Meet the new Winnie-the-Pooh character Penguin

MANILA, Philippines – There’s a new Winnie-the-Pooh character joining Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Penguin is set to appear in a story titled “Winter: In Which Penguin Arrives,” which is part of a 90th anniversary sequel to , The Best Bear in All the World.

Author Brian Sibley, who wrote the story, was inspired by a photo of creator AA Milne and his son Christopher Robin Milne playing with a stuffed penguin.

Next to them is the toy bear that inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, bought by Christopher’s mom, Daphne Milne, at Harrod’s department store.

The character Christopher Robin in the book was based on Milne’s son.

New ‘Penguin’ character introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh, inspired by A A Milne photograph: https://t.co/Be0yK0JJx5 pic.twitter.com/qTtV7jPJ3Y

— The Bookseller (@thebookseller) September 19, 2016

Meet the newest #WinnieThePooh character, Penguin: https://t.co/ESc1OquPJ2 pic.twitter.com/GxAa4CnSwQ

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 19, 2016

Brian told BBC Radio 4 that AA Milne would introduce new characters like Kanga, Roo, and Tigger to his stories not only for the readers, but to keep the stories fresh.

After seeing the photograph, he told BBC, “I thought, what happened to this penguin? Why didn’t he ever get a chance to turn up in the Hundred Acre Woods? So I thought it would be rather fun to find out what would’ve happened, what might have happened if he had.”

In an excerpt of the story, read in the same interview, Piglet meets Penguin for the first time and is worried about his beak.

“I was wondering about the beak. Is he safe?” he asks Pooh.

“I think so. Christopher Robin knows all about him but says he needs bringing out of himself. He’s from the usual place, you know,” replies Pooh.

Harrod’s archivist Sebastian Wormell said in a release that the penguin toy may have come from Harrod’s too: “In the early years of the 20th century, toy penguins soared in popularity as the exploits of Antarctic explorers such as Shackleton and Scott fascinated the public. We believe that the toy pictured could be ‘Squeak,’ which originated in our 1922 catalogue and came from Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, a popular cartoon-strip.”

The 90th anniversary of Winnie-the-Pooh is on October 14.

What do you think of Penguin showing up in the Hundred Acre Woods? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com