Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick

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Figure 1. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear book cover (2019).

Evaluation of Book

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, tells the story of how Winnie-the-Pooh came into existence. There was a veterinarian, Harry Colebourn, who saved a bear during World War I. He then gave the bear to the London Zoo where Christopher Robin Milne met the live bear, Winnie. From there, Christopher Robin’s dad created the famous bear we still know today.

The most wonderful part of this book is the multiple stories in one. The plot starts off with a boy, Cole, wanting to hear a bedtime story. The mother, Lindsay, tells the story about Harry Colebourn finding a bear cub and buying him for $20.00, a huge sum back in 1914. The bear, nicknamed Winnie, becomes the mascot of Harry’s camp and even gets to take a ship to London. Here Harry gives the bear to the London Zoo in hopes that he will be safe and happy during the war, World War I. However, the story does not stop here. It goes on to tell about Christopher Robin needing to find a name for his teddy bear and meeting Winnie. From this, he names his teddy Winnie-the-Pooh. The boy’s father goes on to write children’s books that we still know today. One might think this is the end, but no, the story goes even further. It turns out that Harry Colebourn survived World War I, moved back to Winnipeg, Canada, and had a family. And Cole is Harry’s great-great-grandchild. How wonderful is that.

Sophie Blackall does a fabulous job of reinforcing the text with illustrations in Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. When the text tells of a veterinarian whose hands are never cold, the picture shows a man touching a horse during the winter. His face and ears are red from the cold, but not his hands. Also, when the text talks about a city of tents in a green field, the picture shows a plethora of tents in a green field. These types of paintings go on to help support the story throughout the book.

The wonderfully crafted illustrations by Sophie Blackall go on to extend the plot as well. When Harry Colebourn boards a train in Winnipeg, Canada, to go fight in World War I, the picture tells so much more than him getting on the train. It also shows families saying goodbye to each other. Some faces show pain and fear while others show love and longing. This picture also dresses the people and soldiers in the appropriate attire for the time period. Another page shows the cheerful faces of the men within Harry’s regiment as they carry food to Winnie so she would not be hungry. Though one of the best pictures is a play on words. When Winnie is given her own post within the regiment, the assumption is that the bear is given a job. But it turns out to be a post made of wood for Winnie to climb and watch the comings and goings of people, so both a physical object and a job. There are many more pictures that add to the story, each one adding to the understanding of the story.

Response

While reading Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, I found myself drawn in by the historically accurate portrayals within the pictures. I am a history teacher, and I love seeing the uniforms from the Wars along with the technological advances. One of my favorite pictures was seeing Stonehenge and a 1914 style airplane in the background while Harry drove a 1914 style car, wearing the appropriate coat, hat, and gloves for the excursion. Another favorite part of this story is that it is a family story being passed down by the mother to her son. I believe in telling true stories to my son too, so this agrees with my view of the world. However, when I learned that Christopher Robin played with Winnie within her enclosure while his father watched from above, I was floored. This challenged my views of what parents and zoos typically allow for their small children. Thank goodness everything turned out ok.

Conclusion

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, tells a fabulous historical fiction story about how two men, one boy, and a bear made Winnie-the-Pooh a reality. This book is ideal for all ages and will appeal to those that like a heartwarming story. Out of four stars, I give this book a four.

Citation

Mattick, L. & Blackall, S. (2015). Finding Winnie: the true story of the world’s most famous bear. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Willis, C. (2019). Finding Winnie: the true story of the world’s most famous bear book cover (photo). Retrieved April 28, 2019 from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jhufRz0WYyvbdRZUqYf6tB3bQ-OmKBRd/view?usp=sharing