It appears that The Hundred Acre Forest is going to suffer a small increase. Has been made known a new character that will enter the world of the famous bear Winnie the Pooh. This news was just before the 90th anniversary of the publication of AA Milne's book. Inspired by a photograph from the author and his son Christopher Robin Milne along with a toy penguin, this new character will join young Christopher and his companions Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Rito, Owl, Rabbit, Cangu, Ior and Tigger.
First appearance of Penguin, the new character from Winnie the Pooh
Penguin will his first appearance in a short story called "In Which Penguin Arrives in the Forrest" (in Spanish, In which the penguin reaches the forest), written by Brian Sibley. This story will be part of one of the four tales of the seasons that will be included in the sequel "The Best Bear in All the World" (in Spanish, The best bear in the whole world) and expected to be published in English for next October.
Penguin was inspired by a toy from a photograph in which the author's son appeared
As mentioned above, to create this character, Sibley was inspired by the photograph where Christopher Milne appeared playing on the floor of the room with the penguin and with the teddy bear from which Winnie the Pooh was inspired.
“For someone who has loved Winnie the Pooh since his earliest childhood, the idea of visiting Hundred Acre Wood in search of a new story was tremendously exciting. However, having studied and written about the works of AA Milne, it was also daunting. But for me, the challenge was more than just trying to play AA Milne at his own literary game. On the other hand also wanted to find a successful way to introduce a new character into Pooh's world, while being comprehensive in the tone and style of the original books. "
The idea of Pooh meeting a penguin It didn't seem like a more far-fetched idea than her meeting with a kangaroo and a tiger in the Sussex Forest, so I started to think about what might have happened if, on a snowy day, Penguin had found his way to Pooh's world. "
Penguin, a perfect complement to the story
On the other hand, the owner of Pooh's properties, Rupert Hill, commented that the character of Penguin, based on a real toy by Christopher Robin himself, would be a perfect complement that would be very in line with the classic books as well as it would be a fitting tribute to AA Milne.
Like the other toys, it may have been from Harrods department store
Like the other characters in history who inspired Milne's works, so too the toy penguin pictured is believed to have been originally purchased from Harrods department store.
“The toy department where Ms. Milne bought the iconic bear organized a huge variety of stuffed animals. In the early years of the 20th century, toy penguins exploded in popularity with the exploitation of Antarctic explorers such as Shackleton and Scott who fascinated the public. We believe that the toy in the photo it could be Squeak, which was created in our 1922 catalog and it came from Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, a popular cartoon. "
Winnie the Pooh, favorite children's book
The Best Bear in All the World (in Spanish, The best bear in the whole world) will be the second authorized sequel since Milne's Winnie the Pooh (1926) and Pooh's Corner House (1928), followed by Return to the Hundred Acre Wood (2009).
Winnie the Pooh was recently named the UK's Favorite Children's Book Character as well as the Favorite Children's Book of the last 150 years.