The Wind in the Willows

by Malvina G. Vogel

The escapades of four animal friends who live along a river in the English countryside--Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Animals, Young Adult, Classic Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[✨Angelica✨]

Oh, kui seiklusrikas raamat 😁 Lugesin paari tunniga läbi, sest uskumatult huvitav oli!

Nelja sõbra seiklused ja pidevalt ühe sõbra, härra Kärnkonn, päästmine sekeldustest! Avastasid ümbruskonda, õppisid tundma uusi loomi ning ninapidi vedama inimesi. Väga vemburikas raamat, mis kindlasti meeldib lastele.

[Gwendolyn]

Oh, how charming. I'm dissapointed that I waited until adulthood to actually read this book. The story is witty and endearing. The characters are lovable and entertaining. It is a nice blend of silliness and obervations about people thier friendships.

"Poop-poop!"

[Sharon Huether]

A delightful Children's Classic, which emphasize Friendship, co-operation, good will and adventure.
What impressed me about the author was that he wrote the series for his 4 year old son. It was first published in 1908.

[Katie]

I have about 30 of these Great Illustrated Classics books that my mom bought for me when I was a kid. They’re large print and have pictures. They’re a watered down version of the classics—a great way to introduce them to kids. Looking forward to reading these again when my boys get a little bigger!

[die Kamille (ne „die“, o fem artikel)]

mag nicht

[Ruth]

I read this book to my 5 year old. He pretended to not enjoy it but brought it to me every evening telling me something like, "Here's that book we have to read" which I'm certain he wouldn't have done had he not enjoyed it. It was about 230 pages with a big lettering and a picture on each page. It touched on human frailties, friendship and mannerisms presented in the lives of little creatures.

[Stephanie]

They liked it. Toad seems to do quite a bit of lying, stealing, etc. and they have lots of weapons and a big fight. Mybe a bit much for a 2 and 3 year old but I'm not sure they understood it all either.

[Nicholas]

Great book for a light read. I remember reading this as a kid, but the writing in it is good enough that I enjoyed it as an adult.

[Rasmussen C. 7]

“Wind In The Willows”, a really good book about a bunch of animals, Mole,Badger, and Rat who are trying to control an insane toad. Toad is incredibly interested in different types of transportation. He is very rich, and is spending lots of money on all types of moving things. He starts with boats, carriages, and so on. Lots of things are getting broken,animals of the forest, are getting hurt because of his reckless, and dangerous behavior he must be stopped. Things are just about to get worse, because toad discovered, motor cars. The new, cool, and amazing way to get around everywhere. He is accused of stealing one later in the book and has to go to jail. Toads big, fancy, house is even captured by weasels and things get super crazy from there. From the “Great Illustrated Classics”, this book was also really good. I had watched the little twenty five animation by Disney of this book and really liked it, but this was way more better. There was way more action, and crazy events that took place in this book. I really liked the plot of the whole book, and the characters. I think that the theme of the book is that if you mess up you can always change and try to do better, because toad is a crazy, out of control mess and wants nothing else to do but drive around. However at the end of the book he has a change of heart and realizes that he can't keep being so obsessed with different types of transportation.

[Christine]

Maybe because it was the (seriously) abridged version... the nuances of English society mannerisms were interesting, but kind of lost in this adaptation. I was reading this with my son and whenever we read together, we enjoy big picture adventures as well as life lessons in the stories. We liked Mole and Ratty and their adventures, but Toad? He was just an emotional, drama-queen who got away with so many shenanigans, serious ones, too. And his escapades take up more than half of the book. His final repentance and transformation were too hard to believe. Also, there was a lot more ganging up and beating up on each other using clubs and pistols and fists than I had anticipated - with some illustrations to these scenes! We've read quite a few of the Great Illustrated Classics, even ones with violence and death (e.g. Swiss Family Robinson), but those scenes were presented in a realistic setting that could be explained and understood.

For Wind in the Willows, it was harder to explain why weasels and stroats were portrayed as semi-gangster hooligans set on mayhem and bloodshed. So this particular Illustrated Classics - I would not recommend as a kids read. I think if you're going to read this story with your child, or if you want a tale about pastoral England, better to go with the original.

[Carlos Llanos]

As usual, I wonder how classics can get away with stuff that would get a modern TV show in trouble. There's a lot of violence in this book, which is not a problem for me, but it makes me think about double standards in literature.

Love that characters, specially Badger. My daughter had no patience for Toad and thought that Mole was a little irresponsible sometimes, but she loved that narrative and the illustrations in our edition.

[Keshia]

3.5 stars. I have mixed reviews about this one. On the one hand, I love the nature and animals and whimsy of the story. On the other hand, it’s got quit a bit more violence then I was expecting, especially for a young children’s book. I do think there are a ton of teachable moments though, which is great.

[Rebecca]

A great junior's version of a wonderful classic. My 7 yo son is convinced this is an 'easier' book than some of our other ones primarily on the case that the font size is larger. Whatever works! He enjoyed laughing at Toad's antics.

[Lindsey Sieders]

We had started with the original Wind in the Willows but switched to this one - the original was just a bit hard for the younger kids to follow along with! Great family reading with everyone wanting to be like the Rat and no-one wanting to be like Toad :)

[Stephen Tryon]

I liked this book when I first read it as a boy many years ago. This last time, I read it to my son... I think I enjoyed that experience more than he did. He did grow into a voracious reader in his own right, so maybe he got something out of it.

[Jennifer Mugrage]

I read a lot of Illustrated Classics as a kid. In fact, for many classics, that's the only version I ever read. This one, I just finished reading with my own kid.

Mr. Toad is SUCH snob!!! The English class system is strong with this one.

[Robbinette]

I read this with my niece for her Summer Reading List. And we loved it. It was so fun and entertaining. It was really neat to read about animals having human characteristics. Would highly recommend for a young reader.

[Jeremy]

Eli was on the edge of his seat

[Maria]

Story of three animals friends who live in River Bank. How they become good friends and got into trouble and help each other in their hard times. It very cute story to read! Really enjoyed it!

[Hilery]

Fun to read with my 10 year old.

[Erin]

Love this one! Simple morals you can teach from but it’s also an older language and story telling style which is good for kids to be exposed to.

[Amy]

Read this mini book as a child!
These mini books help me inspired me to read the complete versions!

[Tara]

Such a ride! The ending is totally unexpected!

[Melissa Stutsman]

A fun adventure that my 2 kids enjoyed listening when I read to them.

[Olivia]

This was an interesting read-aloud with my young daughter, as it kept her interest and the illustrations were helpful.

[Anna Blauw]

Delightful

[Jul]

so darling

[Jaklin Lindberg]

So quaint and wholesome. Each character brought a personality and humor to the tales.

[Marlee Friesen]

Fun read! Read it to my son who is now a mole fan. I am not, at least in the real world.

[David Erkale]

A classic book full of whimsical stories involving the Water Rat and Mole.