Whether you have already seen the Walt Disney movie or not Wind in the Willows is a must read for both children and adults. I first read this book in 4th grade as a required reading for my literature class. I have since read it a few more times and it is without a doubt one of my favorites. This classic book brings to live with amazing detail and reality a toad, a frog and several other animals that you would not normally get to know or think of as even pets. Mr. Toad is the main character and you get to know his personality in many ways and with much precision and detail.
The author has written this book in a very clever way with much symbolism and satire and it is so well written that as the reader you are drawn into the book immediately and you feel like these animals become your friends. In addition, the book takes place in England and so for Americans who are not familiar with the cities and geography of this country, Wind in the Willows is in a way a geography lesson of sorts.
While it has been years since I saw the movie, I am certain that fans of the movie will probably enjoy the book even more.
Even though there are lots of books where animals talk, this one really is unique in many ways. The first way is the uniqueness of the kinds of animals that are personified. The second way is that the animals live like humans in this book doing things such as driving cars and other things that humans normally only do, whereas in many other books with animals talking, they talk and may do a few other things they would not ordinarily do but they do not actually drive or do other human type things.
The illustrations in this book are also incredible. The include detailed maps of their homes, the river and all of the major scenes in this book.
So grab Wind in the Willows and a few hours and sit down to enjoy this entertaining, if not satirical novel.
