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    The Wind in the Willows
    The Wind in the Willows
    The Wind in the Willows
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Wind in the Willows

    Written by Kenneth Grahame

    Narrated by Shelly Frasier

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Mole was happy with his life until one day, in the middle of spring cleaning, he emerges from his hole at Mole End and starts meandering the English countryside. Everything is new for the simple but stalwart mole. Never before had he seen a river, taken a boat ride, or encountered the woods.

    But this is nothing compared to what awaits him when he gets tangled up in the escapades of the indomitable Mr. Toad, the society-hating Badger of Wild Wood, and the easy-going Water Rat! Motorcars, gypsies, jailbreaks, and a weasel rebellion are all in store for these intrepid animals. Beyond mischievous life adventures, the story conveys the typical turn of twentieth-century life in Britain and the struggle between the noisy, common way of life and the genteel.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 28, 2008
    ISBN9781400178483
    Author

    Kenneth Grahame

    Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh in 1859. He was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, but family circumstances prevented him from entering Oxford University. He joined the Bank of England as a gentleman clerk in 1879, rising to become the Bank's Secretary in 1898. He wrote a series of short stories, married Elspeth Thomson in 1899 and their only child, Alistair, was born a year later. He left the Bank in 1908, the year that The Wind in the Willows was published. Though not an immediate success, by the time of Grahame's death in 1932 it was recognised as a children's classic.

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    Reviews for The Wind in the Willows

    4.5/5

    192 ratings130 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Grandly humurous and entertaining adventures that have as much for adults as they do for children. Beautifull written with rich desciptions and characteriszations.
    • 5/5
      The Wind in the Willows is a book about a mole that leaves his home to go out and roll about and be frisky. Then, he came upon a river and a water rat. The rat had a little boat. I like this part. Then the water rat takes him to his home. You'll have to read the book for the rest. It's one of my favorite books. (Jake, 9 years old.)
    • 5/5
      As the introduction (written back in the 80s by Grahame biographer Peter Green) rightly identifies, although Mr. Toad made The Wind in the Willows famous, his action packed adventures are the least evocative and I’d go further to say he’s the least interesting of the characters. The best chapter, Dulce Domum, in which Mole desperately seeks to return to his own home despite its humbleness is an intoxicatingly emotional description of the inescapable connection most of us have to our own familiar four walls however else we might imagine they seem to others (and nearly had me in tears by the time the carol singers arrived). The loyalty between Ratty and Mole is also especially touching, not unlike that between Sherlock and Watson, the former often riding roughshod of the latter’s feelings until he realises he’s gone too far, guilt sets in and he shambles about making amends.
    • 5/5
      This is an inexpensive edition, but the words of this juvenile classic are all there.
    • 4/5
      this was probably one of the first books I read on my own, my father used to read it to me often but I never liked his story telling voice so I used to read ahead while looking at the words since of course, the book was open. I've always had great eyesight. lots of carrots. my father also took me to the play version in London when I was probably 7-9. that was the best times for our relationship. before my brother was born, it was more about him and me. this book reminds me of him and me. me and him. Him and I. I am Him. there is a reason people say I look like him. i come from his sperm whether it was in a tube or not. I don't remember much about the actual story but I remember thinking the toad was a total lame bummer and wasn't feeling his vibe. fucking toads.
    • 5/5
      Wow, I never read this as a child, my only exposure was from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. What an amazing book. Just finished reading this book to my five-year-old son. We both loved it. A wonderful story, such expressive writing. Great characters. I'll be reading this again.
    • 3/5
      Yes, it's a classic, and it definitely deserves that space. But it's also really meandering and slow and semi-plotless. I'm glad I re-read it after many years away.
    • 5/5
      I absolutly love this book! It is beautifully written with a quality that is not seen often. Four true friends Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad experience many adventures together and support and encourage each other as only true friends would.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful children's book which, like so many really good children's books, is still of great interest to adults.
    • 4/5
      Cute adventures of Mr. Toad and his friends. The story where they meet Pan seems out of place.
    • 5/5
      Another favourite from my childhood - starting to look a little twee now, but still love it!
    • 5/5
      Somewhere alongside a river lives a Water Rat and a Mole, two friends who take pleasure in the simple things, like taking a ride in Ratty's boat and having a picnic. Their friends Toad, Otter and Badger, living near the river and in the Wide Wood, join them in various adventures throughout the seasons.Somehow, when I was young and reading The Chronicles Narnia and all the Thornton W. Burgess tales, I missed this children's classic featuring Mole and the Water Rat, pompous old Toad and the sturdy Badger. I especially loved Toad, his faddish delights and mood swings from deepest despair to puffed up self-display. This was a truly charming read, by turns familiar (due to a movie I saw as a child) and new. The episodic chapters and long, meandering sentences lend themselves to a read-aloud, and I look forward to someday sharing this story with a young child.
    • 5/5
      I suppose I was in the mood for this book, but it was a sheer delight and it immediately became a favorite book. My copy has an introduction and afterword, as well as a brief author bio written by Jane Yolen which I really appreciated. We only have a small cast of central characters here, a mole, a water rat, a badger and a toad, 'Mr. Toad'. I adore Mole and Ratty. I found myself loving every one of them, maybe even Mr. Toad. This is a children's book for grown-ups as well as mid aged kids. When I got to chapter 7, titled "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" my mouth dropped open. My copy only has a few illustrations in it - lovely black and white drawings, and the artist is not credited, although I think I deciphered the name Zimic. Then I decided that artist Tricia Zimic created the delightful cover illustration as well as the interior pen and ink drawings.I much more partial to the early half of the book, the rather nostalgic, pastoral adventures of Mole, Rat and Badger as well as the Piper piece in the middle. As Jane Yolen notes, this is really three sorts of stories in one book.
    • 5/5
      A classic of children's literature. Wonderful.
    • 5/5
      Before I read this book, I thought that this is fantasy.But this is very instructive story.I can lean importance of friends and modesty again.I can notice that telling friends severe advice is difficult but considerate treatment.
    • 4/5
      A charming story of Ratty, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad, and the adventures they have together. One of the best children's books ever written.
    • 5/5
      I'm still thinking of this novel and the various levels of enjoyment encountered. Mole and Water Rat have a kind of friendship only dreamt of...it is like an ideal form of male bounding whee everything is okay with everyone and everyone works calmly towards the best interest of each other.Why you should read it, however, can be boiled down to one single scene with Toad and a pretend car made of chairs. If you've read it, you know the one!
    • 4/5
      Substance: The story of two friends never gets old, and I love the chapter where they discover Mole's old home. However, be warned that the book is full of antiquated notions. Toad is only part of the story.Style: Not too dated yet.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful children's classic.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to love this book. It started off well, but it just started feeling like a chore to read. With just another 50 pages to read, I can't get motivated to finish. Was there some reason why there weren't any female animals/characters?
    • 3/5
      My copy is actually a hardback with beautiful illustrations. I always found this fun, though I preferred the early chapters to the end.
    • 5/5
      Ok, second attempt at a review after the damn interwebs ate my last one. Luckily I’m composing this one offline first.

