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New York Times Bestseller
Featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
People Magazine "Best Pick in Nonfiction"
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Table of Contents
Author Information Page 3
Contact Details Page 4
Book Specs Page 4
Author Photo Page 5
New York Times Bestseller Page 6
Reviews Page 7
Speaking Venues Page 16
Endorsements Page 18
PR Collateral Page 19
Full Features Page 25
Press Release Page 37
Press Images Page 39
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Author Information
Kathryn Aalto is landscape designer, historian, lecturer and a New York Times Bestselling
author. For the past twenty-five years, her focus has been on places where nature and culture
intersect: teaching literature of nature and place, designing gardens, and writing about the
natural world.
She is the author of two books: The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the
Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood (2015) — a People Magazine Best Pick in
Nonfiction and a feature on National Public Radio — and Nature and Human
Intervention (2011). As a writer, she has a special interest in the geography of childhood and
literary landscapes. Reviews of her latest book and her own writing have appeared in
newspapers and magazines around the world including The Washington Post, The Wall
Street Journal, The Huffington Post, The Boston Globe and The Chicago Tribune. She give
keynote talks and lectures widely, both nationally and internationally, to arboretums,
libraries, historical schools and garden and civic clubs on a range of topics including The
Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, literature of nature and place and creative nonfiction.
Kathryn grew up in the San Joaquin Valley of California surrounded by peach, walnut and
almond orchards. She was educated at the University of California at Berkeley, Western
Washington University, the London College of Garden Design and the University of Bristol
from which she received a Bachelor’s in English, a Master’s in English, a Diploma in Garden
Design and a Master’s in Garden History. She is a member of the Association for the Study of
Literature and the Environment, the Garden History Society, the Garden Writers
Association, the Garden Media Guild and the Society of Garden Designers (pre-registered).
She is working on her third book. She moved to Devon in 2007 with her family and
discovered walking on England’s ancient network of public footpaths, a fascinating
landscape feature that works its way into much of her writing.
Her work explores historic and horticultural themes with a contemporary twist. With
interests in the arts and sciences, she has taught biology, critical thinking and American
Literature of Nature and Place at a range of places including Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of
Science, the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, the
English Department at Western Washington University, and Everett Community College.
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Author Contact Details
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 011 44 07531 756 856
Website: www.kathrynaalto.com
Facebook: Kathryn Aalto Landscapes
Twitter: @kathrynaalto
Publisher Contact Details
Timber Press Publishing
133 SW 2nd Avenue #450
Portland, OR 97204 USA
Head of Marketing and Communications
Kathryn Juergens [email protected]
Book Specs
TITLE: The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood AUTHOR: Kathryn Aalto PUBLISHER: Timber Press DATE OF PUBLICATION: September 23, 2015 RETAIL PRICE: $24.95 US/£15 UK (Hardcover) ISBN-978-1-60469-599-1 PAGES: 308 ILLUSTRATIONS: 41 original E. H. Shepard illustrations; 30 historic images; all other photography by Kathryn Aalto
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Reviews
"A vivid guide to the 6,000 acres of Ashdown Forest in England, a landscape celebrated by
A. A. Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard as the make-believe Hundred Acre Wood where
Christopher Robin and their friends had their adventures."
— The New York Times
"Aalto’s lovely book provides two great pleasures: a visit to the actual wild spots that
inform the fictional Pooh world and a chance to slip into our memories of the books
themselves."
— The Washington Post
"Lavishly illustrated with superb photographs as well as reproductions of the delightfully
familiar Shepard illustrations...an affectionate book written with enthusiasm."
— The Wall Street Journal
"A delightful exploration of Ashdown Forest, the 6,000 acre wildlife haven in southeast
England that inspired A. A. Milne's Hundred Acre Wood."
— People Magazine
“The book is an easy, casual read, though Aalto covers a lot of ground, from biographical
detail on Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard to details on Hundred Acre Wood landmarks
like the real Poohsticks Bridge or the streambed where Pooh discovered the North Pole
(which he promptly picks up and takes with him).”
— The Raleigh News & Observer
"Expertly researched but with a lightness of touch that makes a fascinating read for lovers
both of Ashdown Forest and the books of A.A. Milne - the magic of the ‘place’ and the
Pooh stories are bought together beautifully."
— Pat Buesnel, Director, Conservators of Ashdown Forest, The Ashdown
Forest Centre
“Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, The Natural World of Winnie-the-
Pooh provides an intimate look into the magic and inspirations behind Milne’s stories,
while reminding us of the joy children experience through nature.”
— Richard Louv, author, The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods
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"A fun book with a serious heart."
— The Northumbrian
"The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh reminds us that the Hundred Acre Wood is quite
real and very much alive. Everyone who loves Pooh and Piglet and Christopher Robin will
cherish this behind-the-scenes exploration of A. A Milne’s world."
— Amy Stewart, author, The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the
World’s Great Drinks
"An intimate guide to the forest’s history, geology, animals, colours and textures.
