The Wind in the Willows: Classic Tales Edition

Written by Kenneth Grahame

Narrated by B.J.Harrison

Come on a merry adventure down the jolly highway! Join the unquenchable Toad, the kindly Mole, the steadfast Water Rat, and the irascible Badger in their spectacularly charming adventures along the waterfront.

Each character is brought to life in this enchanting presentation of Kenneth Grahame’s seminal work of fantasy fiction. Don’t miss it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.J. Harrison
• Release date: Feb 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781937091385

Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932) was a Scottish writer best known as the author of The Wind in the Willows. He spent much of his childhood along the water, first on Loch Fyne in Scotland and then along the River Thames in a small village in southern England. It was here that his love for boating grew—a passion reflected in one of the most famous passages of The Wind in the Willows: “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Reviews for The Wind in the Willows

[lynleys-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this as an adult. My father owned it on cassette tape and every now and then I'd try listening to it as I fell asleep but it was perfectly soporific, and I never lasted more than a few minutes into the narration. It was only after seeing a stage version in Christchurch -- which I loved -- that I was prompted to read the darn thing. It is pretty good. A number of illustrators have gone to town with it as well, and I've since bought an illustrated version for my own kid.

[feelinglistless · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As the introduction (written back in the 80s by Grahame biographer Peter Green) rightly identifies, although Mr. Toad made The Wind in the Willows famous, his action packed adventures are the least evocative and I’d go further to say he’s the least interesting of the characters. The best chapter, Dulce Domum, in which Mole desperately seeks to return to his own home despite its humbleness is an intoxicatingly emotional description of the inescapable connection most of us have to our own familiar four walls however else we might imagine they seem to others (and nearly had me in tears by the time the carol singers arrived). The loyalty between Ratty and Mole is also especially touching, not unlike that between Sherlock and Watson, the former often riding roughshod of the latter’s feelings until he realises he’s gone too far, guilt sets in and he shambles about making amends.

[Sonya Palumbo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best classics. Great narration. Enjoy it!? ~Mole

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favourites, but still a good classic read.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reeks of anthropomorphism, but at least the animals retain some of their uniquely bestial qualities. Each chapter has some awfully charming aspects and they all seem to resolve themselves toward the end. This is ultimately a meditation on friendship and the very human foibles that seem to reside within all of us. Perfect for just before bed-time reading!

[rbeene-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun book, but I have not read it in years.

[liveshipvivacia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A cute story revolving around four animals and their trials and tribulations. There's nothing particularly substantial in it, although it should contain enough moral hints and cues for children to take note. Mr. Toad carried the story, partly because his behavior was so outrageous and that he apparently learned nothing from it, but the others, such as Mole and Rat, were real in their own way.

[johnthefireman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful children's book which, like so many really good children's books, is still of great interest to adults.

[kassilem · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I did not get into this book at all. I’ve never really been into the books about anthropomorphized animals as it is. I never read this book as a child either, and it seems it would have been better if I had. I thought there were fast parts and then slow parts but no consistent pace. And I didn’t really like Toad all that much. Rat and Mole were more to my liking. There were certainly undertones to the book but I thought it was a little long for a children’s audience. It’s checked off my BBC List reads now and I can now say I’ve read it and may read it to my children in the future but that’s about all I really got out of it.

[Anna Sarro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Children's classic brought to life by BJ Harrison. His narration is simply perfect, and his character voices are spot on.

[GILBERT MICHELINI · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am embarrassed to say i am 57 years old and I had never read this. I recall a video of Toad driving when I was young, but I knew nothing of the rest of the story.

[rvhatha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charming. I can't believe I didn't read this as a kid, but I'm kind of glad I didn't...not often you come across a book that you "wish you could read again for the first time," and it IS the first time you've read it! Mr. Badger is my new hero.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My copy is actually a hardback with beautiful illustrations. I always found this fun, though I preferred the early chapters to the end.

[norabelle414 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A mole leaves his cramped underground den and meets a water rat, who introduces him to the wide world, including Rat’s narcissistic friend Toad, who lives in a mansion and is obsessed with cars. Rat tells Mole that he can meet Rat’s friend Badger once spring comes, but Mole doesn’t want to wait and ends up lost in the snowy woods trying to find Badger’s house. Toad crashes all of his own cars by driving too fast, then steals someone else’s and crashes it and goes to prison. He escapes from prison to find his mansion has been overtaken by stoats and weasels, but Mole, Rat, and Badger help him take it back.

The opening story is lovely, with Mole meeting Rat and feeling a friendly connection and them spending a nice time together. Once Toad gets involved the book totally lost me. It’s supposed to be funny that he crashes cars and also that he’s terrible to his servants and the tenants of his estate, escapes from prison and barely learns a lesson. All of the parts without Toad are fine, and I enjoy Mole and Rat’s friendship, but the book is like half about Toad. There’s quite a lot of sexism throughout the book - complaining about how annoying “lady nurses” are, calling a woman a “wench” for no reason, and Toad dressing up like a woman to escape prison and being constantly sexually harassed. And of course there's not a single named female character, let alone any that the text treats respectfully. I would want to heavily edit the text before reading it to a kid (there’s also a small section that repeatedly uses the slur for Roma, but I think the word could just be skipped).

