Reviews - The Wind in the Willows

3.16k reviews for:

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame

3.83 AVERAGE

leenanorms's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

carliereadsoccasionally's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kohijelly's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

beatniksafari's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

francesca221's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous inspiring lighthearted reflective

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

knkoch's review against another edition

3.75

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

Glad I read this! It's a classic I see referenced often so I wanted to understand it. It's very comforting, cozy in a very British countryside way, and detailed. I was surprised at how well-developed all the animals are as characters, and charmed by the little semi-human world they inhabited alongside humans. Very funny stories that did generally blend together into a linear narrative. Mole and Rat's friendship is sweet, and the wild adventures and weaknesses of Mr. Toad were delightful.

The only negative is that while the stories would make a great read-aloud book for parents and their children, the language is so obscurely ornate that I can't imagine today's kids understanding it. I don't have children, but I have done quite a bit of reading with and to kids in my life/various jobs so far, so I don't think I'm way off base there. The content of the stories would be entertaining to kids but not necessarily decipherable for them now, I think. I suppose that's just a change in the sort of language/vocabulary shift that's happened since it was written. Not that there isn't plenty of other excellent children's literature out there beyond this!