41 pages 1 hour read

A. A. Milne

Winnie-the-Pooh

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Middle Grade | Published in 1926

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Themes

Drawing Strength from Friendships

In Chapter 8, when Pooh tells Piglet that they’re going on an “expotition” to discover the North Pole with Christopher Robin, Piglet is nervous but agrees to go because “if Christopher Robin is coming I don’t mind anything” (115). Piglet’s view here embodies how Pooh and his friends lift one another up and make everyone stronger as a result. Through the characters’ making plans, going on adventures, and doing something nice for someone else, Winnie-the-Pooh explores how friendship helps provide the strength to grow.

Plans come together better when more than one person contributes to them. In Chapter 5, when Pooh and Piglet decide to catch a Heffalump, they spend considerable time debating the best way to do so. Initially, Pooh offers the idea of digging a pit that the Heffalump will happen across, and when Piglet asks why the Heffalump will happen across it, Pooh comes up with a reason. As their exchange continues, the plan takes shape, and Pooh and Piglet establish well-defined roles for each to play in the Heffalump’s capture. By expanding on or questioning one another’s ideas, Pooh and Piglet build a better plan than either could build on his own, and both move forward feeling confident in the plan and in each other.