Tantalising descriptions and photographs invite us to slow our pace, look and listen.”
— BBC Wildlife Magazine
“Take this book outdoors, settle into a cushy spot and listen to birds and the breeze as you
follow in Winnie's footprints and see the places that are the foundations to E.H. Shepard's
illustrations, which are as iconic as Milne's words.”
— The Oregonian
“If you grew up with Winnie-the-Pooh, you’ll enjoy this new book. It finds all the places in
Ashdown Forest that inspired the stories.”
— My Weekly
“For anyone who has read and reread Milne's stories, Aalto furnishes a delightful addition
to these classic tales, reawakening the childlike wonder and amusement first experienced
when reading the books inspired by these locations.”
— Shelf Awareness Reader
“Kathryn Aalto has skillfully woven together the geology, geography, history and natural
history of the Forest …providing a travelogue, a guide, a nature spotting manual, and a
nostalgic glimpse of the past, all rolled into a delightful and eminently readable book,
profusely illustrated with photographs and drawings.”
— The Garden Window
“The Natural World of Winne-the-Pooh is for those adult readers who have spent years
being intrigued by the fictional Hundred Acre Wood and want to know if their
imaginations and stories are in fact based on a real place.”
— The Durham Herald Sun
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“The book is well researched and includes many photographs of the forest today but it is
the charm of Aalto’s prose that carries us into this Enchanted Place. In this book she has
given us some biography, geography, and botany, but most of all a trip back in time to a
loving childhood.”
— The Recorder
“Nature enthusiasts will find much to enjoy in landscape designer and historian Kathryn
Aalto’s The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, where she discusses the Ashdown Forest,
the real woodland setting where Milne’s son often wandered with his stuffed animals in
tow. Parents nostalgic for a bygone era when children lost track of time playing outdoors
might consider Aalto’s book a companion guide to the Pooh tales, a gentle reminder that
so much of childhood is founded on magic and secret hideaway places.”
— Fine Books Magazine
"What [Aalto] does brilliantly is take you inside that hollow, beside the stream, into the
forest, and shows how they informed [Milne’s] writing."
— Alan Titchmarsh, MBE, at the Garden Museum Literary Festival
"Packed with E.H. Shepard’s original illustrations and hundreds of contemporary and
historical photographs, this book is essential reading for all who cherish A.A. Milne’s
classic tales.”
— Crowborough Life
“Aalto's book explores Milne's deep connection the natural world, and the real-life
inspirations behind the stories that have lasted for generations.”
— Minnesota Public Radio
"“This is a beautifully produced book with an unusual premise that will delight the
knowledgeable landscape designer and lay reader alike…Aalto’s book enriches our
understanding of the world of this iconic children’s story.”
— Landscape Architecture Magazine
“The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh takes us through the land of Pooh and his
friends, with descriptions and explanations as to how the stories unfolded before
Christopher Robin, and came to be told by his father. We learn a little about method
writing (brilliant!), and a lot about the charming area, including flora and fauna. By the
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time we're done with the book, we have not only a wonderful sense of place, but an even
greater appreciation for the Pooh stories. It's a marvelous blend of information that carries
enough appeal that it will satisfy the writer, the reader, and the gardener."
— Our Little Acre
“A nostalgic read that explores the magical reality behind the fictitious world of Winnie-
the-Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood.”
— Gardens Illustrated
Print and On-line Articles and Full Reviews
"Rowena House Interviews Kathryn Aalto," Words and Pictures, Society of Children's Book
Writers and Illustrators, 29 July 2015.
"A Hunny Pot of Nostalgia," by Mary Quattlebaum, The Washington Post, 15 October 2015.
"Ashdown Forest," Wall through the real woods of 'The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh,'"
by Dawn Baungartner Vaughn, The Durham Herald Sun, 15 Oct 2015.
"Author to Speak about Real Forest that Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood,"
by Corbie Hill, The News and Observer, 22 Oct 2015.
"Kathryn Aalto walks us through the Landscapes that Inspired A. A Milne's Winnie-the-
Pooh," by Kathryn Aalto, Sussex Life, 29 Oct 2015.
"The real forest that inspired the stories of Winnie-thePooh," by Adrian Higgins, The
Washington Post, 10 Nov 2015.
"The forest that gave life to Pooh," reprint, by Adrian Higgins, The Call, 14 Nov 2015.
"Landscape historian Kathryn Aalto on Winnie-the-Pooh's Forest," The Boston Globe, 15
Nov 2015.
"New Nonfiction Best Picks," People Magazine, 16 Nov 2015.
"An Enchanted (and real place): Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," by William Hageman, The
Chicago Tribune, 16 Nov 2015.
"Winnie-the-Pooh's Real Life Wonderland," by Liz Hoggard, The Daily Mail, 21 Nov 2015.
"Searching for the Real Winnie," by Al Sullivan, The Hudson River News, 22 Nov 2015.
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"The British Forest that Gave Life to Pooh," by Adrian Higgins, The Grand Rapids Press, 22
Nov 2015.
