Over eighty years since Winnie-the-Pooh first delighted readers, David Benedictus takes us back to the Hundred Acre Wood for more adventures.
From the excitement of Christopher Robin's return to the curious business of learning to play cricket, Return To The Hundred Acre Wood allows readers to spend a few more treasured hours with the Best Bear in All the World.
....... From the outer back cover.
FIRST SENTENCE: Pooh and Piglet, Christopher Robin and Eeyore were last seen in the Forest - oh, can it really be eighty years ago?
MEMORABLE MOMENT: "Oh, Lottie, I am sorry," said Christopher Robin, but the truth of it was that he couldn't remember whether Lottie had four legs or two, and it seemed rude to look.
Oh dear what a disappointment. I so loved the 'Pooh' books as a child (and adult) and this latest offering just didn't come up to scratch.
Inspired by the original works of A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, these stories were not nearly as endearing and the addition of new characters (including Lottie) did little to compensate.
Some of the original characters were almost unidentifiable with Eeyore (always my favourite) being particularly badly written. Always gloomy and often quite cynical, he occasionally bordered on being sarcastic in a very lovable, funny kind of way and yet in Return To The Hundred Acre Wood he was sarcastic to the point of nastiness. Then there was Pooh himself - what ever happened to his love of honey? In this edition his snack of choice was said to be 'toast and marmalade,' (surely the preferred choice of that other British bear, PADDINGTON) 'and condensed milk'.
Winnie-the-Pooh - 1926.
As for the illustrations - I did not like these either as they were quite unlike the drawings of the originals with Tigger and (once again) Eeyore looking particularly different from the Tigger and Eeyore of my childhood.
Would I have enjoyed this book more if I was not so familiar with the original books? Somehow I doubt it but you never know.
Return To The Hundred Acre Wood was a Christmas gift.
Return To The Hundred Acre Wood was a Christmas gift.
18 comments:
It does happen with good books/movies too..the sequel is never as good..and if you loved the original well its sheer dissappointment.
Somehow , most of the time it is impossible to compete with the original.Changing Pooh's favorite snack from Honey to toast n marmalade is not smart at all.
I've been meaning to read this because I love Pooh so much. I guess I really shouldn't from your review..
You can't beat the original, so why do they try. I definitely won't read this one, just as I won't read the new books about Wind in the Willows.
Eeyore is my favorite as well! I am sorry this one did not live up to expectations.
This is the only book so far on my new iPad. I will give it a go with miss 4, see what she thinks.
Oh, that's too bad. I love Winnie the Poo.
I wondered what happened with this book. There was a lot of hype around the time it came out but after that...kinds of dropped off the radar. Really? A "nasty" Eeyore? O_o Pooh without his honey is not Pooh by my standards... Thanks for the review....and happy reading!
It is very unfortunate.
It's too bad it wasn't as enjoyable as the original. I think it would be almost impossible to try to make something as good as the original Winnie the Pooh characters.
You have to wonder why another book was necessary. I'll stick with classic Winnie. Thanks :)
Well, you confirmed what I had already feared about this book. Considering how much I love the original Pooh (and, I'll admit, the Disney version), I'll steer clear of this.
I was about to say that I'd love to read that, I love Pooh, I guess I shouldn't reading your review.
Big hugs!
B xx
I always loved Pooh. This book sounds like such a disappointment. I hate these "sequels" written by new authors!
That's so sad..I used to have videotapes of Winnie the Pooh-the originals, not the Disney cartoons. They were so awesome, I used to love them. (Have I told you this? I have the feeling I've told someone about it recently....)
I grew up listening to Winnie-the-Pooh stories that my mom read to us. Some things just can't be improved upon.
A Pooh without his honey is blasphemous! I absolutely adored these books as a child. It's sad to hear it was such a disappointment, especially from a series I've loved since before I can remember. Thanks for the honest review, though.
I used to be addicted to Winnie the Pooh! Thanks for the honest review!
Btw , you have been tagged on my blog!
http://books-love-affair.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-have-been-tagged.html
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