"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

"The Wind in the Willows" is a delightful book for both children and adults. I read the version with twelve chapters with many detailed drawings by Patrick Benson. There are also six-chapter versions that concentrate more on Toad's adventures which children would enjoy, as well as easy reader versions for younger readers. Although I never read this book to my children, I can imagine them especially loving Toad's wild adventures with motorcars which were a new invention in 1908 when the book was published.

"The Wind in the Willows" tells about the friendship of four friends--Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad--and learning from your mistakes. It's also a tale about trying new things, enjoying picnics, love of nature, and going on a journey, especially for Mole who hadn't been far away from his simple home. The book celebrates the beauty of the countryside in Edwardian England.

"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was the only chapter that mentioned willows. Mole and Rat come upon Pan, the Greek god of nature and wilderness. This chapter of divine enchantment might be appreciated more by adults, as would "Wayfarers All" about Water Rat meeting a Sea Rat. The Sea Rat describes his journeys, mostly around Mediterranean ports, in long sentences with little appeal for children.

Author Kenneth Grahame told some of these stories first as bedtime stories to his young son who had health problems. Grahame was an avid boater, and his love for boats comes across in his stories. When he was away for extended times, he would also write letters to his son with further adventures of the four animals. Grahame writes about a love of nature at a time when England was changing due to industrialization. His animal characters around the woods and river bank take us back to another time.

Re-read now to make up for reading it a long time ago.

What did I think about it? The adventures of Toad, that inestimable peerage of nobility and intelligence?

Pfffttth.

Unlike the other classic I just finished, these talking animals have little to do with religion or politics other than a cameo performance from Pan. And that was just a little last minute grace. :)

So what did I think about the whole book? It's a comic buddy novel with very loud and distinctive Victorian animals having adventures, watching Toad get into trouble or eventually getting Toad out of trouble, or otherwise enjoying rashers of bacon.

Funny? As in Three Men in a Boat funny? Perhaps. But this one is absolutely a children's novel, too. And quite fun. :)

They don't write books like The Wind in the Willows anymore.

Today's books for children are sly rhymes, action and social engineering. Wind belongs to an older, more innocent time when even accomplished men such as Kenneth Grahame, A. A. Milne and J. R. R. Tolkien invented stories for their children.

Stories which over the years became classics of literature.
Wind isn't a fairy tale so much as it's life told for those who will inherit it. Told by those who love the inheritors.

Even if you've read it before—especially if you've seen Disney's Bowlderized revision—read it again. Pause along the way to consider the world Grahmane portrays. This is England; this is childhood; this is life as we remember it, or wish it was.

This book is no plot, just vibes.

If you're in the mood to just think about forest animals wearing tweed, and picnics in rowboats, and dinner parties attended by a bunch of rabbits and stuff à la the third act of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox, and it's cool with you if that replaces story altogether, you're in luck.

In short, if you want to get the same effect as if you looked at this picture for about an hour:


You're in the right place.

Bottom line: I cannot imagine children reading this book, but I can imagine cottagecore twenty-somethings reading it!

clear ur sh*t book 64
no quest, just seeing how many more i can finish

The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spellbound by exciting stories

I am the Mole, held spellbound by the magic of this book that I read for the first time just as I start on my seventh decade on this planet. It is not a book for children, it is a book for the child that hopefully survives in the deepest, most secret chamber of our world weary hearts. I can no longer do the actual somersaults, and I’m writing this review on one of the darkest nights of the year, but in my mind I am, just like the Mole in the very first adventure of his journey jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring.

The Wind in the Willows is like a spell book whose magic is woven out of the constantly renewing wonder of the natural world – river, forest, village and even some motorcars – and out of the strong bonds of friendship and of goodwill. Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad can make an adventure out of any given day, out of the simple pleasures of boating or walking the rolling hills of Middle England. Beware of letting Toad drive you around, though.

“It’s never the wrong time to call on Toad. Early or late he’s always the same fellow. Always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you go!”

Kenneth Grahame instantly became the most serious challenger to the top position in anthropomorphic storytelling, held by Richard Adams and his rabbit epic Watership Down . I can’t actually choose a favorite between them, but then I don’t have to because I can love both of them with equal passion.

Actually, I might go so far as to say that Grahame is the better writer, with the most beautiful descriptions of nature and the most subtle yet powerful tugs at the heartstrings. He also does rather well in the comedy routines, closer to Dickens in the Pickwick Papers than Adams, whose strong points are epic scope and dramatic flair.

