Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear

 Bibliography: Mattick, L. (2015). Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. Ill. by Sophie Blackall. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781408340233

Plot Summary: The book tells the true story of Winnie, a bear cub, who is rescued from a trapper by Harry, a Canadian soldier serving during World War One. It follows Winnie's story from here to being discovered in a zoo by Christopher Robin, the son of A.A. Milne with a final surprise twist at the very end.

Critical Analysis: Mattick uses simple and direct language without ever talking down to children.  Any words or ideas that may seem difficult for a child to understand are explained through Cole's questioning or his mother's explanations. The story is told in a logical way, beginning with Harry's discovery of Winnie, to Winnie's transfer to the zoo where Christopher Robin discovers her, and finally to the discovery of the narrator's connection to the story.  The story takes place during World War One, but the idea of falling in love with an animal and wanting to help it is universal.  Because of Walt Disney, Winnie the Pooh is a well known character to children, and this book can offer another way of connecting to the character. The book is told through the eyes of a mother telling her child a bedtime story, and the imagery used can be easily understood by children.  The illustrations complement the story with images that support the text. They are realistic and help to set the pace of the story.  They help to emphasize emotions the characters may be feeling or to help frame the setting. The illustrator used natural colors, colors that were not too bright, but were appropriate to the story. The end includes actual pictures from the life of Winnie and the characters. As a lover of  both Winnie the Pooh and history, I enjoyed reading about the origins of Winnie and how she became a beloved character. This is a great book for children who want to know more about their favorite characters.  Some of the words may be difficult for young readers, so it would be a great read-together book for families. 

Review Excerpts:

Starred review in School Library Journal: "Children everywhere will enjoy this tale for years. A must-have"

Goodreads.com: "Finding Winnie is a lovely book, one that features both beautiful artwork and an engaging tale.

Awards: New York Times Bestseller, Caldecott Medal 2016

Connections:

Other books by Lindsay Mattick: Winnie's Great War; tells the imagined stories of real adventures during World War One as seen through Winnie's eyes.

Make a timeline of events that happen in the book. 

Write a letter to the author asking other questions students may have about the real people or Winnie. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Lion and the Mouse

  Bibliography: Pinkney, J. (2010). The Lion & the Mouse . Little, Brown & Co. ISBN 9780316013567 Plot summary  Retelling of Aesop’s fable of the same name, but without words.  The story is of a lion who comes upon a mouse and rather than eating it, lets it return to its family.  Later, when the lion is caught in a trap, the mouse returns the favor by freeing the lion from a trap.  Critical Analysis Pinkney did an amazing job of being able to tell this story without using any words. Using only illustrations, Pinkney brilliantly retells one of Aesop’s fables. The illustrations carried the entire weight of the storytelling in a very thoughtful way. The animals are illustrated realistically with great attention to detail. Color is also important as it is used to draw attention to the characters and their natural surroundings. Pinkney is also able to show the animals’ emotions in a way that is not cartoonish or too human either, holding on to their animal na...
Read more

Boy Meets Boy

         Bibl iography:  Levithan, D. (2003). Boy Meets Boy . Ember. ISBN:  9780375824005             Plot Summary: Paul is a normal high school boy in a school that's not quite normal. The cheerleaders ride motorcycles into the gym. The quarterback is a drag queen. He hates his ex-boyfriend and wants nothing more than to move on.  And when he meets Noah, he thinks he has.  But when Paul makes a stupid mistake, he needs to decide what's really important to him, and what he can do to fix things with Noah.           Critical Analysis: Regardless of sexuality, any teen reader can relate to this book.  Gossip, ex-boy/girlfriends, high school drama, a broken heart and stressed frienships are all things teenagers go through. Though the characters ethnicities are never discussed, the book still demonstrates diversity in orientation with gay, straight, bisexual and drag characters....
Read more

The Book Thief

  Bibliography:  Zusak, M. (2006). The Book Thief . Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 9-780375-831003 Plot Summary: Just before World War II ,  on a train ride with her mother and brother, Liesl loses her brother.  At the end of the ride, her mother leaves her with a foster family as she can no longer care for her.  This is when the book stealing starts. Often, it is the books that save her and keep her moving forward. Then she meets Rudy, a boy her age from school, and they begin stealing more than books. She soon learns that her foster parents, who she has grown to love, have a secret that she must help hide. Through all this, Death seems to follow her everywhere she goes, but somehow she survives.  Critical Analysis:  The story is narrated by Death, who is privy to all of the events of Liesl's life as he does seem to follow her. He takes almost everyone she loves.  The use of foreshadowing throughout the book is well done. When Death speaks of Hans' pendi...
Read more