Winnie the Pooh

Literary Hero

Winnie the Pooh is one of the best-loved figures in British children's literature. Pooh was the creation of author A.A. Milne, who was inspired by the stuffed toys of his son Christopher Robin. Pooh is a chubby stuffed bear with a particular fondness for honey; his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood include Eeyore the sad donkey, Piglet the pig, and Tigger the bouncy tiger. (Christopher Robin also appears in the Pooh stories as the bear's friend and protector.) Pooh was introduced in the poetry collection When We Were Very Young (1924) and then starred in Milne's books Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), Now We Are Six (1927) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). In the 1960s Pooh was animated by Walt Disney and became a popular member of the studio's stable of characters.

Extra credit: Pooh is also known as Edward Bear... The original drawings of Pooh were done by illustrator Ernest H. Shepard... Pooh is the topic of a famous pop song by Kenny Loggins, "Back to Pooh Corner."

Other fuzzy fictional stars: Bert and Ernie, The Easter Bunny and Toto.