"Finding Milne's Physical Muse," reprint, by Adrian Higgins, Springfield Republican, 23 Nov
2015.
"Author to Discuss the Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," The Echo Sentinel, 26 Nov 2015.
"Author to Discuss the Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," The Bernardsville News, 26 Nov
2015.
"Author to Discuss the Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," Roxbury Review, 26 Nov 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Maryland
Gazette, 28 Nov 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Morning
Call, 29 Nov 2015.
Tokyo Inn Hotel, In-room magazine, Dec 2015.
Books of Interest, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Dec 2015.
Best New Book of December 2015, Children's Book Club, Junior Magazine, Dec 2015.
"The real story of dear Pooh-bear's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Merced Sun-
Star, 05 Dec 2015.
"Not So Fictional Forest: The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William
Hageman, The Pocono Record, 05 Dec 2015.
"The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's woods told," reprint, by William Hageman, The Palm
Beach Post, 06 Dec 2015.
"The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's woods told," reprint, by William Hageman, The
Johnson City Press, 06 Dec 2015.
"The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's woods told," reprint, by William Hageman, The Journal
Inquirer (East Windsor, Enfield, Somer), 07 Dec 2015.
"Author says real woods inspired Winnie-the-Pooh," reprint, by William Hageman, The
Naples Daily News, 07 Dec 2015.
"The real story behind Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The
Gardner News, 07 Dec 2015.
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"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Elkhart
Truth, 08 Dec 2015.
"Book tracks down inspiration for real-life 'Pooh' story," reprint, by William Hageman, The
Buffalo News, 08 Dec 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Tri-Cities
Herald, 09 Dec 2015
"The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's woods told," reprint, by William Hageman, The Polk
County Democrat, 09 Dec 2015
"The real story of Winnie-the-Pooh's woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Forum, 11
Dec 2015.
"Hundred Acre Wood Revisited: A book by an American living in England reveals the real-
life forest that inspired the Pooh stories," reprint, by William Hageman, The Honolulu Star-
Advertiser, 12 Dec 2015.
"A Walk in Pooh Bear's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, Sunday Valley News, 12 Dec
2015.
"Book uncovers real story of Pooh Hundred Acre Wood," reprint, by William Hageman,
Texarkana Gazette, 12 Dec 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Austin-
American Statesman, 15 Dec 2015.
Ashdown Forest Centre Newsletter, December 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Cortland
Standard, 07 Dec 2015.
"New Pooh book takes fans on nostalgic journey," book review by Kimberly Burton, Bucks
County Courier Times, 11 Dec 2015.
"Beloved Bear's Woods Come Alive in Britain," reprint, by William Hageman, The Columbus
Dispatch, 13 Dec 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Cortland
Standard, Farmington, NM, 13 Dec 2015.
"Books: Author Traces Beloved Character's Footsteps," reprint, by William Hageman, The
Free Lance-Star, 14 Dec 2015.
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"The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," review by Sonia Day, The Toronto Star, 18 Dec
2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Daily
Gazette, Schenectady, NY, 22 Dec 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Santa
Maria Times, Schenectady, NY, 22 Dec 2015.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Santa
Barbara News Press, 25 Dec 2015.
"Pooh landscapes occupy corners of young minds," reprint, by Adrian Higgins, Dallas
Morning News, 31 Dec 2015.
Smith Mountain Laker Magazine, Book Review, Dec 2015.
"The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," book excerpt, Better Homes and Gardens, Country
Gardens, 01 Jan 2016.
"The Real Story of Winnie-the-Pooh's Woods," reprint, by William Hageman, The Daily
Gazette, Schenectady, NY, 03 Jan 2016.
Bare Essentials Magazine: Seek Adventure, Save Wildlife, 11 Jan 2016
"Silly Old Bear: Winnie-the-Pooh's Legacy Endures at 90," by Michael Machosky, Pittsburgh
Tribune, 15 Jan 2016.
"Winnie-the-Pooh's Legacy Endures at 90," by Michael Machosky, Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review, 15 Jan 2016.
"Winnie-the-Pooh's Legacy Enduress: Milne's Book has been inspiring others for 90 years,"
reprint, by Michael Machosky, The Valley News Dispatch, 16 Jan 2016.
"The Real Forest that Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood," by Katherine
Brooks, The Huffington Post, 18 Jan 2016.
"Christopher Robin Was Real, and Other Winnie-the-Pooh Facts," by Katherine Brooks, The
Huffington Post, 18 Jan 2016.
" The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh" 2-page feature/book excerpts by Kathryn Aalto,
Country Gardens, Early Spring 2016.
Gardens Illustrated, Book review, January 2016.
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"Author's inspiration came from Ashdown Forest -- and pubs," by Rachel Barr, East
Grinstead Courier and Observer, 01 Feb 2016.
"Author takes readers through forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood," by Brian Blair,
The Republic of Columbus, Indiana, 10 Feb 2016.
