The Wind in the Willows is a good, old fashioned tale about the
adventures of
a group of creatures that inhabit the
banks of a river, right from the homely Mole, to the upright and straight forward Badger, the courageous Water Rat and
the idiotic, egoistic yet lovable Toad.
The story begins when Mole is spring cleaning his burrow, and some sudden
urge causes him to leave his work and go out, where he meets Water Rat, and
then both of them embark on a series of
adventures with Badger and toad. The
adventures include a short lived caravan ride with the fickle toad; who ditches
his lovely caravan for a motor car, is arrested in his new motor car, escapes
from jail dressed as a washer woman and finally in the climax, the friends
together save Toad Hall from being over run by the Wicked Weasels.
The book was written as a series of letter by the author, to his son Alistair,
and was subsequently published and has become a childrens classic, yet
enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. The book is full of good humour, is light
reading and heart warming and the scenes are written in such an evocative,
descriptive style that you feel you are right there in the
middle of the story, in
the middle of the action. Your feelings go high and low with the characters,
right from feeling happy when Mole rediscovers his burrow to frustration at the ego and antics of Toad, who at heart is a rather kind and silly chap. A definite must read.