Buy Book "Winnie the Pooh" in Ukrainian

A wonderful book. Excellent translation. Wonderful illustrations.

“Winnie the Pooh by Alexander Milne is one of the books I grew up with. I read the thick book with black-and-white drawings many times, so I knew almost all of Winnie’s poetry by heart, and I can still quote the song about the eh-stumble to the North Pole. So, I hope that in two or three years my grandson will read the stories about adventures in the magic forest and he will judge Alexander Milne’s fairy-tale characters not only by Soviet cartoons, but also by a wonderful children’s book. However, I can’t help but compare the KM-Books edition with the one of the early sixties. The original illustrations by Ernest Howard Shepherd are definitely a plus, as they allow young readers to more accurately imagine how the author intended Winnie the Pooh and his friends – Christopher Robin, Pooh, Rabbit, Eeyore, the donkey, the calculating Owl, Kang’s mother and baby Roo – to look like. However, I don’t understand why there was no place in this edition for such a colorful character as Tigger. And there are some questions about the translation. For example, in the old edition, Winnie and Pooh tried to catch the terrible Elephant, and this word seems to me to be more accurate than Wuzzle-Puzzle. However, despite these remarks, the new edition of Alexander Milne’s wonderful fairy tale will certainly find its grateful readers.

Of course, everyone has their own preferences in the animal world. Probably, the first place in various greetings and wishes belongs to cats. But when it comes to book characters, Winnie the Pooh is the undisputed leader of many generations.

The Magic Forest is home to various inhabitants. But the main group is made up of true friends. Winnie and Pooh, despite their differences, always stick together and complement each other. Kenga is a real mom to everyone, not just her son. The rabbit demonstrates prudence and takes care of numerous relatives. Eeyore sometimes gets desperate, but he does not forget to help his friends get in and out of trouble. The tiger is infectious with constant liveliness.

Some people combine the image of Pooh with cartoons. In Disney, he is a more unrestrained fidget spinner. Instead, the Ukrainian character is dominated by cheeky and funny features. In fact, in Milne’s book, Winnie is a good-natured, naive, and infinitely sincere bear cub who loves his Magic Forest above all else, where he has been meeting Christopher Robin for centuries.

I don’t think anyone needs to be told that Milne is a genius, and that Winnie the Pooh stories are funny, skillful, and just plain cool. So let’s talk about the book itself.

The book is well designed. The cover is beautiful and pleasant to the touch, the paper is excellent, and Shepherd’s illustrations add authenticity. But the translation… I understand that translating Winnie the Pooh is a mega-task with an asterisk, because there are rhymes, puns, childish wordplay, and witticisms, which are always difficult to work with. And the translator almost managed it. Indeed, I was almost satisfied with the translation. But there are some serious gaffes that are very disappointing. For example, why is “heffalump” translated differently in different chapters? This is a gross oversight on the part of the editor, translator, and proofreader. Don’t do this to children’s books!

I was also a little upset that the book is listed as a “complete collection”, but there are no stories about a tiger in this book, several chapters are omitted. It’s a shame.

It’s not a bad book for a collection, but I’m waiting for a better edition.