Image by Malcolm, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
This book hibernated on my To-Read List for several years before I finally decided to check it out this month. I decided to start reading it without knowing anything about it at all, other than assuming it was about Winnie the Pooh and Taoism.
Based on my assumptions, I wasn't surprised by the content of the book. It essentially weaves Pooh's adventures in and out amongst related Western Taoist commentary. Admirably, The Tao of Pooh has several humorous moments that made me honestly chuckle. It is very simply-written, but was difficult for me to follow. One moment there is a Pooh story and the next there is a Taoist take on said story, and it wasn't easy to transition from one to another. This was a recurring problem for me because there would often be several transitions per page! I found myself rereading passages multiple times to understand them, which I admit may be a fault of my own rather than the author.
Regarding the Taoist material discussed in the book, I can't say that I understand Taoism anymore than I did previously. I have read Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and have a preliminary working knowledge of the topic, but I don't feel like I came away from The Tao of Pooh with more knowledge or wisdom overall. Maybe it warrants another read, but I would prefer to read more about Taoism from other sources before returning to this one. I do believe that others would probably like it more than I did, though, so I would recommend it for anyone who truly enjoys the stories of Winnie the Pooh and/or has an interest in Taoism.
3/5 stars. 158 pages.