September 10, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Winnie the Pooh became a Disney character, he was the creation of A.A. Milne, first brought to life in the Evening News on Christmas Eve, 1925. Inspired by his son, Christopher Robin, and a teddy bear named Edward, Milne wrote stories that blended the innocence of childhood with the timeless appeal of friendship. Illustrated by E.H. Shepard, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner quickly became classics, ranking among the most beloved children’s stories of the 20th century.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people coming to you from the city where the West begins,
Fort Worth, Texas. Winnie the Pooh is as American as
apple Pie. Unfortunately, most people only know Disney's Pooh, not
the original. Let's take a listen to this story and
(00:33):
find out.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Alan Alexander Milne or AA mill began writing humorous pieces
as a schoolboy and continued to do so while attending Cambridge.
In nineteen oh three, he left Cambridge and went to
London to write. Although he was broke by the end
of his first year, he persevered and supported himself until
(00:56):
nineteen oh six, writing detective story and plays. In nineteen
thirteen he married his wife, Daphne, and two years later,
though a pacifist, went to France to serve in World
War One. In nineteen twenty, the couple's only son, Christopher Robin,
(01:17):
was born, and they purchased a farm in Sussex. A
nearby forest inspired the hundred Acre Wood, where Winnie the
Pooh's adventures would be set. When Christopher Robin was about
a year old, he received a stuffed bear as a present.
The child soon accumulated a collection of similar animals, which
(01:38):
inspired Milne to begin writing a series of whimsical stories
about the toys. Christopher Robbin's actual stuffed toys are now
under glass in the New York Public Library, where seven
hundred and fifty thousand people visit them every year. Milne
published two volumes of poetry that would inspire his two
(01:58):
Pooh books. When We Were Very Young became the first
and was published in nineteen twenty four. That was followed
by Now We Are Six in nineteen twenty seven, read
by the official voice of the Pooh Books, the Great
Peter Dennis, Christopher Robin said this about Dennis.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Peter Dennis has made himself Pooh's ambassador extraordinary, and no
bear has ever had a more devoted friend. So if
you want to meet the real Pool the bear, I
knew the bear my father wrote about, listen to Peter.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Winnie the Pooh by A Milne dedicated to her. Hand
in hand we come, Christopher Robin and I to lay
this book in your lap. Say you're surprised, Say you
like it, Say it's just what you wanted, because it's yours,
Because we love you.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Winnie the Pooh was published in nineteen twenty six and
The House at Pooh Corner in nineteen twenty eight. Ernest
Shepherd marvelously illustrated the books, using Christopher Robin and his
animals as models. In the last Pooh book, The House
at Pooh Corner, Milne writes the final dialogue between Pooh
(03:20):
and a maturing Christopher Robin in a way that only
an adult could connect with.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world with
his chin in his hands, called out Pooh, Yes, said Pooh.
When I'm when ah, Pooh, Yes, Christopher Robin, I'm not
going to do nothing anymore? Never again, Well, not so much.
(03:49):
They don't let you who waited for him to go on,
but he was silent again. Yes, Christopher Robin, said Pooh helpfully, Pooh.
When i'm you know, when I'm not doing nothing, will
you come up here sometimes just me, Yes, Pooh. Will
(04:11):
you be here too, Yes, Pooh, I will be, Really,
I promise I will be Pooh. That's good, said Pooh. Pooh.
Promise you won't forget about me ever, not even when
I'm a hundred Pooh thought for a little How old
shall I be? Then? Ninety nine. Pooh nodded, I promise,
(04:37):
he said, still with his eyes on the world. Christopher
Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's poor Pooh,
said Christopher Robin earnestly. If I ah, if I'm not
quite ah. He stopped and tried again, Pooh, whatever happens,
(04:58):
you will understand, won't you understand? What? Oh? Nothing? He
laughed and jumped to his feet. Come on, where said Pooh? Anywhere,
said Christopher Robin. So they went off together. But wherever
they go, and whatever happens to them on the way,
(05:19):
in that enchanted place on the top of the forest,
a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
After Milne's death in nineteen fifty six, the rights to
the Pooh characters were sold to the Walt Disney Company,
which has made many Pooh cartoon movies, a Disney Channel
television show, as well as Pooh related merchandise. It is
very important to note that the Pooh characters in Milne's
books have only superficial commonalities with the Disney's repackaged product.
(05:53):
All the complexity and wonderful character development is replaced with
an all smiling, all the time time Bland band of
one dimensional disneyfied ripoffs.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He's just poo bear winning pos.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Forbes magazine ranked Winnie the Pooh the most valuable fictional character.
In two thousand and two, Winnie the Pooh merchandising products
alone had an annual sales of more than five point
nine billion dollars. In two thousand and five, Winnie the
Pooh generated six billion dollars, a figure surpassed by only
(06:36):
Mickey Mouse. For too long, Winnie the Pooh has been
relegated to children's bookshelves and Disney children's cartoons. But what
you probably don't know is that AA Milne didn't write
the stories and poems for children. He intended them for
the child within you and countless millions of others.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and my goodness, what a story.
