Explore the Hundred Acre Wood
Christopher Robin Milne, son of A.A. Milne, was born on Aug. 21, 1920. On his first birthday, Christopher Robin was given a two-foot-tall, Alpha Farnell teddy bear who he named Edward. Edward the bear, along with an actual bear at the London Zoo named Winnipeg and a swan named Pooh, became the basis for A. A. Milne’s classic children’s character, Winnie the Pooh. Milne introduced Winnie the Pooh in his 1924 book of children’s verse When We Were Very Young. Winnie the Pooh was soon joined by Christopher Robin’s other beloved stuffed animals; Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and Kanga. As a child, Christopher Robin was happy to have stories published about him and his animals, but as he grew older and was teased by classmates, he began to resent his fame. Christopher attended Cambridge and served in the Royal Corps of Engineers in World War II. In 1948, he married his first cousin, Lesley de Selincourt, and opened the Harbour Bookshop with her. Although he disliked his notoriety, Christopher Robin ultimately accepted it during his crusade to protect Ashdown forest-the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood-from oil exploration. He dedicated monuments to his father’s stories as a means to preserve the forest. Christopher Robin gave his original stuffed toys to the editor of the Pooh books, who in turn donated them to New York Public Library in 1987. They have been on display ever since. Christopher Robin Milne died in 1996 at the age of 75. Disney’s Christopher Robin opens August 23rd nationwide. Explore the Hundred Acre Wood and check out these titles
