In Hoff's first book, he focused on the Tao of Pooh. In this book, he allows Piglet to take centerstage: "In these pages, it will be the timid, yearning Piglet, rather than the comfortable, contented Pooh, who shows us the Way" (9). We discover the Te ("virtue in action") of Piglet. This virtue primarily revolves around the strength of weakness - how smallness is not an impediment but an aid in walking the spiritual path. "Unlike Pooh, who simply Is and Does, Piglet agonizes" (26). Piglet worries about his small size, but it his small size that continually arises as an asset. Accordingly, Hoff believes that only Piglet's character ever progresses in the stories.
As in the previous book, all the other Hundred Acre Woods' characters reveal a lesser path. For example, Eeyore represents fear - people who are "afraid to risk positive emotional expression, positive action, positive involvement in anything beyond Ego... Unfortunately for those around them, complaining is one thing that Eeyores are not afraid to do. They grudgingly carry their thimbles to the Fountain of Life, then mumble and grumble that they weren't given enough" (56).
Tigger represents the impulse-driven personality who suffers from the disability described by Alexander Pope: "Some people never learn anything because they understand everything too quickly" (89). Hoff complains that "[t]he West is full of Tiggers - restless seekers of instant gratification, larger-than-life overachievers. The West idolizes them because they're Bouncy and Exciting" (91). This book was enjoyable, but not nearly as captiviting as its prequel. Read that one first.
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