Some of the book is funny-bad (as opposed to bad-bad). Why are there normal horses? Also humans are there, and the animals are roughly the same size as them? Why and how does Toad brush his hair? Also Toad gets sent to HUMAN PRISON which is very funny. And the animals eat things like custard (where did they get the eggs??) and ham. They could almost just be humans with the names of animals.

[kalliegrace · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 rounded up. I love stories with animals as the people, from Frog and Toad and the Redwall series to Watership Down and the Rats of Nimm. This one never appeared in my childhood somehow, but it was just as enjoyable now and I can read it to my own children. The critters are fierce friends who seek to hold each other accountable and support each other through thick and thin. A true classic.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason read: I read this for the BAC. I had never read it so wanted to set that right. It is a story of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toady. They all are friends though Mole and Ratty are better friends and Badger is mostly a loner, and Toady is so arrogant, he has to be taken in small doses. The stories were told by the author to his son. They are charming. My art work was by Nancy Barnhart. It teaches tales of morality.

[laphenix · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though quirky, I didn't find this book to be exciting nor engaging.

[drmom62 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As there are many different editions of this book and only one is represented here, I would say that many are worthy of a four because of the quality of the book in the illustrations. Many are only a two or three at best because they are knock-offs of the better one.

[eurekas_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely Marvelous!

[cmc_22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A new edition of a classic book, with beautiful new illustrations. It’s hard to describe how wonderful the story and art are, and how lovely the animal protagonists are in their day-to-day lives.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Animals including Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and Toad, go on loosely connected adventures in various seasons and terrains. I listened to an audio version, and, even though the narrator did a decent job, I often found my mind wandering to other things as I listened. Since there isn’t much of a plot, I didn’t feel a need to rewind to catch the parts I missed. This is another classic I managed to miss reading in childhood. I might have more fondness for it now if I had developed a fondness for it then.

[desiree_reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Adorable. Sweet. Cute. Great for animal and critter lovers of all ages.

The tale is told in a series of vignettes, rather than a cohesive story, much like many other late 19th and early 20th century literature.

Mr. Toad does take the overriding theme, however, once you get a way into the book. Toad loves fast things. He buys motor cars and wrecks motor cars. Then he steals a motor car, goes to jail, breaks out of jail, and has many adventures getting home to Toad Hall. Once almost home, he finds the stoats and weasels have take over his mansion. Can Toad, with the help of his friends Badger, Mole, and River Rat, get back his home?

This Barnes and Noble classics edition is lovely - leather bound with gilded edges, gold embossing on the cover, and beautiful, sewn-in satiny ribbon bookmark.

Highly recommend for your chapter book collection and/or home library.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It took me a little while to truly appreciate Grahame's prose, but when I adjusted to the style, these charming tales of Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad truly found a home for themselves in my heart. This is, quite possibly, the greatest book ever written about the English countryside. It is magical at times, such as when they are searching for the lost baby otter, and it is joyous at others, such as when Rat meets his traveller counterpart - this is one of the great travelogues in the history of literature. And what can be said about Toad, except that he explains the life and career of Boris Johnson better than any other literary creation I can think of?

[anniesdreaming · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not the best

I didn't hate this book, in fact I like the writing style quite a bit. I enjoyed the illustrations in this Kindle in Motion version and felt that they followed the writing well. I rated this with 2 stars because I found the story to be a bit boring and slow. The first half of the book feels like one story- it flows better. It is followed by several chapters that read as separate stories all together, one of which Ratty seems almost to have a completely opposite personality. Then the last three chapters are more like a continuation of the first half. This break up makes the story line more difficult to follow. I also wasn't in love with the characters themselves. Badger comes off gruff and continually irritated, though we do see a sweet side to him, unfortunately it appears to be a fluke. I found Toad to be conceited and rude and quite unlikable. I did like Mole and Rat. I felt that Mole grew throughout the book and learned about himself. Ultimately this isn't a story that I will read again, and I am not sure to whom or if I would recommend it.

[ghost_boy-691444 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read this for the first time and really liked it. A book truly for all ages. Something about anthropomorphic animals and living in the woods gets me into the book. Really enjoyed the scene they see a vision of the god Pan. Makes you wonder. If you haven't read this story and need an quick easy read, then pick this one up.

[steve38 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a treat. Why did I wait until my advanced age to read it.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As soon as I finished, this book, I read the first two chapters again.

[belana-990668 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I read that this book was adapted to the protagonists being female, I decided to give it a go. The book didn’t lose any of its charm—on the contrary, due to the wonderful narrators, it was even more charming than any other rendition I listened to. Absolutely marvellous, and highly recommended.

[wyclif-371215 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Revisited this enchanting collection of anthropomorphic animal fantasies from my childhood, now that I have a child of my own. The adventures of Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and Toad hold a special place in my imagination, and this will be one to read aloud to J-Boy as a bedtime book. One needn't have any special appreciation for the Edwardian era or a golden, idealized Victorian past to delight in Kenneth Grahame's bucolic vision, nor interpret Mr. Toad as a stand-in for the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the lure of automation to be awe-struck by his prosody. Look for the edition with the original drawings by the renowned illustrator E.H. Shepard.

[piemouth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Probably my dad read this to me, though I don’t have as many memories as I do of the Oz books. Reading it as an adult, I liked it very much, the way the characters embodied both animal and human characteristics. I loved their affection for one another.
The illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard are perfect.