      To me Kenneth Grahame’s _The Wind in the Willows_ is a particularly fine novel. It’s a children’s story and normally that would get my back up. I’m generally not a big fan of children’s lit or YA, and to add to this I didn’t even read this book as a child and thus have the requisite rose-coloured glasses to lend credence to my love for the story. Somehow, however, this tale of the adventures of four animal friends in an idealized and idyllic Edwardian English countryside resonated deeply with me. I think part of this has to do with the deft hand Grahame shows in the creation of his characters: shy amiable Mole, courageous and resolute Ratty (that’s Water Rat by the bye), gruff but stalwart Badger and, last but certainly not least, frivolous and vain Toad, all partake of elements of archetype and yet are never fully defined by it, they manage to emerge as characters in their own right. The setting too seems to straddle the line between generic and specific. The animal friends are constantly travelling against a background whose very names are emblematic: the River, the Wildwood, the Town and yet when we come to their homes we could not wish to find more congenial or personal places of the heart.

      Our tale (or perhaps I should say tales) begins as the shy Mole first pokes his nose out from his underground home to be presented with a newly discovered wider world he approaches with awe and wonder. I wouldn’t quite say that Mole is the main character of the stories that follow (though he is always a significant part of them), but I’ve always had a soft spot for him and enjoy seeing Grahame’s idealized English meadows, woods and countryside through his amiable eyes. Toad would probably be the more likely candidate, certainly for a good portion of the stories which concentrate on his adventures: a life-loving jester of a character with more money than brains always looking out for the next fad that is of course the fulfillment of his true heart’s desire…yet again. Indeed, keeping tabs on their friend and trying to hammer some good animal sense into his soft head is one of the major tasks the other characters must undertake in many of these tales. Grahame’s pacing is excellent, at times meandering with a leisurely pace from a boating foray on the River to spring-cleaning a much-loved home, and at others moving at breakneck speed to escape from prison or reclaim an ancestral home from dangerous enemies. Thus we follow our friends as they learn about their world and each other and I cannot say that there are many more enjoyable companions to be had for such a venture.

