The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kenneth GrahameIllustrator: Michael Hague
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-09-01
ISBN: 0805072373
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Book Reviews of The Wind in the Willows
Book Review: Never stumbled over it until adulthood, still thought it was great
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read a lot of heavy stuff in the last year or so, and I decided to stick to children's fiction and other light reading for a month to sort of clear my palate. I picked up The Wind in the Willows and started into it without expecting much; I'd seen cartoon versions of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride quite a bit when I was a little kid, but never really felt interested in the book itself.
The book is like no other children's book I've ever read. It's ostensibly set in England, but obviously the anthropomorphic animals and idyllic setting make it more of a fantasy England than a real one. Kenneth Grahame loved the countryside, loved the relaxed life of someone who spends entire days drifting down a river in a boat, and one of his best achievements in this book is making you feel every ounce of pleasure that he ever got out of that lifestyle.
The funniest and most entertaining chapters center mostly on Mr. Toad, his boisterous personality and his exploits. He is an arrogant fool, but it's impossible to dislike him. Grahame draws him perfectly, and his story is never dull, but if this book were only about Mr. Toad's comical adventures it would be merely a great children's book and not a great book for all ages.
Fortunately, we also have Mr. Toad's three friends, Water Rat, Badger and Mole. The best chapters for the adult reader center around these characters and their relationships. The chapter in which Water Rat and Mole go looking for a friend's lost child and end up meeting a god is incredibly affecting. The chapter Wayfarers, in which Water Rat almost leaves the riverside life to go traveling, is also incredible. There is a depth of adult emotion in many of the non-Toad chapters that make the book well worth reading for anybody, and what makes the book so singular is that these very adult yearnings and feelings are addressed in a way that makes them entertaining even to children, who will not relate to them in most ways. The book goes to some very odd and peculiar places for a children's book, but it does so in a way that allows the children to come along as well. Anybody seeking to write for a universal audience should take notes from Grahame.
I wish I'd read this as a child so I could better know the child's perspective on it, but as an adult, I'm saying go ahead and read it no matter who you are. This book really does have something for everyone.
Summary of The Wind in the Willows
Perfect for gift-giving--a classic illustrated by Michael Hague, in a beautifully redesigned edition.
Kenneth Grahame originally wrote The Wind in the Willows to amuse his only son. It has become a classic tale of friendship and adventure, enjoyed by countless children around the world.
Kenneth Grahame originally wrote The Wind in the Willows to amuse his only son. It has become a classic tale of friendship and adventure, enjoyed by countless children around the world.
If you ever feel like falling into a beautiful comic-book story--in the same way one falls back into a warm field of grass--reach for Michel Plessix's lush adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. The artwork is an aquarelle, with thin, precise, detailed lines. It's no wonder he received numerous awards for his previous effort, Julien Boisvert, a contemporary take on the Tintin character type. In Wind in the Willows, Plessix breathes life into Mole, Rat, and Toad (of Toad Hall) as they picnic on the riverbank, indulge in Toad's latest fad, and get lost in Wild Wood. The pacing is masterful: each panel lingers just long enough to make you appreciate the simple pleasures of life.
This review refers to ISBN 1561631965.
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