"Exploring the Hundred Acre Wood with Kathryn Aalto," by Mary Beth Breckenridge, Akron
Beacon Journal, 12 Feb 2016.
"From Permaculture to Perennials: Garden Authors at the Northwest Flower and Garden
Show," The Oregonian, 12 Feb 2016.
"Famed woodland world of Winnie-the-Pooh comes to Hudson," by Tim Troglen, 16 Feb
2016.
The New York Times Book Review, Travel Section, #7 "The Natural World of Winnie-the-
Pooh," 16 Feb 2016.
"Book Clubs Welcoming Readers with Open Pages," Chicago Sun-Tribune, 18 Feb 2016.
"Alumna Walks through the Hundred Acre Wood," The Western Front, Western Washington
University, 21 Feb 2016.
BBC Countryfile Magazine, Feature article by Kathryn Aalto, March 2016.
"What we learn from re-reading Winnie-the-Pooh," Sierra Club Magazine, 11 April 2016.
"Author's Journey Takes Her from Escalon to the Hundred Acre Wood," by Deke Farrow,
The Modesto Bee, 01 Sept 2016.
"Escalon to England: Kathryn Aalto Enjoys the Journey," by Marg Jackson, The Escalon
Times, 14 Sept 2016.
"Ten Reasons to Plan a Road Trip to the Louisiana Book Festival," by Judy Christie, The
Shreveport Times, 21 Sept 2016.
"What country is better for children?" by Kathryn Aalto, Sierra Club Magazine, 23 Sept 2016.
Forthcoming:
Countryman Magazine, October 2016.
Radio/Podcasts
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Northeast Public Radio, The Roundtable with Joe Donahue. Podcast: Natural World of
Winnie-the-Pooh, 15 Oct 2015.
NPR's All Things Considered with Ari Shapiro, Podcast: "Natural World: In Which We Make
an Expotition to the Hundred Acre Wood" October 26, 2015. Re-aired 18 Jan 2016.
Irish Public Radio, Sean Moncrieff Show. Podcast: https://www.newstalk.com/BOOKS-
feeatured-on-Moncireff-this-week. 29 Oct 2015.
Minnesota Public Radio, Reading and Roaming with Kerri Miller. Podcast: "Inside Winnie-
the-Pooh's Real Hundred Acre Wood." 03 Nov 2015.
Utah Public Radio, The Zesty Garden with Bryan Earl. Podcast: An Interview with Kathryn
Aalto. 23 Nov 2015.
Northeast Public Radio, The Roundtable with Joe Donahue. Podcast: "Kathryn Aalto and
the Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh in Hudson." 19 Nov 2015.
"The Literati Scene with The Smoki Bacon and Dick Concannon," Dec 2015.
BBC Radio Devon, The David Fitzpatrick Show, 15 Dec 2015.
KSFO, Bob Tanem in the Garden, 20 Dec 2015.
WFYI, Indianapolis, 12 Feb 2016.
"The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," interview with David Fleming, KVCR. 31 Aug
2016.
KPBS, San Diego, "A Walking Tour of the Hundred Acre Wood." 5 Sept 2016.
httpwww.kpbs.org/news/2016/sep/05/walking-tour-real-hundred-acre-wood/
CapRadioNews, Sacramento, "Insights with Beth Ruyak." 5 Sept 2016
Television
Taster documentary, BBC Four, "The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh," May 2015.
"Good Day Tulsa," Channel 8, Tulsa, Oklahoma. 15 Sept 2016.
"Celebrating Winnie's 90th Anniversary," in production with Channel 4, England,
Documentary with Alan Titchmarsh. Dec 2016.
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Speaking Venues
The New York Public Library, New York, NY
United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C.
Hillwood Estate and Gardens, Washington, DC
National Press Club Book Fair, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.
University Club Book Fair, Washington, D.C.
