A.A. Milne

A.A. Milne (Alan Alexander Milne) was an English author born in London in 1882, best known worldwide as the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh. Before turning to children's literature he worked as a playwright and essayist, notably as an editor at the humor magazine Punch, and he served in the British Army during World War I. His breakthrough as a children's writer came with the Pooh stories, inspired by his son Christopher Robin Milne and the boy's stuffed animals.

Milne's verse collection «Now We Are Six», published in 1927, sits alongside «When We Were Very Young» as one of his defining works of light poetry for children, featuring pieces such as «Buckingham Palace», «Halfway Down», «Us Two» and «Forgiven». These poems, later set to music by various composers, blend gentle whimsy with a child's-eye view of the world, marked by simple rhythms, playful rhyme schemes and an affectionate, slightly wistful tone.

Though Milne wrote successful plays and novels for adults, including the mystery «The Red House Mystery», it is his Pooh-related writing and children's verse that secured his lasting reputation. His work has been adapted extensively, especially by Disney, and continues to be read, quoted and performed generations after its original publication. He died in 1956, but his influence on English-language children's literature remains foundational.