 A. A. Milne ( 1882-1956) Winnie the Pooh and his friends are based on the toys of A.A. Milne's own real life son, Christopher Robin Milne. For his first birthday, Christopher Robin receives a stuffed bear from Harrod's in London that will later be immortalized as Winnie the Pooh. In 1923 he published When We Were Very Young and his career as a children's author was launched. E.H. Shepard illustrates this book and Milne's three other books for children. In 1925 The Milnes move into a cottage at Cotchford Farm in Sussex, England, which will later serve as the setting for the Winnie-the-Pooh books. Milne publishes A Gallery of Children, a little-known collection of children's stories that do not include Christopher Robin or his toys. On December 24, the London Evening News publishes a story entitled "Winnie-the-Pooh", what would eventually become the first chapter of the book. Illustrations for this story were created by J.H. Dowd. In 1926 "Eeyore has a birthday" is published in the August edition of the Royal Magazine. Winnie-the-Pooh, the best-selling of Milne's books, is published in London on October 14 and in New York on October 21. Now We Are Six, a second collection of children's verse, is published in October of 1927. The House at Pooh Corner is published in 1928 and introduces the character of Tigger. By this time, his four children's books have been translated into a dozen languages and have sold more than 7 million copies. The talented artist E.H. Shepard illustrated the books. Today Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo remain some of the favorite characters of Children's literature and television and film.  Photo of the author A.A. Milne with his son, the original Christopher Robin. Information taken in part from Encarta Online Encylopedia
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