I’ve read several Christmas books featuring Winnie the Pooh, and one
thing you can always count on in these stories is that the rumbly in the
tumbly of the Silly Old Bear will be satisfied with a pot of honey,
either from Santa Claus or from a generous friend. But in The Merry Christmas Mystery,
written by Betty Birney and illustrated by Nancy Stevenson, it looks
like Pooh may have to wait a while for his favorite treat. Instead of
honey, Santa brings him... thistles. Is the Jolly Old Elf implying that
Pooh should diversify his tastes? Might thistles complement his efforts
in his morning stoutness exercises? Or is something else at play here?
Last year, I read Alexander Steffensmeier’s Millie in the Snow,
a picture book about a cow who must trek home in the midst of a
blizzard, carrying gifts for the folks back at the farm. The outcome of
that cow tale reminded me very much of The Merry Christmas Mystery,
which was one of the first in my collection of Pooh books that now
includes more than a hundred volumes. I received it for Christmas, and
the vibrant Golden Look-Look Book was a perfect fit for me, but in this
story, a perfect fit is hard to come by. Everybody in the Hundred-Acre
Wood seems to have received a gift that doesn’t make much sense.
Pooh and his thistles is only the beginning. Piglet arrives on the
scene in a winter coat so big that he can scarcely walk. Rabbit shows
off tiny red earmuffs that barely cover the tips of his ears. What’s a
Tigger to do with a pot full of honey when it’s common knowledge that
Tiggers hate honey? And what could Santa have been thinking when he gave
Eeyore that peculiar coat rack? Nobody’s too sure, but the nice thing
is that while general puzzlement abounds, nobody is complaining. “It was
nice of Santa to think of me” becomes the familiar, polite refrain. And
then, as more and more residents come together for the annual
decoration of the grandest pine in the forest, they begin to share...
By the end of the book, the woodland friends manage to crack the
mystery behind their unusual gifts; it’s a simple solution, though I
wonder how many children would guess it ahead of time, since it involves
an object that I don’t recall seeing in any other Pooh stories. I think
the first time I read it, my hunch was that Santa - or perhaps
Christopher Robin - just wanted to give these friends of modest means an
opportunity to exchange gifts with each other. That’s the result,
anyway, making this an especially sweet Pooh story.
The
writing style is typical for a Disney Pooh book, and each of the
characters acts and talks naturally. I love the detailed, full-color
illustrations, which feature so many of these beloved characters in the
pristine, snowy setting. I’m a little curious as to why Roo turns up so
much earlier than Kanga, who doesn’t seem to have gotten a mixed-up
present, and it’s a shame that Gopher doesn’t show up at all, but as a
pure Disney invention, he does tend to make his way into fewer books
than most. Everybody else is here, and it’s one very happy crew sure to
spread merriment to any youngster longing for a sojourn in the
Hundred-Acre Wood.
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