Customer Reviews

TIGGER COMES TO THE FOREST, Deluxe Picture Book (Winnie the Pooh Deluxe Picture Books)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This amazing dramatization of the Pooh books is performed by a marvelously talented group of British entertainers who truly bring the Pooh characters gently and lovingly to life. As for this tape, I finally got this figured out. This is part of a four-tape program that represents the complete two-book Winnie-the-Pooh story collection, except the stories are out of order (probably so that they would fit equally on the tapes). Book 1, "Winnie-the-Pooh," is represented by "Pooh Goes Visiting" (stories in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10) and "Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (stories: 5, 6, 7, 8). Book 2, "The House at Pooh Corner," is dramatized by "Tigger Comes to the Forest" (stories in order: 1 2, 4, 3, 9, 10) and "Pooh Invents a New Game" (stories 5, 6, 7, 8). When stories that depend on previous information are out of order, it gets confusing. My suggestion: Get the "Winnnie-the-Pooh" / "The House at Pooh Corner" gift pack, which is also four tapes (the same recordings), but in the proper order.

When I went to introduce my preschooler to Winnie-the-Pooh, I bought the big book with the complete stories and poems. It didn't take long for me to figure out that it wasn't quite right for my 3-year-old. Reading a story out of the original works takes a good 15-20 minutes, which is more than one can really expect from a preschooler or toddler. Also, the original Pooh is a bit like Sesame Street, in that there are phrases and indeed entire sections of the stories that adults will find amusing but which will just go over a child's head.

And yet, I didn't want to break down and go the route of the Disney-fied Pooh books, with their cartoonish illustrations and watered-down plots and characters.

That's why I was so pleased to find the Easy-to-Read series. There are six easy-to-read titles from two publishers. They are:

Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees
Pooh Goes Visiting
Eeyore Has a Birthday
Tigger Comes to the Forest
Christopher Robin Leads an Expedition
Pooh Invents a New Game

Each book is based on one chapter from the complete works. These little books are divided into four chapters, although it should be no problem to read one from start to finish in one sitting.

The print is large and well spaced, and there are ample illustrations (the original drawings by E.H. Shepard) on every page spread to keep little eyes engaged in the story. Most important, the editor has removed most of the passages that aren't so kid friendly and has simplified the stories without giving them a Disney style candy coating. One could read the original story and then the easy-to-read version and get the same basic plot; when going from the Milne works to the Disney versions, the same is certainly not true.

I didn't give these books five stars because the editor retained some language and dialogue that may be a bit confusing for children in the intended age range. Nevertheless, these books are a wonderful introduction to a classic cast of characters for the preschool set.

This was an instant success with my 4 1/2 year old son. He listens to audiobooks often and tends to request the cd's from this series mor than any others.

This is another beautiful story set from the series, but I have to admit that the voice of tigger is a bit annoying, other than that we still like it and it is definitely worth buying it, ...even if you prefer to skip the stories including tigger.

I love these tapes. My preschooler loves these tapes and has since age 2 or so. My sister gave them to me because she and her kids love these tapes. First of all, Winnie the Pooh is simply the best toddler/preschool character out there, as he's funny and not scary or naughty, (or loud), and they use lots of words and do things which are new and fun and interesting for your toddler/ preschooler. Second, this dramatization is unbelievably good--entertaining to adults as well as kids, the perfect mix of humor and gentleness. Another reviewer has said Tigger is annoying--I completely disagree. Tigger is FINE. I wonder if this reviewer has encountered Disney Tigger--now there's annoying! We have taken these tapes everywhere and now of course have lost or broken most of them so I HAVE TO buy some more. There are alot of books and tapes out there you can take out of the library--JUST BUY THESE

After my introduction to this ensemble cast with "Pooh Goes Visiting," I looked forward to the rest of the series. But this one is a bit of a let-down. Be warned that the stories are, or seem to be, out of sequence. Contrary to the title, only two, I think, are about or even contain Tigger. And the voice of Tigger is REALLY annoying. Really. But the rest of the cast continues to bring a gentle wonderfulness to the Pooh stories -- so much so that it's well worth the annoyance of Tigger. Get this one, but don't miss the other, better ones.

[This is a review of the Hodder/Headline audiocassette version] I learned to read by listening (again and again and again and again) to a pair of well-loved and well-worn LPs of the Pooh stories read by Maurice Evans. I always considered them the finest Pooh audiobooks ever recorded. Up until now! Now there's this wonderful series of fully-dramatized adventures of Pooh featuring a brilliant cast of wonderful British actors: Stephen Fry ("Jeeves and Wooster") as Pooh, Geoffrey Palmer ("The Madness of King George") as Eeyore, Judy Dench ("Shakespeare in Love") as Kanga...and best of all, the *incomparable* Jane Horrocks ("Little Voice" and Bubbles from "AbFab") as a squeaky, alarmed, and altogether adorable Piglet. You don't have to be a kid to appreciate these fine recordings (and there are plenty of adult Pooh fans out there who will *love* these versions). Accept no substitutes: this is simply the finest Pooh audio series yet created, beating by a *far* distance the Alan Bennett and (ugh!) Charles Kuralt versions. There's more than just this one tape in the series, too. The series includes "Tigger Comes to the Forest" (ISBN: 1840322195); "Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (ISBN: 1840320524) and "Pooh Invents a New Game" (ISBN: 1840322268). Type the 10-digit ISBN number into the Amazon search field to go directly to the webpages for these cassettes.