Winnie-the-Pooh [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

A. A. Milne (Author), Charles Kuralt (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

How do you get honey from bees, catch a Heffalump or track a Woozle? Winnie-the-Pooh knows--or thinks he does. And he'll try any scheme with the help of his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga and Baby Roo. He's the Bear of Little Brain that Christopher Robin--and millions of others--know and love. 2 cassettes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of the Hundred Acre Wood can celebrate Pooh's 75th birthday with collector's editions of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. Both books contain A.A. Milne's complete text as well as b&w decorations by Ernest H. Shepard. Dressed up for the party, each book features a redesigned jacket plus gold and silver gilded page edges, respectively. Each is sold separately, but they can be purchased together in a sturdy slipcased set.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade all levels?Penguin's production amplifies the fact that A.A. Milne has created some of the most memorable poetry and prose in children's literature. Charles Kuralt narrates all the tapes. When We Were Very Young resounds with Kuralt's lively reading of the nonsensical and onomatopoetic rhymes that fill the heads of toddlers. Opposite these poems, the narrator reads, with loving care, the verses about the real and imaginary playmates that warm youngsters' hearts. Now We Are Six reflects the growing complexity of a child's world. The narrator's voice is soft and vulnerable when reading of the innocent, inquisitive thoughts that preoccupy children, yet Kuralt speaks with a touch of exasperation when reading the poems depicting the young's struggle to understand the adult world. He does equally as well with Milne's stories. All the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood are introduced and their humorous escapades chronicled in Winnie-the-Pooh. While portraying the characters, Kuralt's child-like tone reflects their goodness, innocence, and wee intellect. The House at Pooh Corner continues the adventures of Pooh and introduces the bouncing, pouncing, lovable Tigger. Besides the delight children will experience when listening to the light-hearted, captivating stories, young listeners will also identify with the universal hopes, fears, and wishes of the characters. Kuralt's deep, learned-sounding voice gives the narration a fatherly, comforting feel. Libraries will want to acquire these high quality productions.?Mark P. Tierney, William B. Wade Elementary School, Waldorf, MD
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Penguin Audio; abridged edition edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140866825
• ISBN-13: 978-0140866827
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,109,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Books on Cassette > Children's Books > Animals

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Disappointing, July 3, 2007

By 

A. P. (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winnie the Pooh (Hardcover)

First of all, as pretty as the die-cut dust jacket is, it's prone to tearing. And if you have young children this is likely to be an issue, which sort of spoils the whole collector's/heirloom edition thing. Second, although I would ordinarily like the cream colored pages and colored illustrations, I don't like how they did it for this edition. Starting in the early '90s Dutton published full-color editions of all four of Milne's books (Winnie-the-Pooh, The House At Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young, and Now We Are Six) on white paper, and the illustrations blended perfectly with the pages. Unfortunately, for this 80th anniversary edition the publisher seems to have simply reused the color pictures from the 1991 edition, complete with the white backgrounds for each illustration. The effect of this against the cream colored pages of this new book looks a bit sloppy to me, as if someone had cut out the pictures from the 1991 edition and pasted them onto the pages of this new one. The older color editions of Milne's books are still available through Amazon (search for "Winnie-the-Pooh full-color gift edition"), and in my opinion they're nicer than this new edition.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a JOY to hold as well as READ, December 22, 2007

By 

A. Karlsson "AKWindsong" (Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Winnie the Pooh (Hardcover)

Before I bought this book I had read a few comments complaining about the color of the pages... somewhat yellowish in an almost but not quite parchmenty sort of way. Oh bother, said I, This is coloring my experience of the book. It's been in the back of my mind through every chapter, "Do I like this? Or do I not?" First let me say I love the brushed watercolors over the illustrations... I'm enthralled by the book jacket and the way the window is lit up by the colored version beneath on the actual cover... and the truth is I would have picked a slightly different page color -- but that's besides the point. It's still a lovely edition and my first grader certainly has no complaints.

On top of that, I'd forgotten how wonderful Pooh is. I'm so jaded by the Disney versions that invade every store and home (except mine) that I've spent a lot of time bypassing poor Pooh & Co altogether. We had recently revamped reading aloud here at home because books "written for first graders" were too mindless, books written at the reading level of Pooh today are written for an intellectual level of thought and humor that is beyond the first grader (A. A. Milne had an incredible gift for including all levels of maturity in these works) so our attempts there got tossed aside as my first grader played with his toes, fingers, hair and anything else he could reach because the books just weren't "keeping him." So I tallied up a new library budget and between Amazon and Abe Books did an overhaul... Pooh certainly is one that has hit the spot. The writing is more like how I would speak to my son, but the story is still appealing to the imagination of a first grader, the plot easily managed... so we've started each sit down with a couple of Milne poems and then followed it up with a chapter or two from this and The House At Pooh Corner Deluxe Edition thank the heavens for older books still in print! Do yourSELF the same favor, and while you're at it, toss out any of those Disney Pooh books... this will do so much more for your child's development.

60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading of the book., March 19, 2004

By 

drariadne (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Winnie-the-Pooh CD (3 CD Set) (Audio CD)

This is a review of the Jim Broadbent recording of the first Winnie the Pooh book. Although it does seem to include the other recordings I have heard, and I expect his version of The House at Pooh Corner would be quite similar.

Jim Broadbendt does a great job reading us WtP. Anyone who has heard the Charles Kuralt version- this version is 300% better. Jim not only has a sense of of humor, but does a different voice for each character. Two things sorely lacking on the CK versions. Now, for those who have heard the Peter Dennis recordings, well, those are better, there's no getting around that. Peter's piglet cannot be topped and he also does the most wonderful versions of the songs I have ever heard. But alas, those tapes are no longer available and Dennis never recorded the entire book(s). So, I figure Jim is still deserving of the 5 stars.

Broadbent does a wonderful job of bringing out the humor in the stories, something which the Kuralt recordings do not. His Eeyore does sound a bit like Ringo Starr- but, that works rather well now, doesn't it? Pooh, well, he's a bit on the not-so-bright side, but he's cheerful and trustworthy. Piglet does sound timid and sweet. Rabbit, well, he could be a bit more edgey in these. Jim has made Rabbit a bit more sympthetic a character than I envision him. Still, the subtle nuances are not lost, even on children. And, it is nice to have an unabridged version of the story available.

My children just love these cds. Which is nice. It's always good to have something that the entire family enjoys and is still a worthwhile use of time. Especialy something that one can listen to in the car that doesn't bore the pants off the driver and yet amuses the children enough to keep them quiet. I highly recommend this version for anyone who would like to expose their child to the original Pooh stories.