The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows

by M.G. Leonard, Unknown Author

Follow the thrilling animal adventures of young otter Portly – including all your favourite characters such as Mole, Ratty and Toad, from the countryside classic, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.🦦"A magical tale of one mischievous otter bursting with charm, wit and wonder" — Hannah Gold “Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING – absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats"

There is a time in a young otter’s life when they must be introduced to their river. For Portly, today was that day …

Told across four seasons in one year, little Portly has the greatest of adventures. Amongth other fur-raising encounters, the youngest of Mrs Otter’s pups learns to swim, battles a large trout, rescues a human girl, outwits the weasels and stoats of the Wild Wood and sleeps between the cloven feet of the god Pan – a scene familiar to readers of the original book.

Full of all the charm, nostalgia and sounds of splashing in the river that fans of The Wind in the Willows have fallen in love with over the years, M.G.Leonard’s faithful spin-off will enchant an entirely new generation.

Beautifully illustrated in full-colour by award-winning illustrator of The Hug, Polly Dunbar, this gorgeous hardback gift book celebrates the 95th anniversary of EH Shepard’s iconic artwork for The Wind in the Willows.

The perfect Easter gift for both new readers and existing fans – young and old!

🦦“This magical retelling bubbles with wonder, joy and love.” — Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

“A glorious future classic” — Alexander Armstrong, author of Evenfall

"Marvellous tales, full of sparkle and charm” — Sophie Anderson, author of The Girl Who Speaks Bear

"One of the loveliest books I've read in a long time” — Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and Stars

"A story that ripples with the gentleness of childhood wonder and friendship.” — Leah Lane, @mymulberryhouse

🦦Pre-order now!

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Nature, Animals, Middle Grade

Hardcover

About the author

M. G. Leonard is a writer of books, poems and screenplays. She has a first-class honours degree in English literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She works as a freelance Digital Media Producer for clients such as the National Theatre, and Harry Potter West End, and previously worked as a Senior Digital Producer at the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. She spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Maya lives in Brighton with her husband and two sons.
You can visit her online at www.mgleonard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MGLnrd.

Reviews

[William Brouillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lover of the wind in the willows, I doubted this would live up to it but it bloody did! Portly was such a small character in the original book so it was a great choice to follow him and his adventures. I loved the little nods to the original story but really can be read on its own without any prior knowledge of Moley, Ratty Badger or Toad. teared up a few times with just how adorable Portly was and seeing him grow up from just a little cub to an adventuring little otter off to see the world.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Wind in the Willows" will always have a special place in my heart, as it makes me think of my mum (she read the book in hospital, after having either me or my brother - she can't remember which, due to the drugs she was on). So when I saw this new book, I was instantly drawn to it.
Now, it has been a fair few years since I last read The Wind in the Willows, but this new book was a lovely way to revisit some of the characters from there.

Across 12 chapters we follow Portly, a rather rotund little otter pup. From his first swimming lesson to him exploring more of his riverbank, we get to witness Portly initially worry that he is a disappointing sort of otter, due to his lack of swimming skills, to finding his place in the world. For anyone who has read The Wind in the Willows, you will recognise certain characters from there, along with parts of the original story, and I thought that this was a nice touch.
Polly Dunbar has also added beautiful illustrations to Portly's tale, which also helps to bring the characters and the stories to life.
I particularly enjoyed that this book didn't dumb down the language. Children will be able to learn new words, and that is fantastic.

Overall, this was a very sweet little book to keep me company. It has also made me want to return to the original

[Reddahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly gorgeous in every way, from the beautiful illustrations to the sweet storytelling! I couldn’t have loved this more, fans of the Wind in the Willows will not be disappointed, this story feels right out of the original.

Portly and family completely stole my heart, I am obsessed with how cute this book is!

Perfect for 9-12 year old readers and could easily be read to younger readers.

[Dreximgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute with adorable drawings

[Tracy Lander · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it's the Easter holidays I got to read this before the children.
Oh my goodness, it couldn't be further from the current Time Keys series!

It is gentle, warm and loving. A prequel to what we learn about Portly in The Wind In The Willows (which i've never read - but used to listen to a supply teacher read to the class in the softest, gentlest voice.
Portly is just a pup, not even able to swim when we first meet him. But he wants adventures even when he is scared stiff and put off swimming by the weir which almost drags him away. (He was trying to catch a large brown trout at the time!)
One adventure when he meets Mr Toad almost goes horribly wrong - thanks to Badger's intervention Portly is saved just in time.
But this friendship with Mr Toad leads to a large hamper being delivered at Christmas - so everyone believed him then when he said Mr Toad was his friend.
Portly decides that he will use his new compass (a present from Mr Toad) to map the river banks. But on going to Ratty's house to ask if he could take him as far as Toad Hall, he finds Ratty isn't there and nor is the boat.
However, he does find a message in a bottle. He wants to help whatever a Jennifer is straight away - but this leads him to danger in the Wild Woods. Even when he escapes the Wild Wood there is another danger - but here he meets another otter Molly....

Absolutely beautiful, heart-warming tale of an otter family. And Polly Dunbar's illustrations, in full colour, are equally beautiful and bring life to what you can envision in your head.

[Tea Leaves and Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The moment I unpacked this book I had to read it, just opening it, looking at the exclusive map endpapers, the otter under the dust jacket, the illustrations... the story... it's nostalgia in a book and I urge you, don't want for an excuse to buy this for a child, buy it now, do it for your adult self!

But yes this is a Children's book, described as being suitable for 7 - 12 reading age wise, but it's beautifully written and Adults and Children alike will lose themselves in the story. It has the charm, the heady summer vibes, the nostalgia of The Wind in the Willows, a story that many of us have fallen in love with over the years, and yes, some familiar faces too...

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely charming!
I picked up a copy with sprayed edges which really adds to an enjoyable, indulgent read.
Yes, it is for children, but if you want to revisit the Riverbank as an adult then that is fine too.
All of the old friends are here, Moley, Ratty, Badger, Otter and oh yes, Toad too of course. The story revolves around Portly, the youngest child of Otter. These tales also tie in with the original Wind In The Willows story with references to the arrest of Toad and the Piper at the gates of Dawn.
The book has lovely illustrations and is an absolute delight. The author has clearly done her research!

[Leonie Chundru · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son (5) and I both absolutely loved this book. It's beautiful to look at and the illustrations are gorgeous. My son's gasps and exclamations of recognition when the story intertwined with the Wind in the Willows (a beloved book) were so lovely to hear. We had a lot of 'don't stop reading, one more chapter, one more chapter!'. Portly is firmly in our hearts.

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Sweet and enjoyable story, but it is only second to the original WITW book. Nice nods there to original characters, esp. the Toad, but the charm of original storytelling and achingly beautiful magic of nature is hard to replicate.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly delightful. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is sweet and engaging. I very much liked Portly, I liked his adventurous spirit, and it was fun to get glimpses of Ratty, Moley, Badger and Mr Toad.

[Jo Macgregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this little book! Beautiful illustrations.

[Elizabeth Tso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fantastic children’s book!
Highly recommend. Wholesome and funny

[Yorky Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful book. I got the waterstones version and its so lovely, the illustrations are a joy