“One of the salutary bits of growing up is the discovery that classics are often classic for a reason.” Too true!
And thank you for bringing a tear to the eye of this American who only knows the red-shirted Pooh. I will put the books on my to-read-out-loud-to-the-kids list ASAP (we’re engrossed in Tom Sawyer now).
Well, it's been a long time since I read any, but as I recall Twain is another one who manages to mix fun stories for kids with a sly style and jokes for adults, which I guess is one of the reasons why Sawyer is a classic too.
Oh my, I guess this is the forum to admit that not only did I read the the original Pooh stories to my children, made them memorize ‘Halfway Down the Stairs’ and also quiz them regularly on their memory (they are now 22 & 20 yrs old) but I also take down one of the books, with some regularity, and read a bit just to me…especially when I get a little lost in the adult world...
Even now, fifty years later, my mother will, when we’re walking together, occasionally grasp my arm and whisper, “I’m looking down, Pooh”. I still regularly singing Pooh hums to the dog. It sticks with you, doesn’t it?
It certainly does :) if it’s windy I’ll say, it’s a Winnie the Pooh blustery day. There are so many little moments that circle back & around -so comforting, really
I didn't read Winnie-the-Pooh until I read them (again and again) to my own kids. We all practically knew them by heart (we also have the CDs read by Bernard Cribbins). I possibly appreciated them more for reading them later.
It was a real joy re-reading them for this piece and discovered that they were just as good as an adult as they were as a child. I've never had the chance to read them out loud to any one but they strike me as perfect for the task, they feel paced and structured for reading / telling aloud more than reading to oneself
“One of the salutary bits of growing up is the discovery that classics are often classic for a reason.” Too true!
And thank you for bringing a tear to the eye of this American who only knows the red-shirted Pooh. I will put the books on my to-read-out-loud-to-the-kids list ASAP (we’re engrossed in Tom Sawyer now).
Well, it's been a long time since I read any, but as I recall Twain is another one who manages to mix fun stories for kids with a sly style and jokes for adults, which I guess is one of the reasons why Sawyer is a classic too.
Oh my, I guess this is the forum to admit that not only did I read the the original Pooh stories to my children, made them memorize ‘Halfway Down the Stairs’ and also quiz them regularly on their memory (they are now 22 & 20 yrs old) but I also take down one of the books, with some regularity, and read a bit just to me…especially when I get a little lost in the adult world...
Even now, fifty years later, my mother will, when we’re walking together, occasionally grasp my arm and whisper, “I’m looking down, Pooh”. I still regularly singing Pooh hums to the dog. It sticks with you, doesn’t it?
It certainly does :) if it’s windy I’ll say, it’s a Winnie the Pooh blustery day. There are so many little moments that circle back & around -so comforting, really
I didn't read Winnie-the-Pooh until I read them (again and again) to my own kids. We all practically knew them by heart (we also have the CDs read by Bernard Cribbins). I possibly appreciated them more for reading them later.
It was a real joy re-reading them for this piece and discovered that they were just as good as an adult as they were as a child. I've never had the chance to read them out loud to any one but they strike me as perfect for the task, they feel paced and structured for reading / telling aloud more than reading to oneself