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

Lindsay Mattick

Feb 2016 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Erin Moon

About this audiobook

Before Winnie-the-Pooh, there was a real bear named Winnie. And she was a girl! 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. Here is the remarkable true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh.

About the author

Lindsay Mattick was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She studied journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto. She has worked in public relations for over ten years. Lindsay is a board member for several non-profit organizations including Timeraiser, Artbound and Help Tank. Mattick is the great-granddaughter of Harry Colebourn, the veterinarian in her book, Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear. Sophie Blackall was born in 1970 and grew up in Australia. She received a Bachelor of Design in Sydney in 1992 with honors. She spent the following few years painting robotic characters for theme parks, providing the hands for a DIY television show, and writing a household hints column. She also had many exhibitions of paintings in galleries in Sydney and Melbourne. She moved to New York City in 2000. Her editorial illustrations have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Architectural Digest, Town and Country, Vogue, and Gourmet. She has illustrated over thirty books for children including Ruby's Wish, Meet Wild Boars, Pecan Pie Baby, Big Red Lollipop, and the Ivy and Bean series. She won the 2016 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear and the 2019 Randolph Caldecott Medal for Hello Lighthouse. Her first book for adults was entitled Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found.