How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the-Pooh

PreS-Gr 2–This picture book with its provocative title is as much a celebration of collaboration as the story it tells—how A.A. Milne and Ernest Shepard created Winnie-the-Pooh. Pray’s soft, luminous illustrations echo the familiar style of the Hundred Acre Wood, with Pooh emerging from faintly lettered shadows until, as his voice grows, he becomes fully formed on the page. Words and images shift across the spreads, reflecting the innovative pairing of text and art that made the original book so memorable. Back matter expands on the history of Winnie-the-Pooh, highlighting the editors, designers, and printers who shaped its publication. Readers learn that When We Were Very Young sold out on its first day of release, and that the publisher pioneered the use of offset printing—allowing words and pictures to appear together on the same page. The many contributors of this book are introduced, reminding readers that despite the success this title, a book’s creation is rarely the work of just two people.