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2013-02-11

WINNIE ILLE PU by A.A. Milnei

That's right: this is Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne, as translated into Latin by Alexander Lenard. There is not a single page in English, or in any other language but Latin, for that matter. It was published in December 1960 and landed on The New York Times bestseller list for 20 weeks, selling 125,000 copies in 21 editions.

Alexander Lenard was an Hungarian-born doctor with an Austrian medical degree. As a refugee in 1952, he re-settled in Brazil where he spent seven years working on translating Pooh into Pu. The original edition of the book was self-published, as there was a lack of interest from Brazilian and English publishers. In 1984, Winnie Ille Pu was back in the bookstores, nearly 25 years after initial publication.

Winnie Ille Pu is more than just a Latin translation of a beloved children's book though. Interested in taking a peek at the content? Here's a PDF download ».

The New York Times itself published a retrospective of the book in 1984: "Winnie Ille Pu nearly XXV years later" »

There have been other translations into Latin of modern stories. These include Olivia, The Three Blind Mice, Harry Potter, The Little Prince, and some Dr. Seuss books (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs And Ham). Read more at Mental Floss »

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