| Return to the Hundred Acre Wood | |
| Author: | David Benedictus |
| Illustrator: | Mark Burgess |
| Country: | United Kingdom United States |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | Winnie-the-Pooh |
| Genre: | Children's books |
| Publisher: | Egmont Books (UK) Dutton (USA) |
| English Pub Date: | 5 October 2009 |
| Pages: | 216 pages |
| Isbn: | 978-0-525-42160-3 |
| Preceded By: | The House at Pooh Corner |
| Followed By: | The Best Bear in All the World |
Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is a Winnie-the-Pooh novel published on 5 October 2009. Written by David Benedictus and illustrated by Mark Burgess, it was the first such book since 1928 and introduced the character Lottie the Otter.[1]
In the mid-1990s, after completing an audio adaptation of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Benedictus wrote two Pooh short stories of his own and submitted them to the trustees of the Milne estate. The trustees replied that they were unable to publish the stories because "Walt Disney owned all the rights." However, ten years later, Benedictus was contacted by the trustees, who explained that "the sequel rights had reverted to them" and asked Benedictus to make changes to one of the short stories and to submit some more. This collection of stories was published as Return to the Hundred Acre Wood.[2]
Lottie is a new character in Return to the Hundred Acre Wood.
Lottie is said to be a "feisty" character who is also said to be good at cricket and insists on proper etiquette. According to Benedictus, "Lottie the Otter truly embodies Winnie-the-Pooh's values of friendship and adventure seen throughout Milne's work, thus making the perfect companion for everyone's favourite bear."