      I’ve seen arguments online that these stories are somewhat parochial and insular: whenever the world outside of the hedgerows intrudes it is usually either a dangerous temptation or a destructive force. I can’t really argue with this, but does all literature need to celebrate the novel and the strange? Isn’t there a place for the well-loved hearth and a joyous homecoming? _The Wind in the Willows_ is nothing if not a celebration of the comfortable and the familiar, a paen for a world and a type of beauty fading away. There may be good reasons for why it had to die out, but I would argue that there is still value in remembering it. When I try to put my finger on what it is about this book that so captures my imagination and elevates it from being merely a tale about talking animals within the context of a long-dead worldview I think that Christopher Milne, son of the author of _Winnie the Pooh_, may have said it best when he talked of “those chapters that explore human emotions – the emotions of fear, nostalgia, awe, wanderlust.” It is these parts of the book that speak directly to my heart and examine the wider aspects of the human spirit.
    • 5/5
      Classic novel for the older elementary age students, who enjoy stories where animals come to life and take on human characteristics. A good book to teach adverbs and how to use your imagination to write a story.
    • 2/5
      It was awesome! Very interesting book that kept my attention!
    • 5/5
      I managed to avoid somehow or other reading the complete Wind in the Willows until I was well into adulthood. Of course, it is probably impossible to escape bits of it such as Ratty's wise words...'Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing...."But I found myself reading the full version around the 100 year anniversary of its original publication in 1908. And, despite myself. Quite enjoyed it. There is a bit of the class struggle reflected in it with Toad representing the worst of inherited wealth and privilige and ratty the best blend of smarts and good-heartedness. But really, I didn't buy this book for the story and I already have 3 other copies of the W/W. I bought for the wonderful illustrations by Robert Ingpen. He really is a favourite illustrator of mine. And, as is pointed out in the preface, it is no mean challenge to illustrate a book where everyone has their own mental pictures of Toa's caravan, or of the wild wood, or ratty and Mole's boating expedition etc. But, to my mind, the Ingpen version is simply one of the best, His style is semi realist.....realist enough for one to enjoy the warmth of Badger's fire and the food hanging from the ceiling of his abode. (p 60-61). It doesn't do to be too critical however; Badger's kitchen is true to the text with the glow and the warmth of the fire-lit kitchen whereas a REAK Badger's lair would be pitch black and maybe damp and certainly smelly. There is so much fun detail in Inpen's paintings. (I assume they are watercolour) but not quite sure. And they fade into a blurriness that hints at more details but just not enough to resolve. His draftsmanship is superb and he manages to faithfully portray the various animals whilst bestowing a pleasing familiarity upon them. I don't know how many illustrations there are in the book but did a quick sample count and it averages out at 7.5 illustrations per 10 pages. That is a wealth of illustration and fit makes the book a delight to read to children. Some of my favourite illustrations are of mole in the wild wood with the rabbit p 50; Badger leading Rat and Mole through underground passageways p76; Rat and Mole in the rowing boat just prior to dawn p121; the weasels, armed to the teeth attacking Toad hall.....p195. But these are just a few of the absolute gems in the book. Strongly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the most lovely, funny, and beautiful books that I have ever read. I've been reading and re-reading it since I was quite young, and it always leaves me wanting more. Mole, Rat, Badger, and especially the ingenious and inimitable Mr. Toad are a perfect fusion of temperaments, quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. An odd shifting of tone from one chapter to the next nonetheless works perfectly, a rare alchemy that would have (and often has) turned leaden in the hands of a lesser author.

      But I won't be reviewing the book in great detail here. Instead, here's how Sebastian, my seven-year-old son, reacted to the story.

      I have to admit that I was worried that the book might be too advanced for him. And at first, my fears seemed prophetic: the story didn't seem to interest him very much, and he often asked to read something else (or read one of his own books to me). I had carefully picked an unabridged edition (TWitW is often abridged, with "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" chapter being the most frequent casualty), but I found myself abridging the book on the fly. The language is truly lovely, but at Sebastian's age some of the longer descriptive passages just don't work.