New Dominion Bookshop, Charlottesville, VA
Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, Boston, MA
Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA
Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Bolyston, MA
Harvard Bookstore, Boston, MA
Titcomb’s Bookstore, Sandwich, MA
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH
WORD Bookstore, Jersey City, NJ
Hunterdon Library/The Book Garden, Frenchtown, NJ
Bookworm/Bernardsville Public Library, NJ
Spotty Dog Books and Ale, Hudson, NY
Doylestown Bookshop, Doylestown, PA
The Union League, Philadelphia, PA
The Acorn Club, Philadelphia, PA
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Westport Library, Westport, CT
The Taft School, Waterbury, CT
The Mark Twain House, Hartford, CT
Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC
Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC
McIntyre’s, Pittsboro, NC
The Garden Club of Charleston, SC
Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA
The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
The Newberry Library Chicago, IL
Bartholomew County Library, Columbus, IN
Hudson Library and Historical Society, Hudson, OH
Vromen’s Bookstore, Pasadena, CA
Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA
The Town Club, Pasadena, CA
Laguna Beach Garden Club, CA
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Ramona Garden Club, Ramona, CA
Ramona Library, Ramona, CA
Women's Club of Hollywood, CA
Modesto Garden Club, Modesto, CA
Town & Gown Series, Esri Auditorium, University of Redlands, CA
Village Books, Bellingham, WA
Monroe Public Library, Monroe, WA
Third Place Books, Seattle, WA
Inland Empire Gardening Club, Spokane, WA
Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Seattle, WA
Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
State Arboretum of Virginia, Blandy Experimental Farm, VA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA
State Botanical Gardens of Georgia, Athens, GA
Georgia Center for the Book, Atlanta, GA
Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA
Hilltop Arboretum, Baton Rouge, LA
Baton Rouge Herb Society, LA
St. John's Outdoor University, Collegeville, MN
Twin Cities Book Festival, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
The Pratt Library and Cylburn Arboretum, Baltimore, MD
The Gardens at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education, Oceanside, MS
Fort Worth Garden Club, Fort Worth, TX
Toby’s Garden Festival, Powderham Castle, Devon, UK
Gilbert White House, Selbourne, Hampshire, UK
Swanwick Writers’ Summer School, Derbyshire, UK
Ashdown Forest Centre, Forest Row, East Sussex, UK
The Garden Museum’s Literary Festival, Hatfield House, UK
Devon Wildlife Trust Wildlife Ambassadors Conference, Exeter UK
Exeter College, Exeter, UK
The Exeter School, Exeter, UK
The Maynard School, Exeter, UK
Penzance Literary Festival, Cornwall, UK
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Speaking Endorsements
“Not only was Ms. Aalto thoroughly prepared and professional in her presentation, she was
completely charming and engaging to our audience. As a rule, we have a very smart crowd.
Ms. Aalto left the crowd delighted and satisfied with their evening out, something that does
not always happen with an author presentation! We would gladly have her back for future
programs…in fact it cannot be soon enough!” — Jacques Lamarre, Director of
Communications, The Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford, CT
"Kathryn Aalto's event at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina drew a packed house
and ranks as one of our Top 5 in 34 years. Her talk about The Natural World of Winnie the
Pooh was very informative and at times laugh out loud funny. Her slides kept the audience
interested. She discussed the real Hundred Acre Wood, A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin, and
E. H. Shepard's illustrations. The audience had fun and lots of folks thanked us for having
her here. And we sold lots of books!" — Helen Stewart, Floor Manager, Quail Ridge
Books, Raleigh, North Carolina
"I directed Kathryn for a short ‘taster’ film for a pitch of the documentary version of her book
‘The Natural World of Winnie the Pooh’ for BBC Four. I couldn’t have asked for more from a
presenter – she was extremely well prepared with excellent, engaging delivery and the ability
to take direction and think on her feet. I very much hope we get to work together in the
future."— Jake Hayes, BBC producer
"Kathryn spoke to a large crowd, thoroughly engaging the audience in the details of Ashdown
Forest, A.A. Milne’s life, and that of Christopher Robin. Kathryn’s presentation style was
direct, warm, and intimate supported by a strong dose of nostalgia from the audience—a
winning combination." — Pam Thompson, Manager of Adult Education, Arnold
Arboretum of Harvard University
“I’ve conducted many on-air interviews throughout the last 20 years. You don’t always know
what you’re going to get until you’re actually into the interview. Within 10 seconds of my first
question with Kathryn, I knew my audience was in for a real treat. Kathryn was engaging,
informative, very much at ease, and immediately sucked me into Winnie-the-Pooh’s world. I
now have this penchant to play Poohsticks, and I’ve updated my bucket list to include a visit
to Ashdown Forest.” — Bryan Earl, Host of the Zesty Garden, Utah Public Radio
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"We were honored to welcome Kathryn Aalto to the Hudson Library & Historical Society for
a truly memorable evening. Kathryn knows how to engage an audience with the right amount
of warmth, insight and humor. Her well-researched multimedia presentation, full of
beautiful photographs and even the sounds of nature, captured the delight of the Winnie-
the-Pooh stories and the beauty of Ashdown Forest. I know many of us left inspired to revisit
the stories as well as embark on our own explorations of nature." — Polly Reynolds,
Hudson Library & Historical Society, Ohio
"The Modesto Garden Club is the largest garden club in the United States. Kathryn was one
of the best speakers we have ever had. We loved her. It will be difficult to top her." — Cindy
Ott, Events Coordinator, Modesto Garden Club
"Laughter, nostalgia and love of nature were shared during the presentation by Kathryn
Aalto at the Modesto Garden Club. Kathryn instantly connected with the large group by
divulging memories of her childhood in rural California and recent experiences as an expat
living in England. Sharing her love of nature and classic literature, Kathryn's presentation
was warm, humorous and erudite and inspired people to dust off their childhood copies of A.
