On this day in 1926 the book Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne was published by Methuen in London. Our household has celebrated this day each year with my wife baking Winnie-the-Pooh shaped cookies. (Yes, it is a scary thing to be a man in a house of Winnie-the-Pooh celebrations.)

Some say the real birthday is the day Christopher Robin Milne was given his stuffed bear (August 21, 1921). But since I’m in the publishing business, I prefer to mark the date with the publication of the book that started it all. And if you collect rare books, I once found a listing where Ernest Shepherd’s own copy (he was the illustrator) was available for purchase for only $95,000.

So, “Happy 98th birthday!” to Winnie-the-Pooh.  (Go bake some Winnie-the-Pooh cookies and celebrate.)