The Red House Mystery
by A. A. Milne (Methuen, 1922); audiobook read by Bill Wallis (Bolinda, 2015)
Wodehouse without the humour. Milne takes some time to work his way into this murder mystery, almost as if he’s envisaging it as a play rather than a novel. A good read once it gets going, especially as performed by Bill Wallis.
The Best Bear in all the World
by Paul Bright, Brian Sibley, Jeanne Willis, and Kate Saunders (Egmont, 2016); audiobook read by Martin Jarvis (Bolinda, 2016)
The Estate of A. A. Milne deserves praise for its restraint in authorising Winnie-the-Pooh sequels. This 90th anniversary penning of new stories (one for each season) sees four Pooh aficionados craft adventures in the spirit of Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard.
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
by David Benedictus (Egmont, 2009); audiobook read by Humphrey Bower (Bolinda, 2009)
Benedictus recaptures much of the charm — and certainly the narrative style — of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books. He also hasn’t been afraid to introduce a new character (Lottie the Otter). All that might be considered lacking is the original’s almost surreal absurdity.
Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne (Methuen, 1926)
audiobook read by Bernard Cribbins (Bolinda, 2015)
Winnie-the-Pooh has never lost its appeal as a collection of gentle, safe children’s tales featuring loveable anthropomorphised animals with foibles. Bernard Cribbins upholds the tradition of making Piglet sound unspeakably annoying, but redeems himself by giving us Eeyore à la Geoff Boycott.