A. Milne's classics." — Deborah Thrasher, attendee, Modesto Garden Club
"Kathryn presented an inspiring talk to our academic society that triggered more critical,
more reflective thought on what it means to be human in our modern age. I am very grateful
to Kathryn for all her efforts and thoughtfulness in putting together such a stunning
presentation and her style and enthusiasm in its delivery.” — James Wilson, The Exeter
School
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PR Collateral
People Magazine, "Best Picks in Nonfiction" November 2015
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Full-length Features
The Washington Post, November 11, 2015
The real forest that inspired
the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh
By Adrian Higgins Gardening columnist November 11, 2015
Daphne, Christopher Robin and A.A. Milne at Cotchford Farm. The farm and its environs inspired the Pooh stories. (Brian Sibley/Timber Press)
Alan Alexander Milne already was a successful writer and dramatist when he decided to
write a couple of children’s books for and about his young son, Christopher Robin. Few
people today are familiar with his play “The Fourth Wall” or the novel “The Red House
Mystery,” but generations of children and their parents have grown up in the safe embrace of
a bumbling stuffed bear named Winnie-the-Pooh.
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Quite why this character and his clownish chums have endured for almost a century is open
to debate — Disney’s later adaptations and merchandizing no doubt are a significant reason
— but the winning formula was there from the beginning. Milne’s first collection, “Winnie-
the-Pooh,” was published in 1926; his second, “The House at Pooh Corner,” two years later.
His illustrator was E.H. Shepard. Millions of copies have been sold since, in at least 50
languages.
When her children were younger, Kathryn Aalto read them the stories and couldn’t help
think that the tales were “like a Seinfeld episode, mostly a lot about nothing,” she said. But a
5-year-old can detect that Pooh is so obviously dimwitted that he or she must be cleverer.
This may be Milne’s genius, or part of it, but the lasting appeal of these stories is that they
exist in an absurdly authentic world, not just of characters and relationships, but the fanciful
landscape that gave form to their adventures.
Aalto, a garden designer and historian, set out to explore the creative origins of the Hundred
Acre Wood. Pooh’s world, she discovered, is a synthesis of Milne’s own childhood memories
— those he observed in his son between the ages of 4 and 8, and the topography of their
idyllic patch of southern England. That physical muse, in turn, took three forms: the Milnes’
16th-century farmhouse and garden; a nearby 6,000-acre preserved heathland named
Ashdown Forest; and an adjoining private woodland, the Five Hundred Acre Wood.
Aalto spent a year haunting these precincts before writing the newly published “The Natural
World of Winnie-the-Pooh.” If you examine Milne’s life and work in the early 1920s, as Aalto
did, it is clear how Winnie-the-Pooh came to life. Christopher Robin had acquired a number
of stuffed animals that he and his mother, Daphne Milne, played with inventively. The
menagerie included a teddy bear, a donkey, a wee pig and a tiger, which took form as the
bumbling Pooh, the melancholic Eeyore, the alternatingly brave and timorous Piglet and the
manic Tigger.
Once the family had moved out of London, Milne drew directly from the landscape around
Cotchford Farm. An old sycamore tree suggested the place where the fictional Christopher
Robin lived; a towering walnut tree the arboreal abode of Pooh himself.
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During heavy rains, the stream near the farmhouse turned a meadow into a lake and inspired
the story in which Piglet is trapped by rising water. Piglet is rescued by Christopher Robin
using his inverted umbrella as a boat.
A bridge over the same stream in Ashdown Forest gave us the game of Poohsticks. Pooh and
Piglet dropped twigs on one side to see whose would emerge first on the other. Owl’s house
was based on a centuries-old beech tree the Milnes knew well in the Five Hundred Acre
Wood. The Enchanted Place in the fictionalized woodland was a cluster of Scots pines.
It should be said that Christopher Milne, who died in 1996, grew up to resent his father’s
fictionalization of his childhood (in a total of four books) and wrote that he thought his
father was trying to relive his own childhood through his son.
Christopher Robin playing with his bear in a tree cavity. (Brian Sibley/Timber Press)
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Milne drew liberally from his East Sussex environment in writing the collections of Winnie-the-Pooh stories. (Brian
Sibley/Timber Press)
You don’t need a PhD in child psychology to know why the Pooh stories work in the
formative mind. All these imagined places — different but connected — provide for young
children the idea of actual places that they could escape to, “their own secret hideaways,
close to — but far enough away from — the watchful eyes of parents,” Aalto writes.
In an age of hovering elders, structured activities and the distractions of the digital universe,
such simple but important experiences are rarer than they were. This is a shame.
“The real and imagined places of the Hundred Acre Wood are tender touchstones for the
precious time of childhood,” she writes. “Milne’s books remind us that aimless wandering
and doing Nothing is actually a very big Something for little ones.”
Aalto herself recalls a childhood spent in the Central Valley of California, never far from the
almond and peach groves where she would play. She moved to England with her family in
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2007 and soon discovered the allure of Britain’s nationwide network of public footpaths, and
she embarked on the revelatory walking tours through the countryside that Milne himself
knew as a boy. Often the trek is also through history. She writes: “A circular ten mile path . . .
can feel epic; it is not unusual to find a Bronze Age earth mound near a village with a Norse
or Norman name where Roman ruins have been preserved.”
