“My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
A. A. Milne quote

A.A. Milne (Alan Alexandra Milne) author of "Winnie the Pooh", was born on this day in 1882.

Where did A.A. Milne get his inspiration from for his books?

A.A. Milne got his inspiration for "Winnie the Pooh" from his son Christopher's toys. Christopher received a teddy bear for his first birthday called Edward Bear. It was renamed Winnie-the-Pooh after a Canadian black bear at London Zoo called Winnipeg and a swan in West Sussex called Pooh. Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga and Roo were also stuffed toys of Christopher's.

Pooh Sticks

A.A. Milne, lived in a house in Hartfield, close to Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England. When his son, Christopher was a child, they would visit the rickety old bridge in Ashdown Forest and played a game they called 'Poohsticks'. The bridge became infamous in the tales of Christopher Robin and families now flock to the little bridge to play their own game of Poohsticks.

When was the book Winnie the Pooh published?

Winnie-the-Pooh was published in 1926. The sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, followed in 1927.

In 1929, A.A. Milne wrote "Toad of Toad Hall" based on the story told by Kenneth Grahames "The Wind in the Willows".

Did you know?

Teddy bears get their name from USA President, Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt.

The first "Teddy" was made out of brown pluch by a toy manufacture in Brooklyn, in 1902.

Also on this day ...

18 Jan - 1 February 2012 - Big Schools Garden Watch
The schools based version of the RSPB's long-running Big Garden Watch.