"Look for the bare necessitiesThe simple bare necessitiesForget about your worries and your strife"¦"
We have 3 absorbing 'bear' stories to share in this book club title including - a royal tale, animal adventures in magical Nutwood and the ponderings of Pooh and friends.
The first Winnie the Pooh book, When We Were Very Young, a book of poems about childhood, was published in November 1924. It included the poem "Teddy Bear". Shepard's illustrations show that this is a poem about Winnie the Pooh, using the generic name of Teddy. The poem gives us a clear indication of the temperament of Pooh as he was to appear in the stories of his adventures with AA Milne's son, Christopher Robin, and his many friends who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood.
Rupert was the creation of Mary Tourtel in the 1920s. He first appeared as 'Little Lost Bear' in the Daily Express newspaper on 8th October 1920.
Turn to the thermoform picture. It shows Rupert standing up with his head facing left and his body facing forward. Rupert is instantly recognisable from his bright red jumper, complemented by his yellow and black checked scarf and matching trousers. Only in the depths of winter does he don his red duffle coat, although on night-time adventures he has been known to go out wearing only striped pyjamas, with or without his red dressing gown.
It is my pleasure now to introduce you to a fine military bear whose life was touched by one of the most terrible and bloodiest periods in Russian history. This bear's name is Alfonzo. He was given to Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia by her father, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich , as a Christmas present in 1908 when she was five years old. She named the bear and loved him dearly. Princess and bear were never separated, Alfonzo travelled everywhere with her.