Winnie a new home-the London Zoo. The bear traveled as Harry’s companion across the ocean to England and trained with him until it was time for Harry to head to the front line in France. While traveling east by train across Canada from his home in Winnipeg on the first leg of his journey as a soldier, Harry paid a trapper $20 for a baby bear and named her Winnie after his home province. Mattick’s great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn, was a veterinarian who cared for horses in the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade during World War I. K-Gr 3 –This story of the bear who inspired Winnie the Pooh is sure to find a home in the hearts of listeners worldwide. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear.

'People don't even realise that there was a real bear.Mattick, Lindsay. 'I'm still blown away that, while a lot of people in Canada certainly know the story and know the history now, around the world it's really still not known. 'I want people who love 'Winnie the Pooh' to understand that the real story behind her is just as beautiful and just as amazing,' Mattick said. Mattick told the Winnipeg Free Press she wrote the story so her young family - and Winnie lovers all over the world - could know the real story behind the books. Milne, who went on to write the incredibly successful series of Winnie the Pooh books. The young boy was so enamoured with the bear that he named his own toy teddy after her.Ĭhristopher Robin's father was author A.A. It was here that a young Christopher Robin first came across Winnie. When Colebourn was deployed to France, he asked the London Zoo to take her in. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, and took her with him to London, where she became the regiment mascot. Just before leaving Canada for London in 1914, Colebourn saw a bear cub tied to a piece of a string from inside the train he was on.Ĭolebourn immediately hopped off the train and purchased the bear for $20. It is also a tale of friendship between man and rescued female bear behind the A.A. Canadian author Lindsay Mattick recently released Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, a children's book that tells the story of Mattick's great-grandfather Harry Colebourn, a World War I veterinarian.

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