“ It takes all sorts to make a world.” says the Badger at one point, describing the scarier inhabitants of the Wild Wood, and I’m glad to have both Adams and Grahame on my favorite shelves right now.
Because this story in particular is better owned than borrowed: I will surely want to pick it up and re-read a chapter from time to time, to go back to the willowy banks of the River and to spend some quality time in the company of these gentle creatures of the wild, to eat and sing and dance and eventually to go adventuring, searching for new places and new friends.

It’s not all fun and games by the side of the River. Fortunes turn just like the seasons, and after effervescent spring and lazy summer days there will be the melancholy sighs of autumn and the bitter winds of winter. Danger lurks in the shadows for the small creatures of this earth, and what is man after all than just another scared animal burrowing deep and hoping the bloody fangs of a predator will not come near?

They were silent for a time, both thinking of the same thing – the lonely, heart-sore animal, crouched by the ford, watching and waiting, the long night through – on the chance.

Every reader will probably have a favorite chapter in this episodic collection of adventures, and I think comparing notes with your friends about each other’s journey to this Shire would make for a joyful winter evening by a fireside with a glass of single malt in your hands.
My own picks are probably the most obvious, but considering this is my first visit, I hope you will indulge me:

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Mole and the Rat look for a missing otter child, they spend the night in a boat and witness the arrival of a God. Anyone who has spent a sleepless night waiting for the rising of the sun out of darkness will probably recognize the piper’s tune, the magic of being alive that is renewed each day.

“It’s gone!” sighed the Rat, sinking back in his seat again. “So beautiful and strange and new! Since it was to end so soon, I almost wish I had never heard it. For it has roused a longing in me that is pain, and nothing seems worth while but just to hear that sound once more and go on listening to it for ever. No! There it is again!” he cried, alert once more. Entranced, he was silent for a long space, spellbound.

Dulce Domum
Probably because I read the book in winter, I am particularly fond of this episode: A walk on a winter’s night, in the company of a friend and later the opening of the door of your house to shelter, to eat together and to tell stories.

Wayfarers All
Who hasn’t dreamed of going south with the migratory birds, who hasn’t heard the siren call of a ship sailing off to exotic shores? Ratty, like me, is the most susceptible to this particular song.

“Why, where are you off to, Ratty?” asked the Mole in great surprise, grasping him by the arm.
“Going South, with the rest of them,” murmured the Rat in a dreamy monotone, never looking at him. “Seawards first and then on shipboard, and so to the shores that are calling me!”

“Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that's always changing!”

>>><<<>>><<<

I wish I could spend more time with these new friends, but the year is almost finished and I am still playing catch up on my reviews.
I don’t want to close though without mentioning the name of Patrick Benson, the illustrator for the edition of the book that I read [It is not the edition I picked here on Goodreads just because I liked its cover]

Note2: I would be interested to hear a feminist commentary on the text, considering Kenneth Grahame appears here to be one of those English dons who believe that girls have cooties and that men can only be companionable among themselves:

“But you know what girls are, ma’am! Nasty little hussies, that’s what I call ‘em!”

I've had this book sitting on my shelves for quite a few years, and oh boy did I not know the world of wonder and beauty I was missing out on! This book is by far one of the most soothing and beautifully written novels I have ever read, and Grahame's prose is truly sublime. The very premise of the book - the adventures of Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and Toad - is absolutely fantastical and thoroughly adorable. I wish this book were the first of many, as I could read about these four creatures forever and never tire of their antics. I truly loved how each creature has a sure flaw, but together the four were unstoppable. The character development of each is undeniable, and by the end you can't help but be proud of these four and their willingness to grow. I did not read this book or watch its adaptations growing up, but I know for certain that I will be reading this to my one-day kids from early one. Absolutely loved it! 4.5/5 stars

This was okay for me. Not something I think I would re-read.
I absolutely adored the narration Shelly Frasier did and will certainly be seeking out more she worked on!

"Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."

Reading children's classics/books which I have missed out during my childhood when I'm an adult is quite a learning experience. To me, they're much more than just books meant for children. I, as an adult, who do not know everything about how children feel (especially for these fast changing times) and as someone who could only remember what I used to feel as a child, these books provide me with so much life and experience that they are teaching me lessons about different lives, letting me dive into emotions which I thought didn't exist and most importantly, they are filling up the void which I left behind with all my innocent curiosity and doubts.

This particular book is much more than a children's book. If I had read this book as a child, I might have seen it as just a story of the animal characters going through their daily lives and having some kind of adventure.

