Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear

　　故事從「很久很久以前……」開始，一位年輕獸醫哈利（Harry Colebourn）隨著軍隊遷移途中，在車站向一位捕獸人買了一隻小熊，因為軍隊所在地在加拿大溫尼伯（Winnipeg），於是他們就稱小熊為「Winnie」。後來軍隊從加拿大移往英國集訓時，小熊也跟著一起。小熊因為長期與人相處，個性特別溫和。直到第一次世界大戰爆發，軍隊必須移防歐陸，獸醫只好割捨小熊，將牠送到倫敦動物園寄養。

　　小熊從1914年12月9日進入倫敦動物園，就成為小朋友最喜歡的動物，牠溫馴可愛，讓小孩爬到牠身上騎著走動。作家米恩（A. A. Milne）的孩子克里斯多福．羅賓（Christopher Robin）還因此將自己的布偶熊改名為「Winnie-the-Pooh」，這隻北美黑熊便成為米恩筆下的經典故事《小熊維尼》靈感由來。我們熟知維尼小熊，卻很少人知道，原來小熊從北美洲來的。這隻著名的布偶熊目前被收藏在紐約市立公共圖書館。而《Finding Winnie》中這位說故事的媽媽，其實就是那位獸醫的曾孫女。這個家族的故事，也成為最好的床邊故事。

　　——摘錄自Okapi【主題繪本控】2016年凱迪克獎金牌得主──Sophie Blackall 繪本《尋找小熊維尼》

　　Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box – a children’s subscription that inspires a love of reading.

　　A #1 New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the Caldecott Medal about the remarkable true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh.

　　In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war.

　　Harry Colebourn's real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey--from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England...

　　And finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin.

　　Before Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie. And she was a girl!

作者簡介

　　indsay Mattick, great-granddaughter of Harry Colebourn, has shared Winnie's story around the world. She lives with her family in Toronto, Canada.

　　Sophie Blackall's work has appeared in the bestselling Ivy and Bean series, award-winning picture books, a global pro-vaccination campaign, and on a renowned NYC subway poster. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.