The Wind in the Willows: The Centennial Anniversary Edition

by Kenneth Grahame

Book Overview

Since its beginnings as a series of stories told to Kenneth Grahame's young son, The Wind in the Willows has gone on to become one of the best-loved children's books of all time. The timeless story of Toad, Rat, Mole, and Badger has delighted readers of all ages for more than eighty years.

Friendly Rat, mild-mannered Mole, wise Badger, and kind--but conceited--Toad all live on the banks of the Thames. While Mole and Rat are content to go out in a row boat or travel the roads in a caravan, Toad prefers the excitement of motor cars. He's already wrecked seven While his friends try to keep him out of trouble, his passion for cars eventually results in his being caught and kept prisoner in the remotest dungeon of the best-guarded castle in all the land. Somehow, he has to escape and get home but what will he find when he gets there?

The Wind in the Willows is a book for those "who keep the spirit of youth alive in them; of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides." So, wrote Kenneth Grahame of his timeless tale of Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684179571
• ISBN13: 9780684179575
• Release Date: September 1983
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Not The Original

This was an adapted version of the classic book, so it was paraphrased and dumbed down. It’s already a book for young readers, it doesn’t need to be further simplified. Let kids experience real writing. I wasted $5 and now have to pay more for a real copy. Disappointed.

Wasn’t the right copy

This is a modified copy.

Not the original, it's an adapted version.

I was looking for the original version, this one is adapted.

Missing 1.5 chapters.

I didn’t check this book upon receiving it because it did appear to be in very good condition (as listed), but it is missing pages 1-28. That’s almost 2 chapters. I’m just getting around to reading this with my kids, and it’s too late to return.

Disappointed

Classic book which I love but I have tried to order this book two separate times (hardback) and have been sent a paperback both times. The first copy being so damaged I couldn’t read the title. Very disappointing.

The Wind in The Willows

I love the Book especially the Illustrations. I love the Hardcover and the beautiful sleeve it came complete just like New and large print makes reading enjoyable. I’m an adult love reading along with audio.

Love the book, but was supposed to be hardback

The story is classic, and I am happy we have it... But we ordered a hardcover and got a paperback with a cut corner on the front cover.

Didn't like

Just couldn't get interested in it.

Complex

This was a very interesting book. As I read it I felt like Toad was a `Prodigal Son', who came back only far enough to receive acceptance, then returned to his bad habits till he was in trouble again. It reminded me much of myself, playing at being Christian before really giving Christ all areas of my life. Like Toad I would repent, but then not really change. Rat was wise and resourceful, Mole was tender and caring and awe-full like a child yet also very wise. Badger is like a wise mature old mentor or guide, sent to give direction, and lead one to find one's own purpose in life. Yet the mix of Animal and Human society just did not make sense to me. It felt like a badly planned Narnia novel. It did not explain how the animal and human worlds came to interact and share a language or culture. But over all it was a fun read even if dry in some spots. (First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

Lovely artwork

The soft whimsical full-page illustrations make this edition a keeper. I'd buy anything illustrated by Inga Moore if this is a representative sample of her work. Excellent accompaniment to the text. If you're a Grahame purist perhaps you might pass on it but most kids (and adults) would enjoy this edition.

Beautiful edition

We have this edition - I didn't know about the missing chapters mentioned above - I'll have to look for a complete edition now. But I still won't trade this one for anything! I got this for Christmas to read to our three year-old - and he absolutely loves it. It was my single favorite present of Christmas 2004.

Continues to stand the test of time

When I was very young (about six thousand years ago), our school master used to read to us from Wind in the Willows. The stories had a magical quality and a few weeks ago, as a somewhat older person, I got to wondering whether they would still have that sense of enchantment that held us so captivated all those years ago.I was NOT disappointed. Toad was just as cantankerous and difficult as ever. Badger, Rat and Mole were just as supportive - just as memorable. Badger is unpredictable but protective (and sometimes mean). Mole is timid and shy. Rat is courageous and romantic. And who could ever forget those dreadful gun-toting weasels, ferrets and stoats glorying in their take-over of Toad Hall? Wind in the Willows is a true masterpiece of allegory with endless moral lessons disguised as a children's story. It is also a lesson in things long-forgotten... the glory of floating noiselessly down a river at dawn, past loosestrife, willowherb, bulrushes and meadowsweet. How many of us have even heard of these meadow plants, never mind seen them. But it doesn't matter, because it evokes nostalgia either for things long-forgotten or for things never-known.At a child's level, Wind in the Willows is about friendship and about life in an imagined world centered around the river. At a less innocent level, Wind in the Willows draws many parallels with life, though Kenneth Grahame managed to avoid preaching his lessons. Not the least of Graham's parables is that 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' because Toad is as egotistical and as self-important as they come until being thrown in jail for 'borrowing' a car. After that, it's all downhill for Toad, and it is only thanks to the loyalty of his friends that he regains some of his position in society - though not before learning a little humility first.Though, at an older age, we pretend to be more sophisticated, at heart we always hold out the hope of a return to innocence and simple adventures. We are still (most of us) perfectly capable of identifying with the animals and the idea, as one reviewer put it, of two school-aged hedgehogs frying ham for a mole and a water rat, in a badger's kitchen does my imagination no harm whatsoever! As for Grahame's choice of phrase (...the "remotest dungeon of the best-guarded keep of the stoutest castle in all the length and breadth of Merry England"...) it's almost as poetically attention-grabbing as Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder series.If you're looking for laser guns and hi-tech wars, W-i-t-W is NOT the book to buy. If you're after something a little more gentle (and a little more intelligent) Wind in the Willows is an outstanding example of a Classic that continues to withstand the test of time.

Another classic for all ages

I was introduced to the denizens of the river when I was very small - maybe age three or four. My edition was illustrated by Arthur Rackham, still the best version to this day, IMO (much as I love Ernest Shepherd's work...)I still remember being entranced by the juxtaposition of lyrical descriptions and occasionally wild and crazy action, expecially when Mr. Toad was involved - prefect balance for a child, and a terrific introduction to the wonders of the language in the hands of a true master. And one phrase - "Be my eyes, Ratty!" - has stayed with me ever since - that was when I really GOT the idea of helping and selflessness.I still have my beat-up old book and make sure that all the children of my acquaintance have a good hardback Rackham copy. This classic - forget Disney - is right up there with the original Poohs, and I'm sure it will remain a favorite for generations to come. Do yourself and the children in your life a favor and read it - preferably out loud - and prepare to laugh, smile, shed a tear, and never forget.