Winnie-the-Pooh books to fill phone box libraries

Free books for 150 red phone box libraries are being made available to celebrate 100 years of two British legends - Winnie-the-Pooh and the K2 red phone box.

The story's original publisher, Farshore, said it would donate copies of AA Milne's classics - whose setting was inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex - alongside a new authorised sequel A Little Boy and His Bear.

Sally Phillips, actor and narrator of the newly reissued Winnie-the-Pooh audiobooks, launched the campaign earlier by reading to schoolchildren at a phone box library in Chartham, Kent.

"He has always been the number one bear in our house," she told the BBC.

People across the UK have been invited to nominate their local red phone box libraries for the books to help the campaign's organisers "uncover more hidden gems".

Nominations have been opened to phone boxes which have already been adopted into community libraries, with libraries in Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands having already signed up.

Phillips said there was a lot to love about the bear's view of life, both for children and adults.

She said the books were "great to read as an adult because they're really funny, much funnier than you remember.

"When you read them to children, you remember how much kid-friendly drama there is in them."

The initiative comes after the launch of the government's National Year of Reading 2026, with reading enjoyment rising this year after four years in decline, according to an annual survey from the National Literary Trust.

Dr Nicole Holt, who runs the phone box library in Chartham, told the BBC: "They are really good for accessibility, they're free and are available to absolutely everybody."

The principal lecturer in public health at Canterbury Christ Church University said she hoped the initiative promoted and encouraged other people to set up phone box libraries.

At the launch, children took part in a storytelling workshop with Jane Riordan, the author of the new sequel, and had an illustration session with Andrew Grey, its illustrator, who taught them about the original's unique style.

First published in 1926, Milne's story, illustrated by Ernest Howard Shepard, followed the tales of Christopher Robin and his friends, including Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore.

It was based on actual stuffed toys of the author's son, Christopher Robin Milne.

A century on, Riordan said being asked to write the follow-up to Milne's beloved tale was the privilege of her career.

"The wonderful thing about Winnie-the-Pooh is that it's a book for someone to read to you," she explained.

"Enjoy them together - that's a real pleasure."

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