The Wind in the Willows

I'm writing about the BBC children's audiobook on CD that is currently one of the formats on this listing -- easily one of my favorites and I'm so happy to have finally bought it. I listened to it fairly often in my early teens, and got a nostalgic hankering for it recently that I couldn't fill, because the only copy in my library system was on cassette tape.This is hands-down one of the greatest full-cast audio dramatizations of a children's classic, possibly being surpassed only by "The Mind's Eye" production of The Hobbit. Do not expect a word-for-word reading -- instead it is a condensed buffet for the senses that beautifully captures the *spirit* of the book. I laugh in delight every time at the ludicrous, pompous voice of Toad, the no-nonsense dry words of Badger, and of course Mole as he goes from nervous eagerness to a more self-assured animal. There is a very different voice for each part, nowhere do you have to wonder who's talking. And equally memorable are the little songs, the between-scenes music, and the many sound effects (who could forget the "poop poop" of the motorcar horns).I always wish it were longer, but I used to listen to it on repeat while I was sewing, and it never lost its charm even after many listenings. I'm not British, but can perfectly imagine the brooks, the hedgerows, the country houses and woods...it makes me homesick for comforting places I've never been. Perfect road-trip-with-kids audiobook, especially for reluctant young listeners/readers who prefer movies, because this is very much like listening to a program with the screen off.

🐀BOOK REVIEW / “The Wind In The Willows”/ by Kenneth Grahame🦡 ___Genre: Fairytale  Pages: 197Language: EnglishPublisher: ebookRelease date: 1908 _____🐸Reading this book was like coming back home after a long trip on an old boat in the company of good old friends._____🦦The Plot: Brilliant and sweet fairytale is about little Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad. Even though the book was initially published in 1908, it still manages to captivate and win readers’ hearts—the timeless fairytale about friendship, folly, wily, and life wisdom._____🐀The Writing Style: I enjoyed reading this brilliant fairytale. It is leisurely-paced and pleasurable to read. I can’t say there were many tense twists, but still, the story took me in suspense from the cover to cover. I adored an old fashioned language of this book, full of numerous cute sentence structure and adorable poems._____🦡The Characters: The number of the main characters isn’t numerous, so that it will be pretty easy to focus on their adventures and misadventures._____🐸My Favorite Quote: “But it was good to think he had this to come back to; this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome.”_____🦦Would I read other books by this author: Yeap!____🦡My humble rating is: 5/5____P.S. Thank you so much What Victoria Read for such an awesome and sweet recommendation!🥰👋💙📖_____#writerslife #AmReading #bookreview #TheWindInTheWillows #Fairytale #bookishlovegroup #unitedbookstagram #bookstagram #betterreadschallenge

After watching the Disney adaptation of this classic, I decided to read it for myself, and I'm glad I did. Here are my reflections:When you watch the Disney animated film, the title seems to be a misnomer. Not so for the book. The book repeatedly references how the wind has a voice of its own, particularly in the fantastic, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," chapter. The book seems to be a compilation of short stories, so you can skip some chapters entirely and not be left out of the plot. You can read the skipped chapters later if you so desire. They're wonderfully written, but to be honest, not much happens in them.In the movie, Toad never steals a motorcar. In the book he darn sure does. He goes to prison justly, but for some reason after his friends help him recapture Toad Hall, he is no longer pursued by the police, even though he is no less guilty of his crime and is even moreso guilty because of his defiant escape. In this way, the book has a loose end that the movie by Disney corrects. Unfortunately Toad's character is slightly altered in the Disney movie because of the way it ties up this loose end.The pace of the book seems to be very slow for a children's book and it's on quite a high reading level I would say. To me, this is surefire proof that literate kids 100 years ago were far more literate than literate kids of today. Harry Potter doesn't have near as high of a vocabulary level requirement as this book does. Most of the vocabulary is used to describe nature. Due to the slow pace of the book in which the narrator describes how beautiful the outdoors is, you really have to like nature to fully appreciate the author's intent. I don't know how many people in modern times really appreciate the outdoors. I sure don't. I hate mosquitos.The use of metaphors in this book is extraordinarily beautiful. The moon is anthropomorphized and described as deliberately and intently struggling to shine through the clouds to help Rat and Mole in their search for Otter's baby. Also, making a trek to the South is compared to checking out of a hotel, and strong smelling sausage is described as singing of garlic. This Grahame guy was far more of an adult author than a children's author if you ask me.I didn't really care for any of the characters other than Toad. I was saddened to see that he was left entirely out of many chapters. Toad was perfect comic relief. Sleeping way later than everyone else, not sharing his load of the work, claiming to do things he couldn't do, talking about how great he was, etc. The whole bit of Toad dressing as a washerwoman was great, and fortunately ate up a large chunk of the book.The high points of the book are its great and masterful use of the English language including its beautiful metaphors, and the presence of the fun and amusing Toad. The only thing it has that may not be so appreciated is its slow pace. The animals sit down to a meal about 200 times during the book, and the preparations for the meals seem overwhelmingly detailed, making you question whether "adventure" is a proper word to use in describing what's going on.This magnificent work seems targeted to upper class individuals who are bigger on manners and properness than action and suspense, although it does have a good amount of comedy. Great stuff, but not for Spongebob Squarepants fans.

Beautifully written, and even without illustrations one can imagine all the wonderful little animals and their little abodes, going from adventure to adventure, and learning how to be friends

Great story, my granddaughter loved it.

The edition that I grew up with was what I wanted and this library system delivered as promised. I am very grateful for such a treasure.

Good for middle school childrenMust buy for readers

Bel libro abbastanza semplice ma ben fatto ! Con CD.

This is a classic children's book, which in my view has not only stood the test of time, but is as relevant today as when it was written. The values are ones that I believe will resonate with parents and teachers, and it is if course, beautifully written and utterly charming. A book that will remain a pleasure to read to young children, of all ages!

Piękne wydanie, przyjemne dla oka i liczne rysunki, duża czcionka ułatwiająca czytanie, dobrej jakości kartki. Dla uczących się języka angielskiego warto dokupić wersję w języku polskim. Zdecydowanie polecam:)

Clássico da literatura.Vale a pena ser lido.Super recomendo.