Alan Alexander Milne (A.A. Milne) was a dedicated father.  He spent many wonderful hours with his son Christopher.  Like most dads, he loved telling his son bedtime stories.   He used his son's stuffed animals as characters in his stories.   In 1924 Milne published a poem called "Teddy Bear" in the British magazine called "PUNCH".  For Christmas 1925, he published a story called "The Wrong Sort of Bees," in which he changed the name of the bear, and Winnie-the-Pooh was born.   The books about this "silly old bear" include Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1926 and 1928 respectively.

The original stuffed bear, that belonged to Christopher Robin, is on display at the New York Public Library.  Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo as as happy there as they were in the 100 Acre Wood.

I saw a great post in Facebook today.  It was from James Patterson, the prolific author.  He runs a page on Facebook called ReadKiddoRead.  The page is dedicated to the young reader and always has great content.

Today the post was about creating a book club for sports minded kids.  The idea is that you spend the week reading a sports related book and then during halftime on Sunday you discuss the book with the group.  I have quite a few personal suggestions for books to read. 

My first recommendation is for upper level readers from 8th grade through high school.  It is called Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage & Triumph.  This is a true story about Travis Roy, who suffered a devastating injury during the first 11 seconds of his very first college hockey game.  While it sounds like it would be a maudlin tragic story, Travis Roy writes about how his family, friends, faith and even humor helped him discover the true meaning of sports and life. 

If hockey is your interest, another great book is The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.  This is a memoir that reads like a fairy tale.  It is about the triumph of the unbelievable US Hockey team.

Speaking about the boys of winter, reminds me of my favorite sport and the Boys of Summer.  Try The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond.  This is a collection of short stories.  Because they are short, this would be a great book for students of all ages and really easy to complete a story each week.

Of course, since we are talking about football halftime, I would also recommend The Everything KIDS' Football Book, 3rd Edition: The all-time greats, legendary teams, and today's favorite players–and tips on playing like a pro.  This is a different type of book that is great for the child who says they hate to read.  It reads like a magazine, with anecdotes about players and important dates and statistics and historical items as well.    The "Everything Kids" series are always good for students to learn how to research and gather data.