An Unlikely Teacher Winnie The Poo
Selecting books for a school library I make time to browse through old favourites. Some just don't seem as eet, interesting or funny as when read the first or even second time. But when ome to AA Milne's 'Winnie-the-Pooh' d The House at Pooh Corner', I find myself recognising favourite bits, iling, and at times laughing out loud. Now these books are old-published 1926-and I wondered if young people day still enjoy them. Then an eightar-old reader-friend told me he loved it, en asking me a silly riddle: "What do exander The Great and Winnie The oh have in common?" and laughing so ard at my puzzled look he could hardly tothe answer out: "They have the same idle name!" Pooh would have laughed too; though e'd take a while to get the joke! In the ilne books, written as a gift to his son, ristopher Robin, Pooh seems naive nd slow-witted. Although he and his friends agree that he is'a Bear of Very Little Brain', Pooh is quite often the one with a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. But morethan this, we are captivated by his way of utteringa simple thought that is deeply perceptive: "Well," said Pooh, "what I like best..." -and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey wasa very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it-which was better than when you were eating, but he didn't know what it was called. The charm of the Pooh books for many is that it is reassuring; its overall message to children, and indeed to adults, is that despite the apparent confusion and chaos of the world for those of us with very little brain, there is beauty, order, and harmony-and friendship. And all of life’s crises, like being lost, losing things and friendlessness, can and will turn out right in the end. There isn’t just kind and loyal Pooh who is well-defined; we befriend several other animal characters, each with a district personality. There's impulsive Tigger, with too much 'bounce'; pessimistic, neurotic donkey Eeyore; no-nonsense kangaroo Kanga; self-important doer and planner Rabbit; Owl, pompous scholar. and aspiring intellectual; tiny, humble, insecure Piglet, who notices that "even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold ara ther Large amount of Gratitude". While we can see them as any group of typical siblings or playmates, they actually offer astute character studies of society's most recognisable personality types. They teach, through their adventures, many real lil essons- the chierbeine how to get alongtogether though very different fromeach other. Pooh's wisdom, almost easy to miss, is dotted about the books: "Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can'thear." Andwhen Piglet asks, "How do youspell 'love"?" Pooh answers, "You don'tspell it...you feel it." Winnie the Pooh has a certain Way about him, a way of doing things, livingalways in the moment. Little wonder then, that Benjamin Hoff, in his 'The Tao of Pooh' shows that Pooh's Way is amazingly consistent with the principlof living envisioned by the Chinese Taoist philosophers. The author's explanation of Taoism through Pooh,and Pooh through Taoism, shows thatthis ancient philosophy is something ycan use today, living in the here and no And then we can appreciate this simple wisdom: "What day is it?" Pool asks. "It's today," squeaks Piglet. "My favourite day," says Pooh. (TomorrowChildren's Day).
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Marguerite Theophil kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Marguerite Theophil Speaking Tree , Times of India
An Unlikely Teacher Winnie The Poo
Selecting books for a school library I make time to browse through old favourites. Some just don't seem as eet, interesting or funny as when read the first or even second time. But when ome to AA Milne's 'Winnie-the-Pooh' d The House at Pooh Corner', I find myself recognising favourite bits, iling, and at times laughing out loud. Now these books are old-published 1926-and I wondered if young people day still enjoy them. Then an eightar-old reader-friend told me he loved it, en asking me a silly riddle: "What do exander The Great and Winnie The oh have in common?" and laughing so ard at my puzzled look he could hardly tothe answer out: "They have the same idle name!" Pooh would have laughed too; though e'd take a while to get the joke! In the ilne books, written as a gift to his son, ristopher Robin, Pooh seems naive nd slow-witted. Although he and his friends agree that he is'a Bear of Very Little Brain', Pooh is quite often the one with a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. But morethan this, we are captivated by his way of utteringa simple thought that is deeply perceptive: "Well," said Pooh, "what I like best..." -and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey wasa very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it-which was better than when you were eating, but he didn't know what it was called. The charm of the Pooh books for many is that it is reassuring; its overall message to children, and indeed to adults, is that despite the apparent confusion and chaos of the world for those of us with very little brain, there is beauty, order, and harmony-and friendship. And all of life’s crises, like being lost, losing things and friendlessness, can and will turn out right in the end. There isn’t just kind and loyal Pooh who is well-defined; we befriend several other animal characters, each with a district personality. There's impulsive Tigger, with too much 'bounce'; pessimistic, neurotic donkey Eeyore; no-nonsense kangaroo Kanga; self-important doer and planner Rabbit; Owl, pompous scholar. and aspiring intellectual; tiny, humble, insecure Piglet, who notices that "even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold ara ther Large amount of Gratitude". While we can see them as any group of typical siblings or playmates, they actually offer astute character studies of society's most recognisable personality types. They teach, through their adventures, many real lil essons- the chierbeine how to get alongtogether though very different fromeach other. Pooh's wisdom, almost easy to miss, is dotted about the books: "Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can'thear." Andwhen Piglet asks, "How do youspell 'love"?" Pooh answers, "You don'tspell it...you feel it." Winnie the Pooh has a certain Way about him, a way of doing things, livingalways in the moment. Little wonder then, that Benjamin Hoff, in his 'The Tao of Pooh' shows that Pooh's Way is amazingly consistent with the principlof living envisioned by the Chinese Taoist philosophers. The author's explanation of Taoism through Pooh,and Pooh through Taoism, shows thatthis ancient philosophy is something ycan use today, living in the here and no And then we can appreciate this simple wisdom: "What day is it?" Pool asks. "It's today," squeaks Piglet. "My favourite day," says Pooh. (TomorrowChildren's Day).
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Marguerite Theophil kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Marguerite Theophil Speaking Tree , Times of India