Alan Alexander Milne

Slide 1

We’d like to tell you about Alan Milne. He was an English writer, best known for his books about Winnie-the-Pooh and for various poems.

Slide 2

Alan Alexander Milne was born in London on January the 18, 1882. He was the youngest of three brothers. His father, John, was a school teacher and his mother, Sarah Maria, was a homemaker. Alan’s parents were his first teachers and he could read at the age of two.

Slide 3

Alan Alexander first attended Westminster School and then the University of Cambridge where he studied mathematics, but wanted to become a writer. In 1903, Milne went to London. He became the assistant editor of the British humour magazine «Punch». During this time he published his first novel and a collection of sketches.

Slide 4

In 1915, Milne joined the British Army in World War I. During the war he wrote comic plays.

Slide 5

In 1913, Alan Milne married Dorothy de Sélincourt. On August the 21, 1920 Milne's only son Christopher Robin was born. When Christopher Robin was one year old, he was given a stuffed bear. That was the beginning of Milne’s best stories about Winnie-the-Pooh.

Slide 6

And later, his son Christopher received a tiger, a pig, and a donkey. These stuffed animals became the characters of Milne’s books. Christopher Robin's toys are now under glass in the New York Public Library.

Slide 7

One day, Christopher's father, Alan Milne, and an artist named Ernest Shepard, decided that these animals, and two other imaginary friends, Owl and Rabbit, would make fine characters in a bedtime story. From that day on, Pooh and his friends have had many amazing adventures.

Slide 8

The artist Ernest Shepard visited Cotchford Farm, the Milne country home, where he sketched the child, the stuffed animals and the surrounding countryside.

Slide 9

The main characters of the stories are Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin, Eeyore-the donkey /ˈiː.jɔː(r)/, Kanga/ˈkæŋɡə/, Little Roo, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger.

Slide 10

“Winnie-the-Pooh” was published in October, 1926, the verses “Now We are Six” in 1927, and “The House at Pooh Corner” in1928. All these books were illustrated in a beautiful way by Shepard, which made the books even more magical.

Slide 11

The world of Winnie-the-Pooh is as popular today as when it was first created. Winnie-the-pooh has appeared in twenty-one languages, among them Hebrew /ˈhiːbruː/ (иврит), Afrikaans, /ˌafrɪˈkɑːns/, Esperanto, and Latin. Millions of children and adult readers have been enjoyingthese stories for more than 70 years.

Slide 12

Since 1966, Disney has released a lot of animated productions starring Winnie-the-Pooh and related characters.

Slide 13

In Russia, three Winnie-the-Pooh stories were made into short animated films from 1969 to 1972. Boris Zakhoder’s translation of this book is used in these cartoons.

Slide 14

Thank you for your attention!