The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

I've known about Kenneth Graham's The Wind the Willows for some time, but oddly enough never took the time to read it until this summer. On a whim I picked up an inexpensive paperback copy at the local B&N bookstore and settled in to read the book at the end of August... about a half a dozen books and over a month later I finally finished it.

For those unfamiliar with the book, The Wind in the Willows is the story of four animals who become friends as they together share their adventures by the banks of the Themes River in rural England around the turn of the last century. The four animals include a shy and mild-mannered mole named "Mole", a clever and loyal water rat named "Rat" or "Ratty", a wise and thoughtful badger named (you guessed it) "Badger", and a self-centered and impetuous toad named "Toad". Other animals figure into the story, but it is these four animals that are the stars of the book. All the animals carry on a rather human-like existence, that is to say they talk, they wear clothing, have furniture in their homes and even drive cars and operate boats.

This is a wonderful story to read aloud to children, but it can also be a delightful story for the adult imagination and will take you down memory lane, if you let it. I found myself reminiscing about many of my childhood haunts in the woods and by streams. It also reminded me of some other great books that I enjoyed years ago, including Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson.

Generally an adult reader should find The Wind in the Willows to be a quick read, but I allowed myself to be sidetracked by other books, so as I mentioned before, it took some time to finish. The copy I bought is a Puffin Classics and runs to 245 pages, but also includes further information about the characters, the River Themes, the author and even a glossary of terms, which is ideal for the young reader. One should note, however that there is some "language" most notably and probably the most objectionable is the use of "ass" -- however that aside there is much good that can be learned from the characters.

Originally published in 1908, The Wind in the Willows is one of four books written by Kenneth Graham. It originated from bed-time stories Graham told his son. After the premature death of his son, Graham never wrote another story. It was not initially a popular book, but became so over twenty years later when it was dramatized by A. A. Milne (yes, that would be the author of Winnie-the-Pooh).

As an interesting side note, The Wind in the Willows is the third book I've read this summer/fall that was written exactly 100 years ago. The first was The Wizard of Oz and the second, Anne of Green Gables. Apparently 1908 was a big year for classics.