Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)

I do sometimes wonder why certain things are considered classic . . . and that's the case with A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh, published in 1926.  It's a collection of 10 tales about Pooh bear, a lovable "bear of little brain" who lives in the hundred-acre wood with his friends Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Eeyore (Tigger isn't mentioned in this, the first book in the series).  From the start, it's made clear that these characters are based on stuffed animals owned by the only child in the story, Christopher Robin (named for Milne's son), and it's equally clear that Milne got wrote some of the tales based on watching his boy play with his toy animals.  He probably copied some dialogue word-for-word, because there are parts of each story that just don't make any sense- and that's what bothered me.

I'm all for silly, crazy, and wild in any medium- but there needs to be a degree of coherence.  Most of the time, that exists here, but in each tale, there would be a series of dialogue that came out of nowhere, didn't make sense, and served only to distract.  Other than that, the tales are silly stories that a boy might make up, and mildly entertaining, generally involving pooh making some amusing mistake (like knocking at his own door and wondering why nobody's answering).  I remember enjoying the Disney cartoon as a child, and that series (from what I can recall) retains the spirit of the books, so it's not a pointless venture; it's just not all I thought it would be.

Rating: C+