The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
Ernest H. Shepard (Illustrator)
Publisher:
Aladdin Paperbacks
ISBN:
068971310X
Year of Publication:
1989
Page Count:
259
|
Feel free to purchase this book through our
site or look for a copy at your local library.
Amazon.com
Hardcover version
Paperback version
REVIEW
Mole is a good-natured fellow, but he has had it with spring cleaning. So he impulsively throws down his whitewashing brush and dashes out into the splendid day. During his frolic through the English countryside he meets sensible and life-loving Rat, and together they spend the day boating and lunching. So begins a great friendship and a marvelous story. They have many adventures together, but central to the book is their relationship with the wealthy, eccentric, and conceited Mr. Toad.
Toad is always into the latest thing. In particular, he idolizes automobiles from the moment he first sees one. After he buys one, his reckless driving nearly gets him killed, but he still won't give them up. Eventually, as a result of this obsession, he lands in jail. He makes a dramatic and amusing escape, only to find his home now taken over by weasels and stoats. He despairs, but Rat, Mole, and wise, fatherly Badger come to his aide, insisting as they do that he give up his self-centered ways. Toad resists and backslides over and over, but the group of friends stick with him until he regains his home and his good name. Few books provide both the complete fall and the complete restoration of a character, and few books provide such a clear picture of true friendship.
Some parents may be concerned about the scene where Rat and Mole encounter Pan, the Greek nature god, and worship Him. However, note the capital "H" that Grahame uses in reference to the deity. Rat and Mole's response, a mixture of awe and love, is the kind practiced by Jews and Christians, not pagans. Grahame seems to have wanted the living God at the center of this book, but he knew that he must present Him to his fictional animal characters in a way that would make sense to them. Therefore, rather than being a reason to censor this book, Pan's presence is yet another reason to treasure it.
|
|
COMMENTS
|
indicates reviewed books.