The rebuilt Poohsticks Bridge between the Milne home and Ashdown Forest. (Kathryn Aalto/Timber Press)
As powerful as the Pooh stories remain, they speak to something of greater value, the
importance of landscapes to children, places they return to, places they own, places to stage
their own dramas, and places that imprint themselves on the mind. When you go back to
those recollections as an adult, Aalto reminds us, it is not a case of reliving your childhood
but remembering your childhood.
We think it essential that a 5-year-old learns to read, but perhaps it is as important for a
child to learn how to read a landscape. I grew up playing along a woodland ridge that
stretched for half a mile along a railway cutting. I came to know every path and hill and most
of the trees. I absorbed the disparate character of various areas and the way each elicited a
different feeling.
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The most engaging landscapes have an aura about them. “There is a layer of memory,
emotions and history that takes place in an invisible landscape like strata over a real
landscape,” Aalto said in an interview.
A new book seeks to deconstruct the natural inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, first published in 1926. (Timber Press)
Garden historian Kathryn Aalto spent a year searching for the link between the Milnes’ natural world and the Pooh Bear stories.
(Timber Press)
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We speak today of a world so connected that it has become much smaller than it ever was.
This is framed as a human advance. Today’s Christopher Robins may well live until the end
of the century, and we can only imagine (or not) how much more the planet will shrink in
their lifetimes. You could argue that every childhood still should have a real Hundred Acre
Wood, as a playground where the world can grow larger again.
Adrian Higgins has been writing about the intersection of gardening and life for more than
25 years, and joined the Post in 1994. He is the author of several books, including the
"Washington Post Garden Book" and "Chanticleer, a Pleasure Garden."
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The Washington Post October 15, 2015
‘The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh’ is a honey pot of nostalgia
(Timber Press)
By Mary Quattlebaum October 15, 2015
The world’s most famous toys are missing from their climate-controlled case in the New York
Public Library. No, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends are not on an “Expotition,” but they’re
being carefully conserved off-site. The plush nonagenarians will return in the coming
months, but of course, the best place to find them has always been their original stomping
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grounds: two slim volumes entitled “Winnie-the-Pooh” (1926) and “The House at Pooh
Corner” (1928), by A.A. Milne.
Garden historian Kathryn Aalto marks next year’s 90th anniversary of the first title with a
lively exploration of the books’ iconic landscape and its connection to the fields and forest
that surrounded Milne’s home, Cotchford Farm in England, where his son, Christopher
Robin, played with stuffed animals.
Alan Alexander Milne, a successful writer, playwright and editor at the humor magazine
Punch, bought the home in 1925, and over the years he and his wife and only child enjoyed
long weekends and holidays there, a respite from Milne’s busy life in London. Milne hoped to
give his son an outdoorsy childhood similar to his own in the English village of Hampstead.
Young Christopher Robin found trees to climb in nearby Ashdown Forest and places to
adventure with his playthings Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger. (The books’ other
characters, Owl and Rabbit, most likely derive from the area’s native fauna.)
Milne, in turn, found inspiration for the two children’s books that were to eclipse his entire
literary output, a source of frustration in later years for the prolific writer. No matter
Dorothy Parker’s acerbic review — “Tonstant Weader fwowed up” — in the New Yorker, the
Pooh books became popular immediately. To date, they have sold about 20 million copies
and been translated into more than 50 languages. There have been Disney film adaptations,
related merchandise, critical spoofs by Frederick Crews and a disappointing authorized
sequel, “Return to the Hundred Acre Wood,” in 2009.
Aalto goes back to the source: the creators, muses and settings. From the beginning, Milne
recognized illustrator Ernest H. Shepard as an important contributor. The Punch cartoonist
visited Cotchford Farm and sketched the Scots pines, heath and toys that he later rendered in
ink, pen and black crayon. The only deviation was his use of his own son’s stuffed bear,
Growler, as the model for Pooh. Milne was so pleased with the drawings that he insisted that
Shepard receive a share of royalties, rather than the more usual, for the time, flat fee per
illustration.
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“Poohsticks Bridge” from ‘The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh,’ by Kathryn Aalto (Timber Press) (Photo by Kathryn Aalto)
Shepard’s art punctuates Aalto’s genial, knowledgeable text, and the generous use of period
and full-color contemporary photos immerses readers in literary history and a living
landscape. In addition to familiar haunts — Poohsticks Bridge, the Hundred Acre Wood —
Aalto attends to the natural and social history of the area. Once marked as royal hunting
ground by William the Conqueror and much later described as “villainously ugly” by an
English journalist, the woodlands and heaths of Ashdown Forest are now a protected habitat
for the rare nightjar and Dartford warbler as well as the damselflies, butterflies, bees and
violets depicted in the books. The gorse-bushes that once pricked Pooh still flourish.
