The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

Goodreads: The House at Pooh Corner
Series: Winnie-the-Pooh #2

Summary: A collection of short stories featuring such adventures as the search for a house for Eeyore, the introduction of Tigger, and the invention of Poohsticks.

Review: Pooh and his friends form an endearing cast of characters who manage to make every day into an adventure.  They do not always get along and often misunderstandings arise amongst them, but generally they manage to remain good-natured and forgiving.  Their friendship—a mishmash of personalities—imparts to the book much of its charm.  A cynical worldview insists that the morose (and often rude) Eeyore, the pompous Owl, and easygoing Pooh would have stopped talking to each other long ago.  Instead, they not only willingly overlook their differences, but also go so far as to humor each other’s foibles.  Their interactions prove as amusing as they do heartwarming.

Milne’s gently ironic and rather whimsical writing style enchants the readers as much as his characters.  The author makes his audience feel simultaneously as if they are enjoying a good-natured joke at the expense of Pooh and company, and that they actually form part of the group that lives in the Hundred Acre Woods.  He invites the readers to remember what it was like to be growing up, to have days on which it was good to be doing nothing, and to have an imagination that could believe in the impossible.  A sort of nostalgic melancholy overhangs the work.

The book speaks to readers of all ages, assuring them that they are not alone in believing in magic or delighting in the innocence of youth.  It has special charm, however, for those readers who have grown up and thus know what it is to lose innocence.  Hints of loss are sprinkled throughout the story, and the final chapter will resonate most strongly for those who remember the day they, too, had to grow up.  Milne reminds readers, however, that true friendships never really die.

Published: 1928

About these ads