Cole already knows the tale of the bear that inspired the Winnie the Pooh books. When he wants a new bedtime story, his mother decides he’s old enough to hear more about Winnie. Expanding on the picture book Finding Winnie, this story begins with a bear cub orphaned after its mother is killed by a hunter. The cub wreaks havoc when it’s taken in by the hunter’s child before being adopted by a Canadian veterinarian (Cole’s great-great-grandfather, Henry Colebourn) headed to training for World War I military service. Winnie—short for Winnipeg—has a special rapport with horses and rats on board the ship, brokering a peace between them, while she provides companionship and delight for many behind the lines in Europe before the veterinarian realizes war is too dangerous for Winnie and arranges for the London Zoo to take her. It is there she eventually meets a boy named Christopher Robin Milne and his writer father. At times funny, moving, tender, and sad, Winnie’s tale is always firmly centered on the loving relationship between a bear and his human and full of child-appeal. Charming illustrations introduce each chapter, and a concluding “Coleburn Family Archive” offers family photographs and artifacts. (Ages 7–12)

From the creative team behind the bestselling, Caldecott Medal--winning Finding Winnie comes an extraordinary wartime adventure seen through the eyes of the world's most beloved bear.

Here is a heartwarming imagining of the real journey undertaken by the extraordinary bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. From her early days with her mama in the Canadian forest, to her remarkable travels with the Veterinary Corps across the country and overseas, and all the way to the London Zoo where she met Christopher Robin Milne and inspired the creation of the world's most famous bear, Winnie is on a great war adventure.

This beautifully told story is a triumphant blending of deep research and magnificent imagination. Infused with Sophie Blackall's irresistible renderings of an endearing bear, the book is also woven through with entries from Captain Harry Colebourn's real wartime diaries and contains a selection of artifacts from the Colebourn Family Archives. The result is a one-of-a-kind exploration into the realities of war, the meaning of courage, and the indelible power of friendship, all told through the historic adventures of one extraordinary bear.