Free Winnie-the-Pooh books are being made available for 150 red phone box libraries across the UK. Farshore, the original publisher, announced it would donate copies of AA Milne's classic stories, along with a new authorised sequel titled A Little Boy and His Bear.
This initiative marks 100 years since the first publication of Winnie-the-Pooh and also celebrates the K2 red phone box. Actor Sally Phillips, narrator of newly reissued Winnie-the-Pooh audiobooks, launched the campaign by reading to schoolchildren at a phone box library in Chartham, Kent.
Members of the public are invited to nominate their local red phone box libraries that have already been adopted into community libraries. Libraries in Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, and the West Midlands have already registered for the books.
The initiative coincides with the government's National Year of Reading 2026. An annual survey from the National Literary Trust indicates that reading enjoyment has increased this year, following a four-year decline.