Milne’s classic stories will be enchanted by this heartening account of the bear’s real-life origins. The visuals not only complement the fablelike cadences of Mattick’s text but also include subtle details that enrich the story-the 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. Blackall’s warm, beautiful gouache-and-ink illustrations capture an impressive depth of feeling, even in relatively simplified faces. Finding Winnie narrates a real-life bear’s story, which takes place during World War I. Mattick worked in public relations for many years before deciding to write a story of her own, and Finding Winnie received numerous awards and widespread critical praise. There Christopher Robin met Winnie and the rest is literary history. It’s a picture book best suited to young readers. Winnie accompanied the soldiers all the way to England, where Colebourn eventually took Winnie to the London Zoo. 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. A fateful whistle-stop encounter with a gentle bear cub begins the historic friendship, when Colebourn buys the cub for 20 dollars. 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. Mattick’s family ties to Winnie-the-Pooh form the backbone of her cozy debut.
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