Milne's family Winnie the Pooh, a famous children's book character, was created by A. A. Milne. After the book was finished, A.A. Milne planned a literary career as a serious dramatist. He worked hard for twenty years and published other novels and essays. Unfortunately, British critica ignored him as a serious writer. For them, as well as for the rest of the audience, A. A. Milne was forever closely connected with his first book. Meanwhile, the book had a life of its own. Numerous editions broke all records. During Milne's life, seven million copies of Winnie the Pooh were sold. The book was translated into 25 languages and spread round the world. As technology developed, the story was recorded and filmed. Even now, children adore Winnie the Pooh cartoons. The popularity of Winnie the Pooh was a paradox to Milne. Before his son was born, Milne had never had any intention of writing a book for children. As a brilliant graduate of Westminster school, he had an ambition to become a prestigious journalist and writer. Life changed with his marriage. In 1920, his wife Dorothy had a son, Christopher Robin. While the boy was growing up his father was busy writing for Punch magazine. He had no time to spend with Christopher Robin. During the lonely hours, the boy talked to his favourite toy, a teddy bear, which was a present from his father. This is how the main character was created. Its name came from a black Winnipeg bear that Milne once saw in the zoo. The other toys-a kangaroo, a donkey, a piglet and a tiger also belonged to his son. The Owl and the Rabbit were original creations. But all together they made a nice group of Winnie's friends. An exhibition of the original toys and Milne's family photos was opened in New York. It was popular with visitors of all ages and only Christopher Robin didn't want to see it. Christopher Robin did not read the book for sixty years after it appeared. Till the end of his life he suffered from having been a famous little boy. At school, teachers admired the star of the best-seller. But his classmates laughed at his habits, so carefully described in the book. Changing school and doing boxing did not help. Christopher Robin got a diploma in philology. After graduating from Oxford University, he joined the army and was a brave officer. Newspaper reporters, however, seldom asked him questions about his military service. All they wanted to know were the facts and memories about his family. The same thing happened when he started writing. As a result, he had to write a series of childhood memoirs. Though Christopher Robin did not receive much fame as a writer, his name is known all over the world. For millions of people he will forever be a cute, happy boy, a character from their favourite books, films, and cartoons.