Nonfiction: "Finding Winnie" by Lindsay Mattick

I chose the nonfiction book “Finding Winnie” written by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. This is an award winning book (2016 Caldecott Medal) about the true story that inspired the famous stories of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin. The story is about a veterinarian named Harry Colebourn who in 1914 was on his way to take care of horses during WWI, he found a baby bear cub that ended up following him home. He named the bear cub “Winnie” which was short for the town he was from Winnipeg. Eventually they travelled to a zoo in London and met a boy named Christopher Robin Milne. His father, A. A. Milne, is the one who first created the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin.

I did the research on this story and the story is credible and accurate! The veterinarian ends up taking the bear to war, and while doing research I found photos of the veterinarian and the bear from the 1900’s!

From the social justice elements, this book includes respect for others because the veterinarian shows compassion for the bear and all other animals. Respect for others does not only apply to people, respecting animals is an important part of social justice as well.

This book can be used in the classroom in various ways. The book can be used to show the history of Winnie-the-Pooh that many students are probably not aware of. Students can then take other famous kids stories and create their own “history” or origin of the story.