Art Central
Literary Homes
A bear from Peru who lives in London, a storybook wood based on a real forest, and a girl who lives with a horse and a monkey. Let's visit more famous book homes!
Did you know?
Paddington Bear lives with the Brown family at 32 Windsor Gardens, London, but he comes from 'darkest Peru'. His creator, Michael Bond, remembered wartime children travelling with name labels, so Paddington arrived wearing a label too!
Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood was inspired by a real place: Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest, England. The real toys of Christopher Robin, A. A. Milne's son, are now on show at the New York Public Library!
Pippi Longstocking lives in Villa Villekulla with a monkey and a horse, and no grown-ups! Astrid Lindgren first made up Pippi stories in 1941 for her daughter Karin, who was ill. Karin invented the name.
Try this: A Home for a Character
Pick your favourite book character and design their dream home on paper. Give it a full address, like '32 Windsor Gardens'. Draw a floor plan with at least three rooms. Add five objects that tell us about the character, such as a small suitcase for Paddington. Then show a friend: can they guess whose home it is?
Go further: The Real Winnie
Winnie-the-Pooh got his name from a real bear! Winnie was a Canadian black bear who lived at London Zoo. A soldier, Harry Colebourn, had brought her to England and named her after Winnipeg, the Canadian city where he lived. A. A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, named his own teddy bear after her. That teddy became one of the most famous bears in books!