Posted by Chris Kelly, a Children's Book Review on 14th Dec 2014
The Wind in the Willows By Kenneth Grahame
A book review by Chris Kelly
The Wind in the Willows (by Kenneth Grahame) is one of my favorite books. Read to children, read by children and fondly recalled by adults, it is a collection of stories about several animal characters you will come to admire. Each character is unique, with nobility and foibles, and the stories teach the love of friends, the challenges of doing the right thing and the costs of giving in to temptations.
Written in 1908, the language is turn-of-the-century English, which at times will challenge younger readers to expand their vocabulary and thereby learn a beauty and subtlety of thought and speech lacking in some popular children’s’ stories. The chapters can serve as individual bedtime stories, but all concern the comings and goings of the same characters. The themes of the book include the friendship of Mole and Rat, the adventures of their friends Otter, Badger and Toad and the loyalty, courage and decisions required to live a good life. This book is a good choice for story time and for middle school readers.