Now this is truly exciting news! Dutton Children’s Books, an imprint of
Penguin Young Readers Group, will publish the first authorized sequel
to A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and The House At Pooh Corner entitled Return to the Hundred Acre Wood. The book will be released October 5th 2009, and Egmont Publishing will publish the book simultaneously in the UK.
Of course, sequels have a way of inspiring anticipation and trepidation in equal measure, particularly in the case of such an iconic childhood classic as Winnie-the-Pooh, and particularly when a new author is involved. But fear not – the managers of the E. E. Milne estate have searched long and hard for just the right author to pen the Pooh sequel, and they’ve found him in David Benedictus, who adapted and produced the audio
adaptations of Winnie-the-Pooh starring Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry
and Jane Horrocks. He worked closely with illustrator Mark Burgess who has illustrated countless classic children’s characters including Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh.
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is sure to become an instant childhood classic, and you can get a sneak preview (including beautiful illustrations) by reading the first chapter here!
Click to download the first chapter of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood.