The first Winnie the Pooh book, written by A.A. Milne, was published in October of 1926, although there were Winnie the Pooh stories published in the London Evening News before that. The stories were inspired by the stuffed toys that belonged to Milne's son, Christopher Robin.
The Pooh bear toy was purchased at Har-rod's department store in London and given to young Christopher on his first birthday. At the time, he was called Edward Bear.
Eeyore was a large stuffed animal given to Christopher as a Christmas gift one year. The Milne family dog enjoyed playing with Eeyore as much as Christopher did - which caused the stuffed toy to lose some stuffing in its neck. This caused the toy's neck to droop, giving inspiration to Milne for the melancholy character.
Though Christopher loved the stories that his father wrote, it wasn't all sun and roses for him. He needed to learn boxing as a way to defend himself from classmates who teased him about the popular books.
Forbes Magazine recently ranked Winnie the Pooh as the world's second most valuable character, with $5.6 billion in global retail sales (just behind Mickey Mouse, with $5.8 billion).
The Pooh bear toy was purchased at Har-rod's department store in London and given to young Christopher on his first birthday. At the time, he was called Edward Bear.
Eeyore was a large stuffed animal given to Christopher as a Christmas gift one year. The Milne family dog enjoyed playing with Eeyore as much as Christopher did - which caused the stuffed toy to lose some stuffing in its neck. This caused the toy's neck to droop, giving inspiration to Milne for the melancholy character.
Though Christopher loved the stories that his father wrote, it wasn't all sun and roses for him. He needed to learn boxing as a way to defend himself from classmates who teased him about the popular books.
Forbes Magazine recently ranked Winnie the Pooh as the world's second most valuable character, with $5.6 billion in global retail sales (just behind Mickey Mouse, with $5.8 billion).