In an entertainment industry dominated by shoot-'em-up computer games and blockbuster action movies, Winnie-the-Pooh is an unlikely success. The "tubby little cubby" first appeared in 1924 in When We Were Very Young, a collection of verse by A. A. Milne (1882–1956). Winnie-the-Pooh became a household name in 1926 with the publication of the children's story Winnie-the-Pooh, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard (1879–1976). Milne's book became one of the most popular children's books of the twentieth century. Its follow-up volumes, Now We Are Six (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) had similar success. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the popularity of the "bear of very little brain" goes far beyond the preteen audience. Pooh and his friends Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore (the donkey), Owl, Tigger (the tiger), Kanga, and Roo remind their adult fans of gentler times. Since the 1990s, Winnie-the-Pooh has come to rival Mickey Mouse as the face of Disney...