BOOK REVIEW: Winnie-the-Pooh 100th Anniversary Edition

WINNIE-THE-POOH: 100th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
by A.A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard
Available now

There is no such thing as a truly universal shared literary experience, but Winnie-the-Pooh may be as close as we get. Milne's children's stories, inspired by his son Christopher Robin, have jumped from the printed page to nearly every conceivable medium. I myself grew up on a blend of the original stories, the Disney animated features, and the Disney Channel series Welcome to Pooh Corner. While the aesthetic may change from era to era, the story itself is timeless.

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the original Winnie-the-Pooh book; to that end, we now have a small, but lovely, centennial printing of both this first collection and 1928's The House at Pooh Corner. This paperback bind-up is the perfect size for small hands to hold while reading, while still being a nice readable size for older fans. Rather than a hardcover edition, this is a bind-up paperback with a flocked yellow cover, featuring artwork of Pooh and one of his beloved hunny jars on the front.

Of course, the book has all of Ernst H. Shepard's original drawings, sprinkled across the pages in black and white. Re-reading these stories reminded me how beautifully the words and images played together, rising up alongside trees or rolling around between hunny pots. This might also be an opportunity for younger readers who are only familiar with the Disney designs to see how Pooh, Piglet, and the rest looked.

Obviously, you don't need me to tell you these are fantastic books. We all know it. But re-reading them is an experience. To some degree I remembered the major stories: Pooh choosing between a green and blue balloon to float up to a beehive, Eeyore appreciating his popped balloon and empty pot, even Tigger's affinity for extract of malt. But reading Milne's words again as an adult gives a degree of context we never got as a child. There's a beautiful comprehension of the child's mind blended with deadpan humor, a conversational storytelling style (I'd forgotten he ends one story by saying he's tired and he thinks he'll finish now), and little bits of business that absolutely went over my head as a kid concerning difficult school lessons. The very last story in The House at Pooh Corner is bittersweet in retrospect. As Christopher Robin mourns that he will not be around to play as much, barely stopping himself from voicing his fear of changing as a person, you can feel Milne's own mix of pride and sorrow at his son growing up.

I'm not saying anything new to an intelligent reader, of course. There's a reason these stories have stayed with us for a century. But it's an occasion for those of us who vaguely remember Pooh's adventures as cheerful summer outings or excuses to buy Disney memorabilia to really dig into everything these stories are trying to tell us. It's such a small book with such a soft cover, but it's so full of feelings.

TEA PAIRING: Strawberry Farms
As much as I love a bold, strong black tea, this blend inspired by children's books feels like a far better fit. The berries and yerba mate would go well with one of Pooh's lunches of honey and condensed milk. Use my code KARA15 for 15% off this and other teas from Chapters Tea & Co!