Often imitated, never duplicated: The Wind in the Willows
Written: Sep 12 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun, adventurous stories and characters; easy to read.
Cons: Pacing is erratic.
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is on a boat with the Water Rat.
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| dramastef's Full Review: Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows |
After a long winter, the Mole is cleaning his den when he's suddenly struck by spring fever. Abandoning his chores, he ventures outside into the warm weather where his joy reaches new heights when he comes across his very first river. Try for a moment to imagine never before having seen a river. The Mole sees it in such an apt, beautiful way:
…this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again.
And here begin the adventures of the Mole as told by Kenneth Grahame in the classic children's book The Wind in the Willows. He first meets the Water Rat, and later Toad, Badger, Otter and even, at one point, the god Pan.
Like people, and all anthropomorphized animals I suppose, each character has their very own distinct personality. Though the animals sometimes clash, one of the underlying themes here is friendship and loyalty. Of course, a child can pick up this book and enjoy it on the surface alone: Toad's crazy driving, Toad's trip to and escape from jail, the search for Otter's son, divine intervention, Toad Hall being overrun by ferrets and weasels. Adventures run rampant throughout the pages of this book.
As an adult or older child, The Wind in the Willows can be so much more than just a fun romp through the woods with talking animals and crazy predicaments. Kenneth Grahame had strong beliefs about morality and class systems, and found an entertaining way to convey those beliefs in this children's book.
These adventures began as stories that Grahame told his son, and the odd up and down pacing sometimes shows that these were once individual stories. While this can be somewhat annoying when the book is read as a whole, it makes for perfect out loud nighttime reading to your own child. Each of the twelve chapters can be read in fifteen minutes, give or take five.
I grew up reading The Wind in the Willows and it's one of those books that no library should ever be without. I've read the stories to each of my children (now five and eight), and both have laughed at the antics and asked for more. As an adult, I've been able to reread the adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger and take a little more away from each subsequent reading.
Because it is my firm belief that no child should live a Wind in the Willow-less life, I am sending a copy of The Wind in the Willows to the Mississippi Humanities Council as part of the Fight Illiteracy Write-Off. Please, please take a moment to read about it and consider joining!
Recommended:
Yes
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