Bibliography: 

Mattick, L. (2015) Finding Winnie. Ill by Blackall, S. Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316324908

Plot Summary:

Learn about the true story of the bear who inspired the story of Winnie the Pooh, as told by the great-granddaughter of Harry Colebourn, the veterinarian who rescued a baby bear on his journey to serve in World War I. This story follows Harry as he rescues, cares for, and eventually entrusts Winnie (named for Winnipeg, his hometown) to the London Zoo. While visiting the London Zoo, a young Christopher Robin Milne befriends Winnie and inspires the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne.

Critical Analysis:

Told in the form of parallel stories, the story of Harry Colebourn rescuing a baby black bear on the platform of a train station on his journey to serve in World War I unfolds as the author tells her son a bedtime story, with all the interruptions and questions that a young child would have during the telling of a story. While the setting is against the backdrop of World War I, it is told in a gentle manner with colorful illustrations that add detail to the story. The two stories are set apart both by different font style in the text, and color (Winnie’s story) vs. black and white (Lindsay and Cole) illustrations. The author uses Cole’s questions to his mother as a way to explain unknown words and concepts to the reader. 

The reader is kept in suspense through most of the book as to how this bear is relevant to the bear they may know as Winnie the Pooh. It is finally revealed that Christopher Robin sees and befriends the bear at the zoo and that his father is inspired to write stories about their imagined adventures together.

The photo album at the end of the story connects the reader to the true story through images of Winnie with the soldiers, the picture that inspired the statues that are in Winnipeg and London, and Christopher Robin playing with Winnie at the London Zoo.

Review Excerpts:

Caldecott Medal Winner 2016

Kirkus Reviews – “Mattick’s prose has a storyteller’s rhythm and features the occasional flourish…” “…Blackall’s watercolor-and-ink illustrations have a peaceful stillness that’s welcome in a book that, though not about combat, concerns the trappings of war.”

School Library Journal – “Children everywhere will enjoy this tale for years. A must-have.”

Connections:

*Have students connect what they know about people and world events with people and events in the book.

*Students can learn how to use words in a text to create mental images while reading.

Read more easy non-fiction books:

Mosca, J. F. (2020). The Girl with a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague. Amazing Scientists. ISBN 1943147701

Levi, L. (2022). Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II (S. A. Notini, Trans.). HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063065086