The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows	Aladdin Books
Written by Kenneth Grahame	200
Modern Fantasy	259 pages
Reading Level ages 9-12

Summary

This is a tale of four friends: Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger. Mole left his house one spring day when the pull of adventure was too great. He ended up near the stream where Rat was gliding down the river in his boat. Mole stayed with Rat the rest of the time. He loved the newness of the river and how different everything was from his humble abode below ground. Rat loved thinking about the river and spent most of his time coming up with poems about that and things he loved. One day, Mole ventured into the wood to explore. He became lost as it began to snow. Rat followed the tracks and scent of Mole. By the time they were reunited, it was dark and snow covered everything, making it impossible to find their way out. They wandered until they found a door. It happened to be Badger’s. Badger is a recluse who didn’t care much for others and what went on above his interesting home with winding tunnels under the meadow. He served Rat and Mole hot soup and helped the tired friends to bed. They spoke of Toad and his latest obsession, motor cars and how it would be the downfall of him. The three decide to have an intervention when the way was clear. Toad was a passionate fellow that had the best in mind, but most always allowed those passions to run away with him. He had already tried rowing and now had a boat house that was filled with new boats. He had given that up when he saw a motor car speeding down the road with a poop, poop and a beep of the horn! His boat house was now filled even more with remains of at least three demolished motorcars. When Badger confronted him, Toad was sincerely repentant and promised not to. Until, at least he thought of what fun he had when he was racing down the roadway. The three friends agreed that they would stay in Toad House until Toad came to his senses again and would see the severity of their decision. Toad stayed in bed and tricked Rat to believe that he was waning away, to call the doctor. Rat, concerned and worried left to fetch the doctor. Joyous Toad threw the bed sheets out the window and escaped. It was fate; he immediately saw an image of his fantasies. Down the road, a motorcar was sitting outside, just waiting to be driven. Toad revved the engine and was off, ignoring the owner’s calls to stop. He was caught and arrested, sentenced in the deepest cell of the jail for twenty years. There he bemoaned his fate and cried and regretted not following the council of his friends, who always had his best in mind. The jailer’s daughter came to cheer him some and came up with a plan for his escape. He dressed as the washerwoman and walked casually out of the jail. He couldn’t pay for the train because he had to leave his vest to fit into the dress, and forgot to take the money from it. So he acted like a bereaved woman with not a penny to pay. The engineman took pity and allowed her/ Toad on board to keep him company. Toad was overjoyed until a police car came chasing them down the track. Toad fearful, explained the situation and the engineman helped him off the train before adding more coal to lead the policemen astray. Toad continued on his journey, finally arriving at Rat’s river front door. Toad explained his travels and the cleverness it took to reach home. Only, he came to find the weasels and all other of vermin had taken over his mansion, believing he would never return for some time. Badger and Mole had been working nonstop to find a way to evict the loathsome creatures even without knowing Toad had escaped and was on his way home. When they return, they are overjoyed at Toad’s return and Badger explains of a secret entrance Toad’s father found. The four friends creep into the passage and emerge in the pantry. They burst out and clean the place of the unwanted houseguests. They clean up the disaster that had become Toad’s house in the time he was away and hold a great celebration, honoring the triumphant return of Toad the reuniting of friends.

Reaction

I liked the imagery in the book describing the scenery and characters. Some paragraphs were difficult to read and had to be reread, but it had interesting plot and had several stories intertwined that kept the attention of the reader. The friendships between the four friends are examples of real friends and relationships in life. It was neat to see in animal form.

Potential Problems

It is written in a different time, so some of the items or actions described were difficult to understand. It dealt a lot with the decorum and protocols that were upheld at that time.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy learning about England and the different dos and don’ts of the society. It would be a good book for students who love animal characters.