Finding the Real Winnie-the-Pooh

Finding Winnie

9/1/2020

2016 Caldecott Medal Winner

Lindsay Mattick

Mattick, the founding Director of Canada's award winning public relations agency Pomp & Circumstance, decided to write her first children's book when she became pregnant in order to share her family's unique connection to Winnie-the-Pooh.

Mattick's great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn, rescued a small brown bear cub at the beginning of World War I and she grew up believing Winnie was her own great-grandbear!

Check out Yin Chang's interview with Lindsay Mattick at 88 Cups of Tea Podcast.

Synopsis

Finding Winnie is the true story of the bear who traveled from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England and to the London Zoo. And, finally, how she inspired A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

World Context/Relevance

The heart of Finding Winnie is family. Family relationships from one generation to the next. Family stories. Family history. The story explores how one kind act impacts generations -- not just within a single family, but world-wide.

Connecting with family, especially older family members who may be quarantined during the pandemic, is essential for mental and emotional health. Sharing family stories can be the glue to bond extended families while giving children a sense of belonging and stability.

"Could you tell me a story?" asked Cole.

"It's awfully late." It was long past dark, and time to be asleep. "What kind of story?"

"You know. A true story. One about a Bear."

We cuddled up close.

"I'll do my best," I said.

"A very long time ago, about a hundred years before you were born, there was a veterinarian who lived in Winnipeg. His name was Harry Colebourn."

Sophie Blackall

Blackall has illustrated more than 30 children's books winning the 2016 Caldecott for Finding Winnie, as well as the 2019 Newbery Medal for writing and illustrating The Lighthouse. She has illustrated Barrows' Ivy and Bean series, Yolan's Take Two: A Celebration of Twins, as well as Woodson's Pecan Pie Baby.

Blackall's other awards include the 2003 Ezra Jack Keats Award for Ruby's Wish, the 2005 Society of Illustrators' Founders Award for Meet the Wild Boars, and recognition in 2010 for Big Red Lollipop as one of the New York Times' Top Ten Picture Books for the Year.

Learning Connections

Family/Family Stories & History

9 Family Tree Activities for Kids, Buggy and Buddy
Family History Questions for Kids to ask Grandparents, Diane Haddad, Family Tree
100 Great Questions to Grandparents During Covid-19, Home Care Assistance
"Some of the best stories are true stories," Lindsay Mattick's YouTube Book Trailer

Excellent resource!

Educator's Guide: Finding Winnie, The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear, Erika Thulin Dawes, Little Brown and Company.

Ages: 3-8, Read aloud & young readers; 56 pages. The Winnie-the-Pooh stories are based on this real bear and her story.

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