CBC Books | CBC | Posted: March 6, 2017 2:41 PM | Last Updated: July 11, 2017
Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Image | BOOK COVER: Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick
Before Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie.
In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in the First World War, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war.
Harry Colebourn's real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey — from the fields of Canada, to a convoy across the ocean, to an army base in England and finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin. Here is the remarkable true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. (From HarperCollins)
Illustrator Sophie Blackall won the 2016 Caldecott Medal for her artwork in Finding Winnie.
Media Audio | The Current : The true tale of Winnie the Pooh, an unlikely First World War legacy
Caption: Long before Winnie the Pooh was famous, the real bear was the mascot of The Fort Garry Horse Manitoba regiment, traveling across Canada with military veterinarian Harry Colebourn. Now his great-granddaughter honours him with a new children's book.
Caption: It’s been 90 years since Winnie the Pooh and his pals Christopher Robin, Eeyore and Tigger first entertained children. A celebration of Pooh, from A.A. and Christopher Robin Milne, to the Canadian connection that brought him from Canada to England.