“The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame is a book that
I’ve known about for as long as I can remember, but for whatever reason, I’d
never taken the time to read it. It’s considered a children’s classic, which is
why I put it on my “bucket list” several years ago. I finished reading it on
Saturday, and it was every bit as good as I expected it to be.
Many of you will be familiar with this famous book, which
was originally published in 1908. It’s about a group of animals (who act like humans)
and live along a river and in the nearby woods. They love to paddle around in
boats, ride in small automobiles and have picnics here and there as life allows.
They also get into all sorts of adventures, including car
accidents, a search for a lost child and huge battle with a bunch of rouge
weasels. They also get lost in the woods, meet other strange animals and go on
a long trek through the snow. Throughout the book, you never know what they
will get into next.
Surprisingly for a book that’s considered a children’s
classic, you can make the argument that portions of the book aren’t suitable
for children. For one, the characters curse on and off throughout the book.
Elsewhere in the book, one of the characters is arrested for car theft, sent to
prison only to escape later when he dresses up like a woman. The character,
“Mr. Toad,” then leads police on a wild chase that involves a train and horse
theft.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. It’s just
not your typical children’s book by today’s standards. If you buy it for your
kids, you might want to read it first, so that you can judge for yourself.
The edition of the book that I read was the 1995 St.
Martin’s Press edition of the book, which was illustrated by Patrick Benson and
contained an introduction by William Horwood. If memory serves me correctly I
bought this book in 2006 during a visit to Miss Minnie & Me Antiques in
Beatrice. I look forward to passing this book along to my kids when they get
old enough to appreciate it.
As you might have imagined, this book is on all sorts of
“best of” lists. Earlier this year, Amazon.com book editors listed in on a best
of list they called “100 Books to Read in a Lifetime.” Several years ago,
Britian’s Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) ranked “The Wind in the
Willows ” as No. 17 on its list of “30 Books Every Adult Should Read Before
They Die.” Incidentally, this book was also a huge favorite of U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt.
In the end, how many of you have read “The Wind in the
Willows”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Let us know in
the comments section below.
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