      After struggling to read it to him for several weeks ("Dad, let's read something else tonight!") I picked up the book with the private resolution that if Sebastian didn't get more interested in it that night, I'd return it to the library and wait a year before trying again.

      And then Mole decided to make a private trek into the Wild Wood to meet Badger.

      I'd forgotten how frightening that section was! It's like a ghost story. Sebastian was riveted. From that point on, he was captivated; he even had me bring it in the car, so I could read it to him on the way to the train station (my wife was driving, of course).

      It took me a little while to work out the voices. Mole's is nasal and high, a bit like Terry Jones' when he's playing a silly part in Monty Python (ironically, Jones played Toad in a movie adaptation of the book, I believe). Rat is more mellifluous and a bit, well, educated; I keep thinking of "the playing fields of Eaton" when I'm reading him (not the actual fields, mind you; I've never seen them. I'm thinking of the phrase.)

      Badger is more gruff, deep, and direct (I think of Ed Asner's Lou Grant, but as a Brit). For Otter, I think of a British athlete, a "jock" type; cheerful, casual, and strong; a bit like Hugh Laurie, for some reason (obviously not when he's playing House).

      I should note that I'm NOT particularly trying to do British accents; I'm just letting the voices in my head shade the voices as I read them. So a tinge of accent creeps in, so to speak.

      Toad is the one character who gave me trouble. Eventually I decided that since Toad gets the best lines, and has the most emotional moments, I might as well use something close to my own voice - but pitched just a little higher, and with just a touch of melodrama. Toad is quite a ham, after all.

      For a seven-year-old, Toad is clearly the favorite of the book. That "his" chapters alternate with other ones was sometimes a small problem - but even so, during (for example) the Toad-free "Dulce Domum" chapter in which Mole's nose and heart are temporarily recaptured by the smells of his old home (a truly heartrending scene) Sebastian's interest remained strong enough to carry him through to the next chapter.

      Without question, the high point comes in Chapter X, "The Further Adventures of Toad". Toad's incredibly funny song, his escapes and adventures, his highs and lows are all perfect grist for the child reader/listener (and for the parent who loves reading dramatically to their child, for that matter).

      The final two chapters cap the book off perfectly. Any properly bloodthirsty child will revel in the passages in which piles of pistols, swords, and cudgels are amassed for each animal to use in the battle to come. Tiptoeing along the secret passage, the battle itself...this is the sort of thing children love, when it's well-told. And it is perfectly written here.

      I will confess that the reform of Toad is not quite believable (Sebastian confidently told me that Toad would not stay reformed). And the ending comes just a little too quickly. I have always wished as soon as I finished the book that there was more - and so did Sebastian. I know that sequels have been written by some modern-day author; I tried to read one of them, but at the time it didn't quite work for me. Some day, perhaps, I'll try it again...but maybe not. It would be more rewarding to simply re-read The Wind in the Willows once again.
    • 5/5
      The story centers around the animal citizens of an English riverbank. Each animal has a different personality, from easy-going Mole to the wise and wiley Badger, the spoiling-for-a-fight Weasels and of course boastful Toad, the owner of splendid Toad Hall who has too much money and too little sense to know what to do with it. The education of Toad by his well-meaning friends is a good lesson. The battle for Toad Hall near the end of the book is also exciting.
    • 5/5
      I've known the story of The Wind In The Willows forever, one of those things that seeps in in the time before memory begins, but on the other hand I have no memory of ever having read the book.And it is wonderful.Warm and clever and lovely, and touched by some sort of magic.It's all the little things like Mole feeling so much more at home in Badger's sett, because he's an underground animal at heart, but loving the river enough to forego that. And Ratty being lovely, and kind and ... Ratty is my favourite. And, it must be said, has been since I was wee.Completely and utterly worth reading, no matter how old you are.
    • 4/5
      Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger have adventures in a pastoral fantasy version of England.I read this as a child, and it was one of my favorites. I was particularly fond of Mr. Toad and his motoring car.Read as a child (1970s).
    • 5/5
      This is the book that got me into reading. I read a bit of it every night with my mother before going to bed. The descriptions were so enchanting that I kept with it even when I didn't know what all the words meant. I'd read it with a dictionary by my side so I could learn every word I didn't know. It was slow progress, but the story had me so spellbound that I never gave up.