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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This was an inspired choice by a fellow book club member for this month's read. I fondly remember reading The Wind in the Willows and looked forward to being reacquainted with Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger. However, one thing that struck me is how differently you read it as an adult - you have baggage of a life lived that is different from that of a young, innocent mind. But still it's a wonderful world to escape into. The descriptions are great - they really help paint a very vivid picture of life along the riverbank. The text is often very amusing and I thought also quite grown up in places but as a friend said, a child will gleam from it the information they want.
One last thing - I bought this 1974 copy for £1 (bargain!) at my local second hand bookshop. Not only are the illustrations within it so detailed but every so often I'd plunge my nose into the centre and smell the wonderful oldness of it. You can't get that from a kindle.
One last thing - I bought this 1974 copy for £1 (bargain!) at my local second hand bookshop. Not only are the illustrations within it so detailed but every so often I'd plunge my nose into the centre and smell the wonderful oldness of it. You can't get that from a kindle.
(2 stars = it was okay)
Oh, hapless, feckless Toad! A tale of cleaning up after a narcissistic friend. Only two minor female characters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EaYurmUkc
Oh, hapless, feckless Toad! A tale of cleaning up after a narcissistic friend. Only two minor female characters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EaYurmUkc
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm dipping back into children's literature - either classics that I never read (like this one) or things I loved as a kid and now have for my own children - so I expect there will be more like this.
In any event, it is nice to read these things and learn immediately why they are such beloved classics. Under the light plots are a deeper understanding of humanity, and a glorious mysticism about the world. The scene with Pan and the lost otter was a moment of magic. I hope my other excursions into this area are met with the same results.
In any event, it is nice to read these things and learn immediately why they are such beloved classics. Under the light plots are a deeper understanding of humanity, and a glorious mysticism about the world. The scene with Pan and the lost otter was a moment of magic. I hope my other excursions into this area are met with the same results.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This really isn't a children's book; I don't think you can really admire the beauty here until you are older. My edition is, in fact, the edition my great aunt gave my father.
It isn't so much the sense of a simpler time, more of a sense of simpler life. If the Hobbits in Middle Earth are the standard English folk, the animals, the mammals, are the standard English folk here.
Still enjoyable.
Love Ratty.
It isn't so much the sense of a simpler time, more of a sense of simpler life. If the Hobbits in Middle Earth are the standard English folk, the animals, the mammals, are the standard English folk here.
Still enjoyable.
Love Ratty.
No matter how often I read this, I am always fully transported into the world that Grahame creates - the homes along the river, the dangers of the Wild Wood, and and the wonders of Pan's Island (one of the most wonderful parts of the book).
With the illustrations done by E. Shephard - better probably best remembered for the original illustrations of Winnie-the-Pooh - it just adds another layer of beauty to the story.
With the illustrations done by E. Shephard - better probably best remembered for the original illustrations of Winnie-the-Pooh - it just adds another layer of beauty to the story.
The first two or three chapters where animal friends were just hanging out and having adventures were delightful. After that it got a little weird.
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Song: The Webley - Oldman’s Dance - Queen’s Delight by Dragonsfire
I read this with my 7th graders for literature, partly out loud, but mostly following along with the audiobook.
I have such mixed feelings. I want to love this book, but instead I just kind of like it. I’m so glad we read it together, I’m glad the kids know the story and will understand the references. I LOVE the illustrations and the food talk and the confusing way a toad can be mistaken for a grown woman 😂 buts it’s still just not our fave. And that’s ok! We went to a lakeside part for a picnic to discuss and had a great time. They found a semi frozen pond to tromp around in after we ate and when we got back home they made scones for tea. Half of what I love about literature with these two is the book party after 🥰
Did you grow up with this book? Do you love it?? Win me over please if so!
I have such mixed feelings. I want to love this book, but instead I just kind of like it. I’m so glad we read it together, I’m glad the kids know the story and will understand the references. I LOVE the illustrations and the food talk and the confusing way a toad can be mistaken for a grown woman 😂 buts it’s still just not our fave. And that’s ok! We went to a lakeside part for a picnic to discuss and had a great time. They found a semi frozen pond to tromp around in after we ate and when we got back home they made scones for tea. Half of what I love about literature with these two is the book party after 🥰
Did you grow up with this book? Do you love it?? Win me over please if so!