The House at Pooh Corner
The
House at Pooh Corner (1928) is
the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A.
A. Milne and illustrated by E.
H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction
of the character Tigger.
Plot
The
title comes from a story in which Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet build a house for Eeyore. In another story the game of Poohsticks is invented. As with the first book, the chapters are
mostly in episodic format and can be read independently of each other. The only
exception to this is with Chapters 8 and 9 - Chapter 9 carries directly on from
the end of Chapter 8, as the characters search for a new house for Owl, his
house having been blown down in the previous chapter.
Hints
that Christopher Robin
is growing up, scattered throughout the book, come to a head in the final
chapter, in which the inhabitants of the Hundred
Acre Wood throw him a farewell party after
learning that he must leave them soon. It is made obvious, though not stated
explicitly, that he is starting school. In the end, they say good-bye to
Christopher Robin. Pooh and Christopher Robin climb a hill overlooking the
Hundred Acre Wood, and say a long, private farewell, in which Pooh promises not
to forget him. The book closes with the narrator remarking, "Wherever they
go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top
of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing."
Contents
- "In Which a House Is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore"
- "In Which Tigger Comes to the Forest and Has Breakfast"
- "In Which a Search Is Organized, and Piglet Nearly Meets the Heffalump Again"
- "In Which It Is Shown That Tiggers Don't Climb Trees"
- "In Which Rabbit Has a Busy Day, and We Learn What Christopher Robin Does in the Mornings"
- "In Which Pooh Invents a New Game and Eeyore Joins In"
- "In Which Tigger Is Unbounced"
- "In Which Piglet Does a Very Grand Thing"
- "In Which Eeyore Finds the Owlery and Owl Moves Into It"
- "In Which Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an Enchanted Place, and We Leave Them There"
Adaptations
In
1960 HMV
recorded a dramatised version with songs (music by Harold Fraser-Simson) of two episodes from the book (Chapters 2 and 8), starring
Ian Carmichael
as Pooh, Denise Bryer
as Christopher Robin (who also narrated), Hugh
Lloyd as Tigger, Penny
Morrell as Piglet, and Terry Norris
as Eeyore. This was released on a 45rpm EP.[1]
In
1971, singer-songwriter Kenny
Loggins released a song called "House at Pooh Corner" as a duet with Jim Messina on their album Sittin' In. Although the song was written by Loggins, it had
previously been released by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 1970 album Uncle Charlie &
His Dog Teddy. The song is told from the
perspective of both Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin. The first verse,
told from Pooh's point of view, describes how he and Christopher's days
together "disappeared all too soon" and how he "can't seem to
find [his] way back to the Wood." The second verse, told from Christopher
Robin's point of view, tells of how Pooh has a honey jar stuck on his nose and
how he came to him asking for help, but "from here, no one knows where he
goes." The song uses these verses as an allegorical musing on the loss of
innocence and childhood and the nostalgia for simpler, happier times. In 1994,
Loggins re-released the song as "Return to Pooh Corner" on the album of the same name. A duet with Amy Grant, this version added a third verse,
told from the perspective of an adult Christopher Robin who gives
Winnie-the-Pooh to his own son and hears Pooh whisper to him, "welcome
home." The song ends with Christopher Robin happy that he's "finally
come back to the house at Pooh Corner." This third verse was based on
Loggins' own feelings of happiness after the birth of his third son. The song
has since become a staple of Loggins' live performances, and it remains one of
his most personal, popular and beloved songs.
In
1988, an audio version of the book, published by BBC
Enterprises, was narrated by Alan
Bennett.[2]
In
1997 Hodder Children's
Audio released a dramatisation produced
by David Benedictus
with Judi Dench,
Stephen
Fry, Jane
Horrocks, Geoffrey Palmer,
Michael Williams, Robert Daws,
Sandi Toksvig,
Finty Williams
and Steven Webb.
The music was composed, directed and played by John Gould.[3]
Chapters
2, 8, and 9 were adapted into animation with the Disney
featurette Winnie the Pooh and
the Blustery Day. Similarly, chapters 4 and 7 were
adapted into Winnie the Pooh and
Tigger Too!, while chapter 6 was adapted in Winnie the Pooh and
a Day for Eeyore. Chapter 8 was also partially
adapted into an episode of The New Adventures
of Winnie the Pooh (entitled
"The Masked Offender"). Also, the final chapter was adapted as a
closure to The Many Adventures
of Winnie the Pooh, as well
as in the direct-to-video movie Pooh's
Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin. However, in the book, Christopher Robin was going away to
boarding school and wouldn't be coming back but in the films he was just going
to school and would come back at the end of the day, while Chapters 1 and 3
were used in segments of Piglet's Big Movie.
The
2018 live-action film Christopher Robin acts as an unofficial sequel to the book, with the film
focusing on a grown-up Christopher Robin meeting Pooh for the first time since
going to boarding school, while the film's first scenes adapt the last chapter
of the book. Producer Brigham Taylor was inspired by the book's last chapter
for the film's story.[4]
Chapter
2 was also released from Disney as a book, under the title Winnie the Pooh
meets Tigger.
In
1968 Jefferson Airplane
referenced the book in their song The House at Pooneil Corners, a
surrealistic depiction of global nuclear war co-written by Paul
Kantner and Marty
Balin, ending with the line "Which
is why a Pooh is poohing in the sun".
References
· "Ian Carmichael And Full Cast –
The House At Pooh Corner – HMV Junior Record Club – UK – 7EG 117".
45cat. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment