New Winnie-The-Pooh Character ‘Penguin’ Unveiled For Book’s 90th Anniversary

Popular children’s character Winnie-the-Pooh is set to get a new friend - in the form of a penguin.

A new adventure, The Best Bear In All The World, is being published in October to mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh, with the introduction of a new character, Penguin.

The character, who will appear with old favourites Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger, was inspired by a photograph of AA Milne and his son playing on the nursery floor with the teddy that inspired Pooh and a penguin toy.

Inspiration - Penguin is inspired by a picture of AA Milne and his son playing with a penguin toy (Pictures: PA)

Author Brian Sibley penned Winter: In Which Penguin Arrives In The Forest, one of four seasonal stories to be featured in the yet-to-be published book.

“For someone who has loved Winnie-the-Pooh and co from his earliest childhood, the idea of visiting Hundred Acre Wood in search of a new story was wildly exciting,” he said.

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“The thought of Pooh encountering a penguin seemed no more outlandish than his meeting a kangaroo and a tiger in a Sussex wood, so I started thinking about what might have happened if, on a rather snowy day, Penguin had found his way to Pooh Corner.”

The bear which inspired Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as characters Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger, were all based on toys bought from Harrods by Mrs Milne and it is thought the penguin in the photo may also be from the prestigious department store and called Squeak.

Harrods’ archivist Sebastian Wormell said: “The toy department where Mrs Milne bought the iconic bear hosted a huge array of stuffed animals.

“In the early years of the 20th century, toy penguins soared in popularity as the exploits of Antarctic explorers such as Shackleton and Scott fascinated the public.

"We believe that the toy pictured could be Squeak, which originated in our 1922 catalogue and came from Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, a popular cartoon-strip.”

The Best Bear in All The World is the second authorised sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House At Pooh Corner (1928), following the publication of Return To The Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus in 2009.

Winnie-the-Pooh was recently named the UK’s favourite children’s book character and favourite children’s book of the past 150 years.