Mattick, Lindsay. Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Little Brown, 2015.
Finding Winnie is written by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. It tells the story of a bear who served as inspiration for Winnie-the-Pooh. It is a 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. It is written for children aged 3-6, but children through 2nd grade are likely to enjoy it.
The author is the great-granddaughter of Harry Colebourn, who saved Winnie. The story is rooted in first hand accounts of the story. She includes pictures of her great-great-grandfather, his diary, his military unit, and the bear cub. She also includes images of Christopher Robin, Milne’s son, and Winnie the bear.
Finding Winnie is a picture book and is written to be read as a story. It has a unique title for a non-fiction book. That, coupled with the yellow jacket gives it a pop of color amidst the other bear books. The book tells a beautiful story of the friendship that evolved between Harry and Winnipeg (Winnie) and ends with the beginning of the bond between Christopher Robin and Winnie.
It opens with a young son asking his mother for a bedtime story. She recounts the tale of a veterinarian, Harry Colebourn. Harry lives in Winnipeg, Canada in the early 1900s. The author quite cleverly weaves in definitions as part of the story by having the son ask for clarification. Harry, a veterinarian, is called to serve in the military during World War I. Along the way, he rescues a bear, who becomes his unit’s mascot. They nickname her Winnie, short for Winnipeg. She travels with the unit to England, where Henry arranges for Winnie to live at the London Zoo. Here, Winnie and Christopher Robin meet. Hence the beginning of Winnie-the-Pooh.
The art work is colorful, sharp, and very detailed, which makes the reader want to explore the pages. The illustrations in this book help bring the story to life. It would be a fantastic story time book.
Book Notes 