There are times in the story which would have been difficult for me to understand as a kid but made more sense to me as an adult. Like when the characters are having a breakdown and how the other characters deal with it; the Mole making a scene remembering his home; the novelty of being together until the end even when things get uncomfortable, strange and bizarre; the pretentious showoffs; handling difficult people in your circle; families and socializing; laws and prison; identity and belonging; mental health and mental state; and yes, that pride goes before the fall. Toad. Hope you do not dislike him that much. I could see the images of so many in his character. As well as in the characters of the humble Mole, the respectable Badger and the practical Rat. I am simply blown away by how these characters have been shaped and discussed throughout the adventurous story.

But now when I read it as an adult, the lines have so much more to deliver. The story is more meaningful and it gave me lots of things to think about.

*Some favourite lines:

"It's my world, and I don't want any other. What it hasn't got is not worth having, and what it doesn't know is not worth knowing "

"Why can't fellows be allowed to do what they like when they like and as they like, instead of other fellows sitting on banks and watching them all the time and making remarks and poetry and things about them? What nonsense it all is!"

A must read for children and for adults who still have childlike souls (like me, hehe). Beautiful English, lovely characters, interwoven with philosophy and lessons for life. Love the Rat the most. Wish I'll have English speaking children so I can read this story to them.

[Primera lectura]: enero, 2017
[Relectura]: marzo, 2018.
[Segunda relectura]: enero, 2019.
[Tercera relectura]: enero, 2020.
[Cuarta relectura]: enero, 2021.
-------------------------------------------
Pequeño comentario [Segunda relectura].
De todas las lecturas que he realizado de este libro ésta es hasta el momento la que más he disfrutado. No solo he podido apreciar mejor los pequeños matices, las sublimes descripciones de la naturaleza de Grahame y la pasión de la que rebosa cada capítulo. Al fin he entendido el mensaje de tolerancia y respeto que subyace en el texto, respeto hacia aquellos que eligen una vida sedentaria como los que prefieren una vida más nómada. Yo, en concreto, soy una persona muy enamorada de su hogar. Pero hay gente que tiene tendencia a psicoanalizar a los demás y alguna vez me han dejado caer que esa preferencia es motivada por mi rechazo a la realidad. Que no quiero abrirme al mundo y conocer cosas nuevas. ¡Como si no tuviera suficiente con todo lo que tengo dentro de mi cabeza! Si quiero conocer "cosas nuevas" solo tengo que sentarme en el sillón e imaginar. A veces me gustaría resguardarme de mi propia mente. Su inmensidad me aterra. Y el mundo de fuera, creedme, no me parece tan fascinante en comparación con ella.

Pues bien, a esas personas que no son capaces de entender que no todos somos iguales y que nuestras aspiraciones son distintas porque cada individuo es único e irrepetible (que cada uno piense lo que quiera, pero yo sí lo soy) les recomiendo leer este libro. Aunque antes deberán vencer la prejuiciosa idea de que un libro juvenil solo puede ser leído y amado por chavales.

--------------------------------
[Primera lectura].
n   4.5n
Un gran clásico infantil que espero leer a mis hijos.
Reseña completa

“But Mole stood still a moment, held in thought. As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, but can recapture nothing but a dim sense of the beauty in it, the beauty! “

I hardly feel it my place to review this book. I’ll go so far as to say I hardly think it any of our places to review a text like this one, so substantial in the realm of literature. So, I will only offer praise. It’s all I can imagine anyway. This book might be the most wholesome, pure piece I’ve ever read in classic literature. Reading it outside did my heart and soul much good and I found myself smiling the majority of the read. The writing of friendship, nature, adventure and mischief drew me into another world, bringing joy and all 5 senses to life.
I read that the setting quaintly compares to Tolkein’s Shire. Upon meeting Mr. Badger in the Winter scenes, I also immediately thought of the Pevensie children meeting Mr. Badger in Lewis’s Narnia in the winter time. We know that Tolkein and Lewis loved Grahame’s writing. I’d love to do more research of his influence on them.
Reading “The Wind in the Willows” restores my faith in literature that sets the bar of goodness very high. I will hold this book close in years to come.

I am so glad to have finally read this wonderful, heart warming, 107 year old adventure.

The Wind in the Willows is about an anthropomorphic Rat, Mole, Badger, and my favorite: Toad.

I am amazed at the beauty of the words the author uses in a children's story. The characters were charming, endearing, and witty.

I read the Kindle version of this book, but love it so much that I'm going to order a hard copy.