And for anyone who's ever heard the originals, read the Originals,
they reveal so much about the human character. By the way,
those toys that Christopher Robin played with in nineteen twenty
were at the New York Public Library. The story of
(07:22):
Winnie the Pooh and AA Milne's creation here on our
American Stories Lee Javiv here again, and I'd like to
encourage you to subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts,
the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every
story we are here is uploaded their daily and your
support goes a long way to keeping the great stories
(07:45):
you love from this show coming again. Please subscribe to
the our American Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people coming to you from the city where the West begins,
Fort Worth, Texas. Winnie the Pooh is as American as
apple Pie. Unfortunately, most people only know Disney's Pooh, not
the original. Let's take a listen to this story and
(00:33):
find out.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Alan Alexander Milne or AA mill began writing humorous pieces
as a schoolboy and continued to do so while attending Cambridge.
In nineteen oh three, he left Cambridge and went to
London to write. Although he was broke by the end
of his first year, he persevered and supported himself until
(00:56):
nineteen oh six, writing detective story and plays. In nineteen
thirteen he married his wife, Daphne, and two years later,
though a pacifist, went to France to serve in World
War One. In nineteen twenty, the couple's only son, Christopher Robin,
(01:17):
was born, and they purchased a farm in Sussex. A
nearby forest inspired the hundred Acre Wood, where Winnie the
Pooh's adventures would be set. When Christopher Robin was about
a year old, he received a stuffed bear as a present.
The child soon accumulated a collection of similar animals, which
(01:38):
inspired Milne to begin writing a series of whimsical stories
about the toys. Christopher Robbin's actual stuffed toys are now
under glass in the New York Public Library, where seven
hundred and fifty thousand people visit them every year. Milne
published two volumes of poetry that would inspire his two
(01:58):
Pooh books. When We Were Very Young became the first
and was published in nineteen twenty four. That was followed
by Now We Are Six in nineteen twenty seven, read
by the official voice of the Pooh Books, the Great
Peter Dennis, Christopher Robin said this about Dennis.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Peter Dennis has made himself Pooh's ambassador extraordinary, and no
bear has ever had a more devoted friend. So if
you want to meet the real Pool the bear, I
knew the bear my father wrote about, listen to Peter.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Winnie the Pooh by A Milne dedicated to her. Hand
in hand we come, Christopher Robin and I to lay
this book in your lap. Say you're surprised, Say you
like it, Say it's just what you wanted, because it's yours,
Because we love you.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Winnie the Pooh was published in nineteen twenty six and
The House at Pooh Corner in nineteen twenty eight. Ernest
Shepherd marvelously illustrated the books, using Christopher Robin and his
animals as models. In the last Pooh book, The House
at Pooh Corner, Milne writes the final dialogue between Pooh
(03:20):
and a maturing Christopher Robin in a way that only
an adult could connect with.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world with
his chin in his hands, called out Pooh, Yes, said Pooh.
When I'm when ah, Pooh, Yes, Christopher Robin, I'm not
going to do nothing anymore? Never again, Well, not so much.
(03:49):
They don't let you who waited for him to go on,
but he was silent again. Yes, Christopher Robin, said Pooh helpfully, Pooh.
When i'm you know, when I'm not doing nothing, will
you come up here sometimes just me, Yes, Pooh. Will
(04:11):
you be here too, Yes, Pooh, I will be, Really,
I promise I will be Pooh. That's good, said Pooh. Pooh.
Promise you won't forget about me ever, not even when
I'm a hundred Pooh thought for a little How old
shall I be? Then? Ninety nine. Pooh nodded, I promise,
(04:37):
he said, still with his eyes on the world. Christopher
Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's poor Pooh,
said Christopher Robin earnestly. If I ah, if I'm not
quite ah. He stopped and tried again, Pooh, whatever happens,
(04:58):
you will understand, won't you understand? What? Oh? Nothing? He
laughed and jumped to his feet. Come on, where said Pooh? Anywhere,
said Christopher Robin. So they went off together. But wherever
they go, and whatever happens to them on the way,
(05:19):
in that enchanted place on the top of the forest,
a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
After Milne's death in nineteen fifty six, the rights to
the Pooh characters were sold to the Walt Disney Company,
which has made many Pooh cartoon movies, a Disney Channel
television show, as well as Pooh related merchandise. It is
very important to note that the Pooh characters in Milne's
books have only superficial commonalities with the Disney's repackaged product.
(05:53):
All the complexity and wonderful character development is replaced with
an all smiling, all the time time Bland band of
one dimensional disneyfied ripoffs.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
He's just poo bear winning pos.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Forbes magazine ranked Winnie the Pooh the most valuable fictional character.
In two thousand and two, Winnie the Pooh merchandising products
alone had an annual sales of more than five point
nine billion dollars. In two thousand and five, Winnie the
Pooh generated six billion dollars, a figure surpassed by only
(06:36):
Mickey Mouse. For too long, Winnie the Pooh has been
relegated to children's bookshelves and Disney children's cartoons. But what
you probably don't know is that AA Milne didn't write
the stories and poems for children. He intended them for
the child within you and countless millions of others.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and my goodness, what a story.
And for anyone who's ever heard the originals, read the Originals,
they reveal so much about the human character. By the way,
those toys that Christopher Robin played with in nineteen twenty
were at the New York Public Library. The story of
(07:22):
Winnie the Pooh and AA Milne's creation here on our
American Stories Lee Javiv here again, and I'd like to
encourage you to subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts,
the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every
story we are here is uploaded their daily and your
support goes a long way to keeping the great stories
(07:45):
you love from this show coming again. Please subscribe to
the our American Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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