As he grew, Christopher Robin’s relationship to the books and the father who made him
famous became more fraught, and he struggled to break free of the public’s fixation on his
young bob-haired self. Aalto never ventures into this darker territory. She references the first
memoir, “The Enchanted Places,” by Christopher Milne (he preferred “Christopher” as an
adult), but not those later, squeeze-your-heart memoirs in which he continued to reflect on
his shyness and the long shadow cast by his gentle father.
Acknowledging these shadows would have deepened rather than distracted from Aalto’s
sunny portrait. After all, it is the dark edges that often provide the emotional shading to the
great children’s classics: death in E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” fearful vigilance in Mary
Norton’s “The Borrowers.” In the England of Milne’s time, boys of a certain class could
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expect to leave their families for boarding school at age 10 or so, perhaps before many were
emotionally ready for such a separation. Milne had been thrust from his own Edenic
childhood, and he knew this fate awaited his sensitive son. At the end of “The House at Pooh
Corner,” this awareness hangs over the Pooh universe, a place where tolerance and kindness
prevail, and where a child might enjoy unstructured time “doing Nothing.” The Christopher
Robin character looks out at the larger world and turns back to his toy bear and asks for
understanding and more time to play.
Aalto’s lovely book provides two great pleasures: a visit to the actual wild spots that inform
the fictional Pooh world and a chance to slip into our memories of the books themselves.
Mary Quattlebaum is a children’s author and regular reviewer for The Washington
Post. She teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
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PRESS RELEASE (September 2015)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kathryn Aalto
Kathryn Juergens, Timber Press
503-265-0212, [email protected]
THE NATURAL WORLD OF
WINNIE-THE-POOH A Walk Through the Forest That Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood
By Kathryn Aalto
"A vivid guide to the 6,000 acres of Ashdown Forest in England, a landscape celebrated by A. A.
Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard as the make-believe Hundred Acre Wood where Christopher
Robin and their friends had their adventures."
— The New York Times
"Aalto’s lovely book provides two great pleasures: a visit to the actual wild spots that inform the
fictional Pooh world and a chance to slip into our memories of the books themselves."
— The Washington Post
"Lavishly illustrated with superb photographs as well as reproductions of the delightfully familiar
Shepard illustrations...an affectionate book written with enthusiasm."
— The Wall Street Journal
When you read a passage from the classic children’s stories about Winnie-the-Pooh
it’s hard not to feel nostalgic. You might remember your parents reading you the stories, or
you might remember reading them to your kids. Maybe you remember the original Disney
movie or the stuffed bear that sat on your bed. In one way or another, we have all been
touched by A. A. Milne’s beloved bear.
But did you know that the Hundred Acre Wood—the place where Pooh, Tigger, and
Piglet lived and played—is based on a real place? Did you know that you could actually visit
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Poohsticks Bridge? That The Floody Place is real? The setting for Winnie-the-Pooh’s
adventures was inspired by the Ashdown Forest, a wildlife haven that spans more than 5,000
acres in southeast England.
In THE NATURAL WORLD OF WINNIE-THE-POOH, garden historian Kathryn
Aalto explores how this magical place moved both A. A. Milne and E. H Shepherd to create
the cherished tales that remain not only relevant, but wildly popular. Aalto takes readers
through an exploration of the real landscapes, shares iconic moments and situates them in the
places that exist today, and celebrates the interplay of landscape and literature.
Packed with original photographs of this stunning part of the world, the book offers
readers a tour of a fictional world come to life. Aalto takes us to the house where Milne and
his son lived during the years the Pooh stories were written, walks the same paths that young
Christopher Robin would have trod when he was out exploring for hours on his own, and
celebrates the importance of nature in the lives of this literary family—and for all children,
even today.
THE NATURAL WORLD OF WINNIE-THE-POOH is a book for fans of this
silly old bear, young and old; for parents who wish to inject a bit more natural wonder into
their child’s life; or for a traveler (armchair or otherwise) wishing to experience the real
places inspiring one of the most famous works of literature.
# # #
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathryn Aalto is a writer, designer, historian and lecturer. For the
past twenty-five years, her focus has been on places where nature and culture intersect:
teaching literature of nature and place, designing gardens, and writing about the natural
world. She lives in Exeter, England, with her family. You can read more about Aalto and her
work at www.kathrynaalto.com.
THE NATURAL WORLD OF WINNIE THE POOH
A Walk Through the Forest That Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood
By Kathryn Aalto
Timber Press
On sale October 7, 2015
Hardcover / 308 pages / $24.95 / £15
ISBN-10: 1604695994
ISBN-13: 978-1604695991
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PRESS IMAGES
Footpath to Poohsticks Bridge in Hartfield, East Sussex, England. (Credit: Kathryn Aalto)
Poohsticks Bridge, one of the most iconic yet humble of bridges in the world. (Credit:
Kathryn Aalto)
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One of many Eeyore Houses that pop up in Ashdown Forest. (Credit: Kathryn Aalto)
An iconic English bluebell in Ashdown Forest, England. (Credit: Kathryn Aalto)
